H & E Marina Deli

Critic's Review

There was a time when this shopping center was practically deserted; except for Office Max and the H&E Marina Deli. Harry and Eileen still run the little place hidden in the the rear of a cavernous strip mall, which now has Gyroville, Tijuana Flags and Panera practically right in front of them.

There are signs out that say NY Deli, and another that says NY Marina deli; I guess at some point they decided that saying that they were a NY style deli would be more effective marketing. But there's no evidence that they've changed the name in any official way.

Hedeli sign

I'd been here once before, and their promise of an "overstuffed sandwich" didn't pan out; the sandwich wasn't as large as I'd hoped. I wasn't taking pictures of food in those days, and I don't remember it exactly, but it was enough so that I hadn't been back for quite a while. This is a full sit-down deli; not just a counter and a table or two; there's a lot of tables and waitress service. For breakfast and lunch the place can be bustling.

Hedeli inside

There was someone in front of me ordering for an army, and the staff here is limited. Finally I got to order; Chicken Salad on Rye. It comes with one side; I remember not liking their cole slaw, so I went for the macaroni salad. They also have a cucumber salad now; my choices the last time were only cole slaw or potato salad. I did take out, and when I opened the container there was a bigger sandwich than I remembered previously.

He sandwich

Now this is a good sized deli sandwich. The chicken salad is good too; not chunky but cut into small pieces with a lot of mayo and not too much else. The macaroni salad was OK, a bit too saucy for me but it wasn't too sweet. And the pickle; what happened to big dill pickles? One miniature half-dill is better than nothing, but I miss the days not so long ago when you got a big dill pickle with a deli sandwich.

This was $7.75, which isn't a bad price as big deli sandwiches go. A little bit of yesterday hidden behind the newfangled fast food places on SE17th Street.