Danny's Deli

I have been to corned beef heaven, and I am back to tell you about it.  I am a corned beef prophet.  Heed me.

You know that moment, when you have really, really good sushi, and it's like you've never had it before?  An epiphany, we English majors call it. 

It used to be, I would look at those pictures of New York deli corned beef sandwiches where the corned beef was piled to the sky and wonder how that could appeal to anyone.  That was because I was eating bad corned beef.  And paying out the nose for it.  You might be aware that there is a deli in town that begins with a K.  I am not a fan of that other deli, and used to yearn for a good deli.  No longer.

For months I have been hearing about Danny's Deli, and kept nagging Husband to join me for a lunch.  Alas, since most of our lunches have been devoted to burgers as of late, we haven't had much room for anything else (literally and figuratively).  But today, when we had to be out of the house for a few hours having some work done, I suggested we get lunch before our usual afternoon MoJoe coffee drinking and computing.  I am a genius. 

First of all, how to get there: although the address is on Broad Street, the storefront is actually on Front, just south of the intersection of Front and Broad; there are lots of meters on Front Street, so I'd recommend parking at a meter and walking over.

The lighting is cafeteria fluorescent harsh, something that might discourage me from future dining, but I don't think you could keep me away from Danny's forever.  Okay.  Enough exposition.  Let's get to the meat.  Oh, the meat.  Danny's might be the only deli in Columbus to boil their own cured beef every morning (that K deli ships it in), and do they ever reduce it to a meltingly tender, not fatty, soft, savory, salty, mmmmmmm.  You see, corned beef typically comes from the brisket, which contains a lot of cartilage.  Cooked properly, the cartilage should melt away, coating the meat with a light whisper of savory gelatin (which is, of course, cartilage and other nasty bits, cooked down).  After all of the connective tissue has melted, only the meat is left, and, when thinly sliced, makes the meaty bits practically melt in your mouth.

Are you hungry yet?

Husband and I both chose a Reuben, me with fries and he with onion rings.  To be sure, we didn't even need the side dishes - as a matter of fact, I wished I would have ordered the slaw instead, just because I was on meat overload (not intended to be interpreted negatively).  Everything about this sandwich was perfect - the grilled light rye bread, the piles and piles of beef, the way they serve the thousand island dressing in a squeeze bottle, so that you might apply it at your whim (dangerous), or you might choose the brown mustard which is also on the table.  Just in case the scale is off in the photo, that pickle is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter; the sandwich is a good 4 inches tall.  That's right.  I took half the meat out to eat with a fork, just because there was no way I could eat this sandwich in one bite.   

Fries were of the forgettable, frozen nature, but the onion rings were very good.  There are lots of other things on the menu here at Danny's, but I have a hard time imagining having anything else.  There are daily specials - confidential to Sam E - Thursdays is Salisbury Steak Day.  They even offer a $3 corned beef hash - with 2 eggs and toast - for breakfast.  This is one breakfast I might have to get up before breakfast for, as my dad would say. 

So, lunch at Danny's was $25 (2 sandwiches, fried, onion rings, 2 sodas) - at first it seemed high, but then we discussed that the same lunch at the K deli would have been over $40 (no, I'm not joking); furthermore, there is actually a "jawbreaker" sandwich, which we could have easily split - truth be told, we could have split the regular Reuben, and we didn't need the sides at all (at least I didn't).  Half of my sandwich came home in a box to be enjoyed by Husband after work. 

I really wanted to try some of their soups - particularly the matzo ball, which is my penicillin when sick, but it was 90 degrees today by 11:30am.

Service was very friendly and quick, as any downtown spot should be.  If you work downtown, you have no excuse to not rush to Danny's this minute.  Do it!!

Info:  Danny's Deli 37 W Broad Street (entrance on Front St) 614.469.7040