Good Delis in Lakeview/Lincoln Park area -- Do they exist?

I vaguely remember seeing this dicussed on other forums, but haven't seen any conclusive answers. Are there any delis with good sandwiches in the Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville area?

With all the wonderful food in this city, I've always been a bit confused why there are so few good delis. The type of place where you can just go up to a counter and get a great turkey reuben to go. Any suggestions?

How about the Bagel on Broadway?

The Bagel
3107 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
773-477-0300

Samuel's Deli
3463 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
773-525-7018

(Across the street from Treasure Island)

thanks! I'll give both those a shot.

Frances Deli at Clark near Wrightwood...Lincoln Park sandwich (turkey on challah) is great and so is the fried matzah

haven't been to frances', but knowing a little something about good deli, i can say that imho, samuel's is just awful. the bagel is passable but won't knock your socks off.

it is a great mystery to me why there is not more superior deli in chicago, and, specifically, in the lakeview area. seems to me like a license to print money if you do it right.

Ashkenaz Deli in the Gold Coast one block south of the original pancake house (either that or one block north) is a touch better than OK. they have some pretty good soup and sandwhich combos...and frankly it's hard to get good corned beef in that area. i just can't stand the grade of corned beef you get w/a $5 sandwhich at any random sandwhich place. it's horrible!

GardenofEatin wrote:I'm sad to report that Samuel's Deli at Broadway and Roscoe is closed as of today. While I didn't get in as often as I would have liked, it was a neighborhood source for great bagels, cream cheese, and lox.

Am I supposed to eat those horrible puffy pillows other places around my apt. try to pass off as bagels now?

That's really too bad and I'm surprised -- it's been there for such a long time. While I never thought Samuel's was a great deli, I always thought it was pretty good (maybe even great for that neighborhood) and when I used to live over there, I frequently stopped in.

We went to the Bagel on Broadway for lunch yesterday. It was fine. None of us had pastrami. I had their whitefish salad which was very good. Mom had the chopped liver and some cabbage soup, which she liked. DH had lox and eggs, which he didn't comment on. I also got a potato pancake which wasn't very good. The service was fine, though it was noisy and our waitress had a hard time hearing us. The floor was very slippery - as if a film of old grease had collected over time. The bagels seemed fine as well. All came toasted, so who knows if they were very fresh or not? They also had black and white cookies, which I didn't try.

I am quite partial to The Bagel, as I have posted previously. While I do not eat red meat so cannot speak to their Corned Beef or Pastrami, I can speak favorably to several of their traditional Jewish-style foods.

Their Matzo Ball Soup is always as it should be, with the Matzo Ball firm but able to be gently taken apart with a spoon. Not quite feather-light, as my Grandmother's were, but the best I've had in Chicago by far.

The homemade Gefilte Fish is outstanding. Sweet, with a nice firmness.

The Challah is excellent, and a great accompaniment to both the soup and fish.

The Turkey Reuben is very good and alot to eat, though no Turkey Reuben matches up to that served at Ron's Bagel Deli in Suburban Detroit.

The cold fish salads have been uniformly good, with Tuna and Whitefish the best bets.

Areas of edible improvement:

Pickles at The Bagel, and every other Jewish style deli in Chicago, don't have the bite of the pickles I grew up with in Detroit. I don't miss much about the old hometown, but I do miss Topor's and Raskin's Pickles, and find Bubbie's Pickles far better than those at any of the local delis.

Again with the Detroit deli comparison, The Bagel Potato Salad and Cole Slaw could use some Detroit deli help.

Service is variable, as it is at every spot in the North Lincoln Park/Lakeview neighborhood at this price point. Some of their servers are attentive and friendly, while others seem like they would rather be doing anything but their job.