(New) Belden Deli at Clark & Belden

I decided to check out the new Belden Deli that apparently opened last week at Clark & Belden, that I'd spotted and mentioned in the Openings, Closings, Comings & Goings thread yesterday...
Apparently, this one is not connected to the one that opened in the Mallers building and in fact there is a legal dispute over the name.

Went back today... got there around 4pm to pick up a late lunch to go. Traditional Jewish-style deli counter, with baked goods like coffee cakes, smiley face & black/white cookies, etc. as well as bagel bins, plus the coolers with smoked fish, fish salads, deli meats, deli salads and the like. Looked legit. I asked about the bagels, and they come from North Shore Kosher Bakery, as did a lot of the baked goods. Meats were Vienna and Eisenbergs.

Got myself a corned beef sandwich on rye, a 1/2lb. of corned beef and a couple bagels for my wife to make a sandwich when she got back from the pool and have some extra to sample. When I arrived, there were two people in the dining room (one actual customer, and one employee eating) and three people behind the counter. Two were working the registers and one was manning the sandwich slicer station. It took over 10 min. to get my order, when I was the only customer in the place (other than one woman eating). Not sure how it could possibly take so long to slice a pound of corned beef, wrap half and place half between two slices of rye bread before wrapping it... especially since he forgot the mustard I'd asked for! Pretty much as simple a sandwich as they come -- meat, mustard, bread and he forgot one of them. Also didn't include a fork for the cole slaw that came with the sandwich. Fortunately, I was coming home, so I had access to a fork and mustard when I made this discovery, but they had no idea. I'd have been pissed if I got someplace else to eat and was missing those. The sandwich itself was pretty decent. Corned beef was pretty lean, but warm and still moist. I ate part of the second bagel, since I didn't think I'd ever (knowingly) had one from North Shore. Better than Einstein's but not as good as Kaufmann's, New York or Once Upon a Bagel... although maybe it had lost some of it crispiness because it was made nearly 12 hours earlier. I'll reserve final judgement until I get one earlier in the day when they're still super fresh.

I am really curious to see what this place is like late morning on a Saturday or Sunday, when the real deli rush is on. Hope they can figure out how to speed things along because I've been wishing for a deli in the area (other than the Bagel) pretty much as long as I've lived in Lincoln Park. This one's walking distance, but they also have free validated parking for the lot behind, which is handy for when the weather isn't as nice or when picking up larger orders.

Belden Deli
2301 N. Clark St.
Chicago IL 60614

Belden Deli here. The employee responsible for your missing fork was fired. Ok, not really, but I appreciate your comments. No excuses on slow service, there was a shift change at 4pm so I see how your order slipped through the cracks.

Correction: Bagels are indeed from fellow displaced New Yorker New York Bagel & Bialy. Breads come from North Shore Bakery.

We've been open for just under two weeks. For most restaurants with standard menu size, they would open for one meal period until they got it right. With this kind of operation, we did not have that luxury. We have a massive menu and are open from 7am - 9pm, so mistakes in service will be more noticable, yet they are dwindling day by day.

Aside from a huge menu, nearly everything is made in house: corned beef, roast turkey, roast beef, brisket, tongue, all the meat/fish salads, every soup, etc. Only core items that are not housemade are smoked fishes and smoked meats/salamis. We are very high on quality of the food. If you are not satisfied we want to know. Period.

I appreciate your patience and know that we are in it for the long haul.

Welcome Deli Lama. I have many happy memories of eating in the original Belden Deli (both the old and the new). I'm looking forward to trying your restaurant the next time I'm in Lincoln Park. Are you in any way related to the original Belden Deli?

Are you saying that you make your own corned beef in house, rather then using Vienna? That's great news, if true. How about the pastrami? I can't wait to get over thee to check out the new/old deli.

Corned beef is from Eisenberg. Comes in raw and we cook them here.

No relation to the old Belden nor the upstart "Belden" at 5 S Wabash. Regardless of what people are saying, the "Belden" name was NEVER trademarked and was legally abandoned here for appx 15 years. We secured the name legally and a relative of the last owners of the Belden decided to use the name anyway, in spite of our request not to or face suit. Sigh.

Deli Lama wrote:No relation to the old Belden nor the upstart "Belden" at 5 S Wabash. Regardless of what people are saying, the "Belden" name was NEVER trademarked and was legally abandoned here for appx 15 years. We secured the name legally and a relative of the last owners of the Belden decided to use the name anyway, in spite of our request not to or face suit. Sigh.

If this does go to court, hopefully the judge will have Google Maps handy when making his decision...seems like a Belden Deli located at Clark & Belden makes way more sense than a Belden Deli located at Wabash & Madison.

I don't live far from your place, and look forward to giving it a shot soon.

The employee responsible for your missing fork was fired.

And all is right in the world.

Khaopaat wrote:If this does go to court, hopefully the judge will have Google Maps handy when making his decision...seems like a Belden Deli located at Clark & Belden makes way more sense than a Belden Deli located at Wabash & Madison.

Makes as much sense as one located at Howard and Western.

midas wrote:
Makes as much sense as one located at Howard and Western.

At least the one at Haward and Western was a branch of the original. There was also one in Deerfield and maybe one or two others at their zenith.

It's killing me, but I can't remember the name of the deli that used to be in this spot years ago...

Max's.

Was Max's what it was when the new complex first went up? Was not it something else first?

Vital Information wrote:Was Max's what it was when the new complex first went up? Was not it something else first?

Yes. It was The Belden Deli.

I had lunch there today. I'll post details later.

stevez wrote:

Vital Information wrote:Was Max's what it was when the new complex first went up? Was not it something else first?

Yes. It was The Belden Deli.

I had lunch there today. I'll post details later.

When they tore down the mall with Jewel/Belden and put in Tower, was the deli that went in the ground floor Max's? Was there another deli between Max's and Ranali's.

Vital Information wrote:

stevez wrote:

Vital Information wrote:Was Max's what it was when the new complex first went up? Was not it something else first?

Yes. It was The Belden Deli.

I had lunch there today. I'll post details later.

When they tore down the mall with Jewel/Belden and put in Tower, was the deli that went in the ground floor Max's? Was there another deli between Max's and Ranali's.

I'm pretty sure that the Belden Deli was in the Max's space right after the building opened for at least a year or two before it closed and was reborn as Max's.

Trying once again to disprove the "You can't go home again" axiom, I had lunch today at the new Belden Deli. The layout of the new Belden is quite a bit different than the original. For one thing, there is limited table service. Rather, you order at the counter and then a server delivers your order when it's ready.

Step Right Up and Place Your Order








I ordered a bowl of kreplach soup and a reuben. The soup was clearly made in house and was pretty good, if a bit on the bland side.

Belden Deli Kreplach Soup


The reuben was served on marble rye with a cornmeal crust and included a crisp new pickle. Most of the baked goods appeared to come from North Shore Bakery except the bagels which, as we've been told, are from GNR New York Bagel & Bialy. Both the bread and the corned beef were pretty good. The corned beef wasn't too lean and contained just enough fat to keep the meat juicy. Thousand Island dressing and a cup of what I think was house made slaw was served on the side. I really enjoyed the reuben, but next time I may take the advice of the person who took my order and get only 1/2 sandwich if having a bowl of soup, too.

Belden Deli Reuben


The menu is really large and covers all of the deli bases, including a pretty extensive selection for breakfast. I'll be back to work my way through the menu for sure. I still believe that you can't go home again, but this new Belden Deli is doing a lot that is right. It's certainly one of the better delis on the north side.

P.S. If Deli Lama is paying attention to this thread, I, too had an issue with silverware. Although I was presented with a spoon to eat my soup, there was no knife with which to spread butter (which is also not provided, but is available at the condiment bar) on the bread that was served with my soup. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to deliver a full setup when first bringing food to the table.

Belden Deli
2301 N. Clark St.
Chicago IL 60614
773-929-6674

I stopped in for lunch today. Had a "nosh" portion of the corned beef sandwich (basically a half sandwich). I thought the corned beef had a lot of potential. It's just a hair too lean, but the flavor is really good.

I also ordered a "nosh" portion of the gefilte fish. Unfortunately the fish wasn't yet properly chilled (found out after ordering) so they offered to substitute anything else for me. I went with the whitefish salad which was also very good.

On a somewhat random note, they have all of these random Yiddish words painted on the walls, which I thought was sort of bizarre.

I'd say this place is a perfectly viable alternative to The Bagel and is a great addition to the neighborhood. Looking forward to seeing them come into their own.

jesteinf wrote:I also ordered a "nosh" portion of the gefilte fish. Unfortunately the fish wasn't yet properly chilled (found out after ordering) so they offered to substitute anything else for me.

Warm gefilte fish, just out of the cooking liquid is a real treat in its own right. You should have gone for it.

Stopped in on Sunday evening for dinner carry-outs similar my order to last time... a corned beef sandwich, 1/2lb. of sliced corned beef and 2 soups. Again took an inexplicably long time to prepare given the order, and a nearly empty dining room -- there were maybe 4-5 tables. The food itself was very good. The sweet & sour cabbage soup was the best I've had other than Max's in Highland Park (my benchmark) and my wife said the matzoh ball soup was much better than the Bagel. Corned beef is good and they did remember the mustard this time

I still didn't get a fork for the coleslaw, however... clearly some more heads must roll, Deli Lama! JK, but there are still some rough edges with the service end... I really hope these are improved because I really want to see Belden Deli last. You have no idea how long I've wished for a good Jewish style deli in the neighborhood...

While not a red meat eater, I love traditional Jewish-style delis. Since coming to Chicago, northern Lincoln Park specifically, almost eight years ago, my go-to has been the Bagel. While it isn't one of the great old delis from my youth in Detroit (Irving's in Hamtramck then Southfield, Ron Forman's Bread Basket in Oak Park, Sol's on Seven Mile, Billie's on Livernois, Alvin's on Six Mile), it is does a more than serviceable job in putting out tasty old-school Jewish deli favorites. To the contrary, I've never warmed to Frances'.

Now, after an initial visit last night, I can only say that Belden Deli will most definitely give the Bagel a run for their money, and will have a definite impact on the erratically scheduled Frances'.

The Chicken and Vegetable Soup was outstanding, loaded with both Chicken and Vegetables, neither too salty nor too greasy. For my entree on a hot night, I tried their cold salad sampler plate, and was more than satisfied with all five scoops on the plate - Smoked Whitefish Salad, Low-fat Tuna Salad, Salmon Salad, Potato Salad and Cole Slaw.

Service, which seems to have been an issue for some so far was just fine. The young lady who took my order needed a minute to figure out how to charge me the extra buck for my salad choices, but the food runner was efficient and asked more than once if I was doing ok, and one of the owners came by to each table to ask on the experience.

Would I have liked a little bread basket and maybe a pickle on the salad plate to compliment the tomato, cucumber and hard-boiled egg? Sure. But that's small stuff after a very good experience.

I'm looking forward to coming back again soon to the Belden.

jesteinf wrote:I also ordered a "nosh" portion of the gefilte fish. Unfortunately the fish wasn't yet properly chilled (found out after ordering) so they offered to substitute anything else for me. I went with the whitefish salad which was also very good.

This may have been a blessing in disguise. I finally got to try the gefilte fish today and it was terrible. Just way too bland. Not even gobs of horseradish could perk this stuff up.

I expanded my menu at the Belden Deli a couple of nights ago and again came away with a very good experience. To start with what many have expressed concern with, my service experience was fine. The order taker was fine, I got my soup before my hot sandwich as asked, and the food runner was pleasant and asked on my experience a couple of times.

I tried the Matzo Ball Soup and found it quite good. The broth was neither salty nor greasy, and the the matzo ball cut nicely. The matzo ball was very well seasoned, and is much better than the Bagel's.

For my entree, I tried the Turkey Pastrami Reuben, and was very pleased. Good bread, good meat and alot of sauerkraut below the open-faced melted cheese. This time I got that pickle I was expecting the first visit, and while not as good as the Topor's brand from Detroit, good nonetheless.

Overall, a second good experience, and I anticipate future visits.

PSA - Went to Belden Deli for lunch today and found this...

jesteinf wrote:PSA - Went to Belden Deli for lunch today and found this...

One of the owners (not the "rugallach guy"). Not sure that they'll re-open.

AaronSinger wrote:One of the owners (not the "rugallach guy"). Not sure that they'll re-open.

My heart goes out to the family. But why is their reopening in doubt? (Perhaps an intrusive question, but you've opened the door to it with your public conjecture.)

riddlemay wrote:

AaronSinger wrote:One of the owners (not the "rugallach guy"). Not sure that they'll re-open.

My heart goes out to the family. But why is their reopening in doubt? (Perhaps an intrusive question, but you've opened the door to it with your public conjecture.)

My uncle lives next door to the rugelach guy (sorry, I forget his name). I think he said that they're filing for bankruptcy, though were hoping to open with a much smaller staff. His successful rugelach business (I know that he sells to Max's in Highland Park, among other places) would be unaffected.

Just got an email from Groupon regarding the $10 for $20 deal I'd bought a couple months ago... it stated that Belden Deli is out of business and provided info on getting a refund from Groupon. Too bad that a much needed addition to the neighborhood was hit with misfortune.

I am really surprised they went out of business/bankrupt so quickly. It has only been a few months.
I wonder what happens to the lawsuit over the name now.

Bonnie_Blue wrote:I am really surprised they went out of business/bankrupt so quickly. It has only been a few months.
I wonder what happens to the lawsuit over the name now.

I think the only reason they went out of business so quickly was the death of (one of) the owner(s).

stevez wrote:I think the only reason they went out of business so quickly was the death of (one of) the owner(s).

I went by a week or two ago and it said that they were closed for 2 weeks due to a death in the family. There was no date on the notice, so not sure when they initially shut down, but makes sense that this could have caused the permanent suspension of operations. Sad for their loss and (more selfishly) sad to lose a business of this type in the neighborhood.