On a shelf just below the counter at Deli Desires where customers place orders and pick up their food is a row of boxes of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. I mention it because that may very well be the only kosher item in the place.
Not that Deli Desires is trying to pass itself off as a traditional kosher deli. How could they when the second item on the menu board, just beneath the Jewish staple latke, is a bacon sandwich?
It isn’t the only thing that seems out of place. Consider the shelves off to one side with some other items the deli sells along with the prepared foods where you’ll find an array of bitters and maraschino cherries over a selection of sardine pate and squid in ragout. Or maybe you need a gallon jug of white vinegar. I suppose there are stranger compulsive purchases.
But let’s get back to that bacon sandwich, which at first seemed as though it would be the standard issue breakfast item from any corner bodega in New York. And it even looked like one when I unwrapped it at home. (Deli Desires does not offer on-premise dining.) But this one was somewhat elevated, served on a toasted but soft onion bialy slathered with jalapeno infused cream cheese, topped with thick rashers of chewy bacon and an egg. But instead of an omeletized egg that you might expect, this one still had an oozy yolk. I loved it like that, though I might have thought differently if I was trying to eat it with one hand while walking down the street. That yolk would not have been funny.
I also had DD’s version of a Reuben, another onion bialy base with brown mustard, sauerkraut with caraway seeds peeking out of the top of the roll, a stack of corned beef and melted muenster cheese. It was a delicious sandwich and after just one bite I regretted that I had agreed to share half of it with my companion.
Deli Desires offers a peck of pickles and I selected the peppers. They were more an item to add as a topping to a sandwich that something you’d nibble on. And while I appreciated the spiciness, I didn’t see three bucks of value in the container. Frankly, I could have gotten a jug of vinegar and made my own.
Online ordering was simple, and guests can choose a pickup time. I went with the first available – 22 minutes – and had to wait less than five past the designated time. The young staff keeps things moving along and seem happy with what they’re doing.
Why wouldn’t they?
Deli Desires is at 715 N. Fern Creek Ave., Orlando (map). It is open for breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Sunday. The phone number is 407-250-5333.
