Location: 27 Court St., Binghamton, NY 13901
Phone: (607) 722-5265
Cuisine: Deli
Attire: Casual
Price: Less than $10 per person
Review:
My first visit to the Old World Delicatessen occurred a long time ago. A fact about me, little-known to many people--even those who know me relatively well--is that I used to work in downtown Binghamton for a short period. During that time, Old World Deli was one of my favorite lunch spots. A coworker and I used to split subs from there, which made for a good, cheap lunch. In particular, we were fond of the meatball parmigiana sub.
A long period of time has gone by since and I more or less forgot about the Old World Deli. It isn't often that Megan and I drive into downtown on Court St. Today, I decided I would try out Curry's of India for their lunch buffet, which comes highly recommended by one of my loyal readers. To my chagrin, I get to Curry's only to learn that they aren't open Mondays. Hey restaurant owners: let me present a very basic equation to you. Having a website = good. You can put your hours on there, even your menu! What a novel idea.
So I look up the block and there's the Old World Deli. Feeling mildly nostalgic, I decide to give it a go. The place is a lot larger than I had remembered it, with about 15 tables lining the wall parallel to the counter where you place your order and pay. Otherwise, it's a pretty typical deli. They have a fairly basic menu with all the usual sandwich/sub options, but also have a board with specials they're offering that day, and some "signature" items. I remember getting a sandwich called the "Campus Special" there before which I believe consisted of corned beef, cole slaw, and Russian dressing. That was some tasty stuff. But since I just had a reuben for lunch yesterday, I elected to go with what I had liked so much in my younger days...the 6" meatball parm on an Italian sub roll.
It was prime lunch hour (12:30) so I had to wait in a bit of a line, but it moved quickly. More problematic is that once I got my sandwich, I had to wait for about 5 minutes at the register for the cashier to ring me out. I think one of the other patrons was given the wrong sandwich by mistake and the cashier was off sorting out the error. Not being in a rush, I didn't care too much, though if I had been working downtown on a half-hour lunch break I probably would've been annoyed. At any rate, I was finally able to pay and sat down to enjoy the sub. Would it be as good as I remembered it?
Indeed it was. The meatballs had a very nice flavor and the cheese was perfectly melted on top. The bread was quite tasty as well, though I prefer the bread I got at the Full Belly Deli in Vestal a couple weeks back. For only a 6" sub I found it to be quite filling, way more filling than the 8" sub I got at the Full Belly. And for less than $5, I found it to be an excellent value.
Old World Deli isn't going to blow you away, but it's a good, inexpensive option for lunch in the heart of downtown Binghamton. I give it a solid recommendation, and hopefully I'll make it back there again before another five years goes by.
Grade: B
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