Best Delicatessen '95

Best Delicatessen

Feig's Kosher Foods
5071 E. Fifth St.

READERS' PICK: Sure there may be good sausage in town, and good knockwurst, too. But when you're looking for a sandwich from the Kosher side of New York, Feig's does it well. There is nothing else in Tucson like a Feig's Kosher pastrami sandwich on good, sour rye bread--crust with bite, dense, moist texture, caraway seeds, hot mustard, all holding warm, marbled meat from pickle-cured baked brisket, with just the slightest bit of sweet glaze, as lean as you can get it. A wedge of a Kosher garlic pickle and potato salad on the side are almost unnecessary. The salami's aged, crinkle-skinned and regular Best's chubs, and the pickled tongue and smoked turkey breasts are Hebrew National, and that's as good as you're going to find just about anywhere west of the Hudson and this far south of Delancey Street.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Jason's Deli, 5420 E. Broadway.

STAFF PICK: Walk into Tony's New York-Style Italian Deli and you're transported--not to Italy but to Little Italy, complete with real live New Yorkers serving up a wide array of tasty and filling fare. Located in the hinterland of East 22nd Street and Wilmot Road, Tony's is a haven for those who are repulsed by dry turkey sandwiches, sparse salads or other such allegedly healthy yet boring "food." Tony's is the land of juicy, meat-stuffed monster sandwiches, pizzas overflowing with thick, tasty cheese and generous toppings, as well as pastas galore, all served fresh and to order. Enjoy life. Have a tasty, filling, leisurely meal. Take a nap. Get thee to Tony's.

1998 Winner: Tie: Time Market + Feig's Kosher Foods
1997 Winner: Jason's Deli
1996 Winner: Feig's Kosher Foods