Our cheap eats correspondent Kristy Alpert has been scouring Dallas for some great tasting deals. Today she finds a deal, but feels her $8 could have been spent better elsewhere. Here’s Kristy:
For my $8 lunch this week I headed out to Cindi’s N.Y. Delicatessen in Carrollton. I’d heard rave reviews about the Reuben, but unfortunately you can’t get that for eight bucks, so I was hoping to try the “poor man’s version” of the sandwich. Although there’s a location right down the street from where I live in Dallas, I ever-so-graciously decided to meet a good friend for her lunch hour near her office in the ‘burbs.
Partly because I’m an amazingly skilled driver (READ: fast) and partly because I was jonesing for a good sammich, I showed up a bit early. The place didn’t totally give off that “deli” feel that I’m used to finding in New York, or even Dallas for that matter, but I took a seat in a booth near the rest of the lunch crowd bunch to get some good eavesdropping in while I waited for my friend to show up. While the atmosphere of the place didn’t scream deli, the clientele sure did. In true form, most of the crowd was made up of elderly people dining alone and disgruntled co-workers bashing bosses and ex-husbands (I swear I heard the same conversation bounce around three different tables: “my ex-husband never took me dancing,” “for once I want a boss who doesn’t micro-manage,” etc.).
But I digress. Jump for the rest.
Although most menu items start around $9 or so, there are a few things below the $8 mark. Hoping to get as close to a Reuben as possible, I went with a half hot pastrami with chips on the side ($7.25) — the waitress recommended I that I skip the potato salad and coleslaw without a reason. And they call themselves a New York delicatessen? My friend ordered the lunch special with a half chicken salad sandwich and a cup of vegetable soup ($6.95).
My hot pastrami sandwich was just that: a sandwich. The rye bread, pulled from a loaf wrapped in a commercial cellophane package was smothered with (generic) spicy mustard and packed with loads of pastrami. The pastrami was tender and moist, I found myself eating each piece that strayed from the bread as I lifted it from the plate. There’s nothing worse than deli meat that’s too thick or too tough, and this fell apart with each bite; good on’ya Cindi’s. I didn’t really touch the chips much, but the slightly sour pickle (also not homemade) was great!
The chicken salad sandwich came out looking like a scoop of chunky vanilla ice cream between two pieces of rye bread. My friend seemed to enjoy it, but the ratio of mayonnaise to chicken was skewed. Too much mayonnaise and not enough chicken.
Overall: The sandwiches were average. The portions were smaller than I expected, but if you’re looking for a quick, inexpensive deli fix, or want to just go somewhere to bad-mouth the people in your life, Cindi’s is the place for you.
2001 Midway Rd. Suite 132, Carrollton, TX 75006 (multiple locations)
Well Dishers? Where should I go next for my $8 lunch?
