I can’t believe how long it has taken me to review this place. I mean, dead grass and leaves starting to come back.. hell.. long sleeve shirts were still appropriate daytime attire.  Now it’s consistently in the 90′s and humid enough to swim.  I’m on the brink of growing gills. Tangents about my lax writing schedule aside, I digress.  I’ve dropped by numerous times for the shrimp Po Boy. Shrimp is always perfectly cooked, light layer of mayo on a semi crusty bread.  Crisp lettuce and fresh tomatoes.  Drop some hot sauce on the Po Boy and it’s the best Po Boy I’ve had in Tampa (to be fair, I’ve found very few places that offer shrimp Po Boys).

The prices aren’t too high, but it’s not cheap either.  The quality of the food outweighs any misgivings I might have had though. Coworkers have told me about how good their beignets are, but it’s something I’ve yet to try. I keep wanting to try their Jambalaya and Gumbo, but the draw of a perfectly made Po Boy keeps me from straying. The decor is fun, but I’ve never been to New Orleans.. so I can’t really comment on how it relates to that. Cozy atmosphere and servers have always been friendly.

I give it a Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Excellent Po Bo, but I’ve yet to try anything else out.

After several fruitless years of searching in vain for a good deli in Tampa, a beacon of delicious light was shined upon me today after going out for a bite on my coworker Rob’s whim; Wright’s Gourmet House.  Eating at Wright’s left me feeling all Biblical and shit, wanting to quote scripture (of course I needed to look it up using Google with the keyword ‘good’) to describe my state of being, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

My my my, doesn’t that look mouth wateringly good?  On the left is Wright’s ‘New Yorker’, a plus-sized samich served with Corned Beef, Pastrami, Genoa salami, Provolone, and red onions on Rye with mustard. Each bite was like a little taste of heaven in this deli scarce land, as the explosion of perfectly brined and cooked meats married perfectly with spot-on Rye and Provolone. Every bite brought all of us a little closer to Nirvana, that or the sun was starting to addle my brain.  On the right is Wright’s ‘California Reuben’ served with Corned Beef (instead of Turkey), cole slaw, Jarlsberg cheese, 1000 Island dressing on Rye. Dan went ‘halvsies’ with me so that we could bask in multiple deliciousnesses.

Don’t mistake me for a heat-stroked fan-boy, the Star Delicatessen in Southfield, MI forever holds my heart with the best corned beef I have ever eaten. Despite Wright’s corned beef not quite attaining the Star Deli’s stature in my taste buds they did bring me one step closer to home with their Zingerman’s-esque sandwiches.

Rob ordered their Cuban, which is a local-award winner, with a ‘shot’ of Texas Caviar (a salad primarily composed of Black Eyed Peas) and an Iced Tea.  He spoke highly of each item he ate.

Despite my constant gushing in this review, I do have one complaint: the Dill Potato Salad. I think this was due to me ordering it despite not knowing the constituents of the ‘salad.’ In my esteemed opinion fresh dill, potatoes, sour cream and mayonnaise do not a good potato salad make.  I tried several bites to see if I could overcome my palate and find the goodness in this dish.  Each bite would start off tasting alright, and remind me of a mediocre potato salad. However, as each bite worked its way through my taste buds I would be left with a flavor that was reminiscent of a Dentist’s office, or as Dan put it, “It tasted like how Band-aids smell.” (*Editor’s Note: I really felt that it tasted like garbage. Hands down the worst potato salad I’ve ever had. -Native)

(the culprit)

All bitching aside, they had delectable cookies and a great selection of soda pop you won’t find many other places (I need to make a bitching caveat, they didn’t have any Dr. Brown Black Cherry Soda, arguably one of the best sodas known to man and yet they had Dr. Brown Cream Soda. What? Who does that?).

Normally I start off with pictures of the restaurant before the food.  I do this because you experience the restaurant well before you see and eat your food.  In this case, the food called out to be shown first. The food merited a great review and earned Rating: 4 out of 5 stars . Had I ordered a traditional potato salad or probably any other salad that rating would likely be higher.  I’m definitely going back for another visit.

-Matt in Tampa

3552 Meridian Crossings Drive
Okemos, MI 48864-6916
(517) 853-1100

Food Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars – I love these sandwiches
Service Rating: 4 out of 5 stars – Got my food quick, and everybody was friendly. What more can you ask for?
Atmosphere Rating: 3 out of 5 stars – I hardly spend any time inside. Can’t think of anything good or bad.
Price Rating: 4 out of 5 stars – While the prices are high, the food to price ratio is well within reason.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars – Only reason I don’t eat there every day is it is about a half hour round trip.

Like corned beef? Go to State Side Deli. Before you whine about the prices, look at what you get for it. That isn’t a goddamned sandwich, it is the goddamned Battle of the Bulge in a box.

I love me a ruben (and friends) sandwich. This is probably my second favorite ruben-class sandwich I’ve had in the Lansing area (the first is the Super Reuben at The Irish Pub…but I was drunk when I had it, so my judgment may be a bit off). Anyway, the State Side Deli doesn’t shit around. You get PLENTY of their delicious corned beef all up in your sandwich.

There isn’t really anything wrong with the sandwich, which in turn makes it a great sandwich since it is so hard to find a really good sandwich in a restaurant. I had plenty of sauce, slaw, etc with none of them over abundant. And if I did need anything else, everyone I’ve dealt with there was pretty friendly, so I’m sure I could have gotten it. You can check out their delicious menu online.

So, after I ate this sandwich I was pleasantly surprised to find a pickle wedge hiding underneath like I wouldn’t find it. Pickle, you can’t hide from me. I love pickles. And since the sandwich took up the whole box, I really didn’t know it was there until I finished. I propose we start saying the phrase “Like finding a pickle underneath a good sandwich” instead of “Like finding money in an old coat”

Finally, I had a slice of the something-layered cake. Forgot the number. It was given to me free of charge in hopes of a good review. While I am appreciative, and can usually be bought, there was no need sir. No need. Mmmmm, free cake.

On the advice of a friend, AJ Glaub a musician in the Lansing area, Dan, our friend Phil, and I decided to grab a hung-over samich from the State Side Deli.  A quick perusal of their menu shows you that the State Side Deli fills in a lacking portion of Lansing cuisine, a genuine Deli.  The Detroit area is littered with great Delis and it’s only fitting that the owners of the Bread Basket Deli’s in Detroit made their way west towards the capital.  So, back to the Twin Tag-Team for this review!

Matt:  This joint has a nice aesthetic to it; lots of stainless steel, Michigan State University’s green and white, and clean. The place is fairly small, only 6 or 7 tables and on each table is spicy brown mustard and plain mustard.  As you can see in the picture below I’ve ordered the requisite Dr. Brown’s Black Cherry soda.  I buy one every time I get a ‘deli’ samich if given the chance.  One of the most underrated sodas in my opinion (Top 3 Underrated Soda Pop flavors: 1. Dr. Brown’s Black Cherry, 2. Stewart’s Key Lime, and 3. Jones’ Peachy Keen which is now ‘retired’. Runner up: Jones’ Orange Soda.)

Matt:  I ended up ordering the number 51, Stateside’s Ultimate sandwich which weighs in at 1 and a half pounds of corned beef.   The samich came with a side of Russian Dressing and frankly was a chore to muscle down, but I went at it with gusto.  To be frank, I think the Stateside Deluxe (Corned beef, cole slaw, and Russian dressing) looked better as the components were much better balanced.  The Ultimate really is a monster of meat to plow through and I had to finish it off by coating the meat with some Russian dressing.  Unless you’re really craving a boat of corned beef, I’d stick with one of State Side Deli’s normal samiches.

Dan: Phil and I opted for the Deluxe.  Their corned beef is nice and lean (and not stringy), the coleslaw tasted like it was made fresh.  I wish the bread was a little tougher, but that’s just a minor kvetch. Easily the best corned beef sandwich I’ve had in the greater Lansing area.  While it might seem a little pricey for a sammich, it’s well worth it.  They pile the meat on and decent corned beef isn’t that easy to find.

Dan’s rating Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.  This was just a jaunt over for a quick bite and ended up being a very pleasant surprise.  If you are craving some deli food head on over and grab a sandwich.  Definitely worth the cost.  Nice clean place, and really excellent corned beef.

Matt:  My only odd note to include is this, Why Are Melting Moments Products Being Used?  I think it’s odd that State Side Deli would pass up using ice cream from the MSU Dairy Store, it’s local and it’s some of the best ice cream I’ve had.  Other than that I think the State Side Deli is on the right track and definitely merits a visit if you’re in the mood for a great deli samich.

Matt’s rating Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Dan’s rating Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

-Matt and Dan in Okemos, MI