Supermercado Sandy Spectacular: New York

Back in the day, I took Colorado-area supermarkets to the test, twice, in the grand Supermercado Sandy Spectacular, wherein I compared the Big Three Denver deli offerings: King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons.

As it turns out, New York City has supermarkets too, and they, too, house deli counters. As logic dictates, they PWN. Here's why:

• Quality: Two words: Boar's Head. The meat 'n' cheese gold standard, sold at a premium in Colorado, is simply the standard in NY. This means you know what you're getting, and the getting's good.


• Variety: We're not talking turkey, ham, roast beef and salami. We're talking turkey, cracked pepper turkey, mesquite turkey, pastrami turkey and Salsalito turkey. Bread, too — think Kaiser rolls, heroes, crusty, soft, big, small, etc.


• Freshness: Like sushi, good deli is fresh deli. If you get a sandy in a New York supermarket, they carve the fillings up thin off the slab. Say no to pre-sliced, pre-weighed plastic-and-wax-paper-packaged piles of cheese.

Real world example

Today, via Key Food, I enjoyed a buffalo chicken and pepper jack sandwich on challah with tomatoes and spicy mustard. Oh, it was good. The mustard was expertly spread on the inner bun. The cheese was razor thin. The bread was sweet and oh, the kick, the kick of the chili peppered fillings. Magic for under five bucks (graciously donated by It's What's Between's new traffic guru/tour guide Justin following my unfortunate separation from my wallet in a Puerto Rican gas station). Hells yes.