Taili's Blog: "Deli"s

This is a traditional Chinese new year ceremony:

Birthday of Sky God(天公生)

Happy Chinese New Year!

Nate'n Al

There's a very nice outdoor area,

the original one is in Beverly Hills.

Good draft beers.

Pickled cucumbers, tomatoes and sauerkraut.

Reuben sandwich and coleslaw salad.

You can choose pastrami or corned beef in your Reuben.

Pastrami is fatter and corned beef is drier.

The one in Brent's put twice as much meat in it,

plus a big bunch of fat steamy French fries.

We usually just share one with a pint of creamy Guinness and still get stuffed.

This one is from Brent's.

Potato salad.

Very delicious apple strudel.

Giant ice cream. (For my Taiwanese standard.)

Not a bad deal for three people but not cheap for usual Deli standard.

Got to be more snobbish because it's from Beverly Hills?

***

The very first time I tried this type of food was in Paris, then Jerusalem, then New York, then CA.

Didn't like it so much at first because it's so different than anything I'm used to. Later I became more and more fond of it.

The one in Paris is located in the famous Marais area, the dishes they served here were more like a mixture of all types of Middle Eastern or even Greek stuff. If you walk some little alleys toward La Seine, among some Chinese bookstores, tea rooms, English book store, there's also a bunch of stands or eateries or restaurants where you can find Arabian style snacks or dishes. On a fine sunny day, you can just wonder around, stop anytime you want, read some books, nibble on different kinds of snacks from all over the world, along with the pleasant view of the sun shinning on the river, beautiful bridges, and people who linger on along the shore.

In Jerusalem, however, apart from the unbearable breakfast which contains a lot of fish, (Sorry, I don't like fish too much and especially not for breakfast.) the delicious Falafel and Blintz, the impressive city which was rebuilt after the 6 day war and still looks like a very ancient golden castle, the only thing I remember is the fresh squeezed water melon juice. That's probably because back then I was living in Paris and I missed this typical Taiwanese summer drink so much!

In New York, I like best the Bagels. There's one small hand make bagel place near my sister's first house in Queens, selling also all kinds of spreads. The structure and strength of the dough when you break it apart and when you chew on it is absolutely impeccable.

In CA, near Dan's mother's house in Thousand Oaks, there's more and more "Deli"s opening, and the quality's also improving a lot. The one above is the newest, but Brent's is the one we are going all the time since years.

These three dishes below are from Brent's, this restaurant is known for their very big menu and portions. Good from breakfast to dinner.