3985 Dutchmans Lane, 897-7570
To me, a delicatessen is more than a restaurant — it’s a lifestyle. While Louisville offers some "delis," I have yet to discover one that emulates the New York/Jewish-style eateries I recall in several locations near my childhood home in Cleveland. They served as neighborhood and family meeting grounds, with predictably long waits, harried waitresses and patrons who were just the opposite — dawdlers. Buckets of pickles greeted me and my sandwiches were built so high that I could hardly place my mouth around them.
So you can imagine my excitement when Herman’s Delicatessen opened in the DuPont area this past May at a former Tumbleweed location. I’d say the deli is off to a promising start in a little-brother-aspiring-to-be-like-his-big-brother way. The big brother in this case is New York — more specifically, Ben’s Best, a New York-based delicatessen that provided guidance to owners Kim and Scott Franklin. There is nothing subtle about Herman’s New York aspirations: Poster-size black-and-white prints of the Big Apple decorate the walls, and New York-based vendors such as Empire Meats, United Pickles, Junior’s and Bagel Talk supply the raw materials.
Herman’s isn’t just about authentic ingredients. It enlisted former Azalea sous chef Stuart Bowman to prepare fresh "hot-plate" entrees, soups, salads and sides. The presentation is pretty straightforward. A deli case full of assorted meats, salads and sides beckons underneath menu boards hanging from the ceiling. Service is cafeteria-style. You’ll be pushed along by others behind you, but don’t forget to grab (when they’re available) a few sour or half-sour pickles, pickled tomatoes, spicy red peppers and a can of Dr. Brown’s soda. There is ample booth seating.
Full sandwiches range from $3.50 (grilled cheese) to $12.45 (lox). Sandwiches are liberally sized (not enormous) and run the gamut from roast beef and turkey to beef tongue and whitefish salad. Breads choices include bagels, hoagie buns, kaiser rolls, marbled rye, rye, seven-grain and sourdough.
A full corned beef on rye ($9.25, $5.62 half) didn’t overwhelm my husband, who wished the rye had been of a "harder" variety. On another visit, however, he couldn’t have been happier with his kosher salami on a kaiser roll ($8.25 full, $5.12 half). I agreed. The marbled, semi-soft rosy red discs presented a salty satisfaction that coupled nicely with sharp cheddar slices and spicy mustard.
For a real flavor jolt, order the half-pastrami sandwich special ($7, including a small cup of coleslaw, a pickle and house-made potato chips). The meat was excellent. Strips of dark, dry-cured brisket with black peppercorn edges presented little fat and retained a moist, spicy flavor. The coleslaw was an average mix of shredded cabbage and carrots dressed in mayonnaise, and the house-made potato chips were greasy to touch but possessed a satisfying salty crunch.
The chopped liver ($7.25 full, $4.62 half) successfully melded chicken and beef livers with caramelized onions into a textured salad laced with hard-boiled egg. With its rich, distinct aftertaste, it can be a great sandwich or salad option. But a word to the uninitiated: This is not finely ground like a pate. It’s gritty and fresh, and the caramelized onion adds a welcome hint of sweetness.
Potato salad ($2.15) blended red pepper and potato chunks together in a mustard-and-relish dressing. It was a bit runny, as if mashed too long. And a heaping bowl of matzo ball soup ($4.50) combined carrot, celery and onion chunks in a robust chicken broth that tasted much sweeter than I’m familiar with. The golf-ball-sized matzo balls were firm, not hard, with the preferred amount of fluff. All in all, the soup exhibited feel-good attributes even a grandmother would enjoy.
The "hot plates" include a spaghetti dinner special ($7) served with three accompanying medium-size kosher beef meatballs, as well as a horseradish meatloaf ($10, including two sides) that had ample kosher ground beef but was light on the horseradish. Herman’s offers cheesecake, brownies, cookies and pies. Unfortunately, I’ve been too full to try any.
Recent lines indicate that patrons seem willing to wait out Herman’s growing pains, which will no doubt ease with time. Bowman says he’s still searching for a quintessential hard, seedless white-rye bread (the provider has been Klosterman’s Bakery Store in Cincinnati). And he’s already scheduled a visit to "Big Brother Ben’s" in New York for some new specialty sandwich ideas. I’m crossing my fingers for a pastrami/corned beef/cole slaw/Russian dressing/Swiss cheese on kaiser roll.