The Downtown Deli Diagnosis - Part 3: Between the Bread

Blogger's Note - After a brief hiatus, welcome back to our survey of the CBD sandwich shops. And just in case, here are links to Part 1 and Part 2.

Today we take a look at Between the Bread, a newcomer to the downtown deli scene located on St. Charles across from Lafayette Square. The space is extremely inviting - vaulted ceilings allow for balcony eating upstairs and tall windows offer plenty of natural light. The menu is simple: soups, salad, and sandwiches. You can check for the daily specials on their blog. Order at the counter and wait for your name to be called.

Triple B, the Coonhunter, and I all ordered sandwiches on our first visit, and not one of us left disappointed. The bread is of the typical sliced genre but much taller, and you can have your choice of sourdough, whole wheat, rye, or multi grain. As you can see from the Coonhunter's main street sandwich with turkey and bacon, all of the deli meats are sliced paper thin.

The "market chicken salad" is a medley of sizable chunks of white meat, dried cranberries, relish and egg mixed held together by a mixture of cream cheese and sour cream. For all you people with an aversion to mayo (and I am sometimes one of them), this is the chicken salad for you. One of the best specimens out there.

Why have I not seen this before? BLT/PC - bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pimento cheese. The homemade PC is creamy and not overwhelmed by the peppers, and when you match that with the salty crunch from the bacon, you get a great sandwich. Brilliant!

Sandwiches come with kettle chips, but you can swap for potato or pasta salad for a buck. The most expensive choice on the menu is the smoked salmon salad for a whopping $9.

Between the Bread - Birdie

The Downtown Deli Diagnosis - Part 2: The Store

Blogger's Note - Welcome to Part 2 of our in-depth survey of the CBD sandwich shops. Here's a link to Part 1 in case you missed it.

Often after a weekend replete with booze and rich food, I like to start off the week with a salad as a small step in the name of good health. When that time comes, I almost always head over to The Store. I despise boring, bland iceberg lettuce, which is usually the default greenery at most lunch counters where salads take a backseat to the rest of the menu. Not at The Store, where spring mix or arugula serve as the base for everything from Shrimp Nicoise (above) to the classic Chopped Cobb (below). And it's not just the lettuce. Everything, from the avocado and tomatoes to the roast turkey breast and boiled shrimp are high quality ingredients.

The hits keep on coming when it comes to sandwiches at The Store. I'm one of those "it's just a sandwich" people who usually doesn't see the point in paying $8 for a simple sandwich that I can easily make for myself at home, so I appreciate when a deli serves me something other than Boar's Head turkey on wheat. Pulled pork, basil-marinated mozzarella, caramelized onion spread - all ingredients not found in my fridge but readily available at The Store. I also appreciate a good potato salad, and their green onion version is a fine example.

Just like most other downtown sandwich shops, The Store runs daily specials (I've only had Wednesday's pulled pork hash over baked macaroni - it's very good) as well as an everyday special of shrimp and grits. The line is usually long, but this is still a place where you can be in and out in less than 40 minutes, which leaves just enough time to stop and chat with the numerous acquaintances whom you will inevitably run into. There are so many lawyers in this place during lunch that owner BJ Laws should start hosting CLEs. The food alone would be worth the registration price.

The Store - Birdie

The Downtown Deli Diagnosis - Part 1: Welty's

Blogger's Note: Here is a diagram of my thought process on Monday morning:

Monday --> Start of the work week --> What's for lunch today? --> It's Monday, so I have a lot of work to do and need somewhere quick near my office --> My office is downtown --> "When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go... downtown" --> Seinfeld is still the greatest sitcom of all time

When you're working downtown and need a quick lunch, you usually duck into the corner sandwich shop. But which ones are worth waiting in line for? Welcome to the Downtown Deli Diagnosis, the new Monday series on Blackened Out aimed at you captains of the cubicle. Over the next month or so, we'll start off the week with a review of one of the more popular CBD lunch spots, and at the end we'll take a vote on who's the best. Feel free to play along by commenting on your likes and dislikes of each week's feature. First up...

When you eat lunch at Welty's, one thing is for certain: you will not leave hungry. Just look at the stack of corned beef on that reuben. Ham, turkey, roast beef - they are all piled high on your choice of bread and served with a pile of kettle chips. Tina Welty works the register in the front while her husband Donald runs the kitchen right behind her. It's a family affair - the kind of place where the woman takes your order and says, "Thank you, baby."

Feel like a muffuletta? No problem. Only want 1/2 muffuletta? Sorry, you can only get a whole, and it'll cost you a hefty $9 for a sandwich that can feed 4 people. Or try the New Orleans AK with your choice of 4 meats and 4 cheeses on toasted muffuletta bread.

The menu only has 6 or so sandwiches and even fewer salads, but the daily specials usually look and sound like the best choices. Every day there is a special salad, sandwich, and entree, and you can even check them out online before you go. One day it might be the above 12" bratwurst, the next maybe a plate of fettuccine alfredo topped with paneed chicken.

Other idiosyncrasies include a delicious creole potato salad and a lagniappe bar where you can dress your sandwich your way with a wide range of toppings. (I know, it seems inconsequential, but I appreciate the no hassle opportunity to get extra pickles, honey mustard, and horseradish mayo without feeling guilty about slowing down service.) The german chocolate brownies in the display case look heavenly, but I only reward myself with those if I run 6 miles in the morning. I'll be sure to report back if and when that ever happens.

Welty's Deli - Par