Ricci's Deli

I have loved this deli for many years and have followed it thru the original owners and different locations. The chicken salad is awesome and even better if you order it on the veggie bread. They used to have a sandwich called "Turkey in the Slaw" with cole slaw, turkey and I believe  cream cheese. Do wish they bring that back. My daughter, now in her mid-20's, still craves their sandwiches. May not be over the top gourmet, but delicious comfort food. Staff has always been friendly and cheerful. Decor simple, but I'm there for the food.

Not impressed.  Not sure what sustains this business but it didn't appear to me to be it's quality or friendly atmosphere.. just saying..

I went here several years ago out of curiosity, because I had noticed it had held on long enough to be a clear non-chain restaurant survivor.  I suspect now it has survived for a good ten years, and I'm still baffled as to why.  It's what your second grade Sunday school teacher might come up with if you asked to start a restaurant--even the decor reminded me of like a church "community room" in the basement.  Or maybe a corporate dining hall. I almost expected vending machines in the corner.  Fluorescent lights everywhere.  Blue industrial strength carpet.  Tables you could fold and lean against the wall at the end of the day.

I'm carping, I'm sure, because this is, after all, a deli, and one does not go to a deli for ambiance.  But I'm not really sure it gets any of the feel of a deli right either--it doesn't have any real assortment of meats and cheeses, and the sandwiches are purely by the book: ham and cheese, grilled chicken, salami, roast turkey, roast beef.  If I remember right, the I had, for the first time in my life, the Italian wedding soup, mainly because that was the most exotic looking thing on the menu.  No interesting vegetables or sauces, or even a hard-to-find condiment.  It wasn't bad per say, but it was nothing I could whip up from leftovers in my own kitchen, so essentially I felt like I was paying the folks at Ricci's to do that for me.  How it continues to survive is a mystery--I guess there are far too many folks out there who can't put turkey slices, lettuce, tomato, and mayo between two slices of bread.