Kountry Kart Deli (KKD) – Where are you? / Philly on French

KKD Menu Specials <- PDF of KKD specials.

Kountry Kart Deli on Main Street in  Burlington Vermont is having “20th anniversary rollback specials.” But how would you know?

KKD doesn’t have any on-line presence: you’re doing it wrong!

Radio Deli is doing it right: http://radiodeli.blogspot.com/

Oh and here’s a picture of KKD’s large Philly on French Bread all the veggies (sautéed green peppers, onions, mushrooms) and provolone.

I’m going to recommend against provolone, it gets cold rather quickly and loses its’ melted consistency resulting in chewy cheese. American cheese is the default and has its’ rightful place on Phillys.

French bread is the way to go @ KKD, it’s nice and crusty. The Philly meat is also very good, sometimes it needs a little more chop, but is usually good. What’s inconsistent is the done-ness  of the veggies.

$8.82 with tax.

KKD - Large Philly on French bread with Provolone

Euro Corner Closed? August First Open?

Euro Corner - Burlington Vermont (closed)

I have sad news sopressata fans, it looks like Euro Corner is closed. It looks like you can purchase sopressata at the associated Euro Market.

I moped my way next door to August First a new bakery / cafe / deli. In the above picture it’s on the left.

I chose the curried chicken salad sandwich:

August First - Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich

The baguette was great, crispy and chewy, without feeling like a jaw muscle workout. The chicken salad was good, August first appears to use the whole chicken instead of just the breast so the texture is a bit different that you might be accustomed to. The slightly tart cranberries are a nice counterpoint to the curry. The balsamic vinegar salad dressing was awesome, nice emulsion, and very fresh tasting. ~$9.00 with tax.

It’s definitely worth checking out, and they’re in a nice space.

August first appears to be hitting the social media with updates, kudos for that effort.

Hopefully they’ll add sopressata to the menu.

Kountry Kart Deli – Turkey Reuben

KKD - T-Reuben with Extra Kraut on French

KKD – T-Reuben with Extra Kraut on French

Besides the Philly, this t-reuben is my other recommendation at KKD.

Components:
-French Bread
-Turkey
-Sour Kraut (extra)
-Swiss Cheese (the default)
-Thousand Island dressing (the default)

This is my second favorite version of the t-reuben sandwich. When ordering this sandwich sans-extra kraut, I sometimes like a bead of ketchup across it to supplant the lacking moisture and sourness from the extra kraut.

$8.82 with tax.

Sadie Katz Deli – Lean Pastrami Sandwich (NYC huge)

This recent article regarding European restaurants, had me thinking about expensive sandwiches:

I also suspect that expensive sandwich shops are going to have a precipitous decline in custom — the luxury sandwich is an oxymoron. It just deposits slightly more mayo into your lap.

Sadie Katz Deli - Burlington Vermont

My quest for expensive sandwiches takes me back to Sadie Katz Deli (I like the new sign).

Sadie Katz Deli - Lean Pastrami Sandwich (NYC HUGE)

This sandwich features one full pound of lean pastrami, sliced and weighed in front of your eyes. How do they avoid the “extra mayo in the lap”? Four slices of rye (the bread is doubled-up on the end)! I ordered mine with extra mustard, and held the cheese for space concerns and I wanted to try it “authentic“. I believe holding the cheese is related to Kosher rules:

Meat and milk (or derivatives) cannot be mixed in the sense that meat and dairy products are not served at the same meal, served or cooked in the same utensils, or stored together.

This sandwich is so big that it came in a larger-than-a-sandwich-bag bag, for my to-go order.

Along with it’s whopping size, this meaty sandwich is a whopping $17, with tax it’s $18.87. “NYC huge” indeed.

Of course it was delicious, but ridiculously priced, I’ll be keeping with these half pound “Burlington Big” option which is $9.50 pre-tax (or getting a friend to go in on the other half).

If the their lean patrami comes warm, when ordered off their deli menu, it might be worth it to assemble your own colossus:

1lb. of Lean Pastrami $11.00
1/2 loaf of Bread $3.75
1/2 pint deli mustard $2.50
—————————-
$17.25

It depends on how the deli items are taxed. This is perhaps the most expensive sandwich in town (at least per cost, not value).

Kountry Kart Deli – Philly Shiner Sandwich

Kountry Kart Deli - Burlington, Vermont

Kountry Kart Deli on Main Street in Burlington Vermont is a late night munchie classic.  Drunken from the bars will fill KKD to capacity shortly after the 2am last call; sandwich chaos ensues.

But they’re also open for lunch. I’ve been lunching on KKD’s Philly on French bread, so when I noticed the “Shiner Philly” I decided to try it (sans French bread as the circumference of the hash brown would likely cause severe over-hang).

Kountry Kart Deli - Philly Shiner

KKD is known for their “Risers” and “Shiners”; a shiner being a deep-fried hash-brown / egg / meat breakfast themed sandwich.  I couldn’t resist trying collaboration of the Shiner Philly. The hash-brown is nicely fried, and has a satisfying crunch.  The egg is real, the steak and cheese is good.  I which there were more steak, I may ask for “extra Philly” when ordering this sandwich in the future.  I should have ordered it with the trifecta of grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms. Also I didn’t enjoy eating two large hash-browns. I would recommend ordering this sandwich as a small, as to not kill exceed your hash-brown budget.

KKD - Sandwich card and order sheet

Speaking of budgets, this sandwich was $9.45 for large with tax, one of their more expensive sandwiches.  If you become a frequenter of KKD, grab one of their “sandwich cards.”

Henry Street Deli Mart – Coffee & Breakfast sandwich

Henry Street Market - Burlington Vermont

Henry Street Deli Mart is located coincidently on Henry Street in Burlington Vermont. Its close proximity to UVM makes this hidden gem a favorite of students. HSM used to known for not having anything on the shelves, it almost seemed like a cover operation for something else. They NOW have charcoal in the summer, a full deli featuring local McKenzie meat, American Flatbread,  La Panciata bakery bread, nice selection of beer and wine thanks to the new owner.

Henry Street Market - Small Coffee

Excellent coffee is served fresh before 8AM from Vermont Artisan Coffee company, a “small” 12oz? is $1.25, a “large” 16oz is $1.50.

Since the geese are flying south:

Geese Flying South - Burlington Vermont (City Market Parking lot)

The coffee makes a nice hand warmer, in addition to its good taste.

Henry Street Market - Breakfast Sandwich (bacon, egg, cheese)

For $2.70 you get either Mckenzie Bacon, Mackenzie sausage, veggie sausage, with egg and your choice of cheese on a toasted English muffin. While this is a bit pedestrian, I sometimes crave a little bacon in the morning and don’t have time to do a little cooking in the morning, and this sandwich it cooked well. The bacon and muffin are crisp, the egg is not over cooked with a hint of butter, I like to order Swiss with mine.

Final note: HSM used to carry Dinky Donuts, but I guess DD flew south (like the geese) to Middlebury.

Sadie Katz Deli – “Lean Pastrami Sandwich” & “Matzo Ball Soup”

You’re traveling through a desert of white, hungry you see an Oasis:

Sadie Katz Deli – Burlington Vermont

But this Oasis is a mirage, this is no diner it’s a Jewish Deli! Yes the owner of the Three Needs Brewery & Taproom recently purchased the Oasis Diner and turned it into the Sadie Katz Deli. A little taste of NYC here in BVT.

Sadie Katz Deli – Lean Pastrami Sandwich

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a new taste for lean pastrami so I opted for this sandwich (there is also “fat” or normal pastrami available). After my order was taken at the counter the pastrami was sliced fresh right in front of me, behind the counter. The meat was weighed on scale and put between some sourdough (I forgot to ask for rye), with Swiss, and mustard. The pastrami doesn’t have any of the normal peppered edges that I associate with pastrami I’ve eaten before, but the meat is wonderfully tender and has a nice light spice to it. The meat was warm and piled high, which worked nicely with the cheese / mustard. The thing I would change about this sandwich is I think I’ll ask for mustard on both sides of the bread, or maybe just “extra mustard” when I order again (soon).

Also included with the sandwich was a nice “Kosher pickle” and the choice of coleslaw or potato salad. I chose the potato salad and its excellent, it has some chopped green pepper, and sweet pickle. The pickle was great, a little unnervingly sweet, nice acid and crisp crunch.

Sadie Katz Deli – Matzo Ball Soup

Matzo ball soup is made from Matza crackers, similar to dumpling soup. Sadie Katz’s version has the requisite carrots, celery, and onions and also adds chicken. There were some herbs visible in the Matzo balls, and I thought I tasted some dill. The soup was also yummy, but I wish I had known it had chicken in it as the addition of poultry makes this a hearty dish I would have ordered another time.

The lean pastrami sandwich with sides was $8.50 pre-tax. I believe the small Matzo Ball soup was $3.50 pre-tax.

Martone’s Market and Cafe – “Billy” Sandwich

Martone’s is a little deli, “market and cafe” at the 5 corners in Essex Vermont.

Martone’s Market and Cafe – Essex Vermont

Besides subs, Martone’s also has a nice selection of steaks; I think I’ll be picking some up once the snow melts to throw on the grill.

Martone’s – Billy Sandwich – (half, front)

I like egg salad, something that I don’t bother to make for myself for some reason. Anyway, someone named “Billy” has similar taste to me, I ordered his namesake sandwich Egg salad and bacon, it kind of like being indecisive if you want breakfast or lunch, so you settle for a sandwich with breakfast elements. The egg salad yummy, green onions, and chunks of egg. The bacon is SO crispy, a nice contrast to the smooth egg salad. Finally I added sprouts and tomato to the freshly baked wheat bread. 

Take note:  If this is your first time at Martone’s I would recommend ordering a small sandwich, unless you would like some leftovers. Martone’s is notorious for their piled-high sandwiches. Here is the back side of my half sandwich:

Martone’s – Billy Sandwich – (half, back)

The half Billy was $7.25 with tax, I’ll be back to when I need my egg-salad fix.

Cheese Outlet Fresh Market – Mac and Cheese of the Day (Black Bean), Hazelnut Chocolate Bar

…And we’re back. About two weeks ago (ahem), I was dropping off some old electronics at Recycle North on Pine Street in Burlington Vermont and decided to pick up some lunch up the street. Also on Pine Street is Cheese Outlet Fresh Market, a bakery, market, and deli (and Cheese outlet).

Cheese Outlet Fresh Market – The pictured picnic bench is nice place to eat lunch (during the summer).

Cheese Outlet Fresh Market – Mac and Cheese of the Day (Black Bean)

Mac and Cheese has a special place in my heart (probably my arteries), so I was psyched to see that Cheese Outlet Fresh Market has a Mac and Cheese of the Day. In retrospect it makes sense that a cheese store would have a mac and cheese of the day. In addition to the black beans there were also some trace amounts of peppers and tomatos, a slight tex-mex twinge to this classic. The choice of cheese was good, and it was an original dish… I liked it.

Cheese Outlet Fresh Market – Hazelnut Chocolate Bar

In addition to the deli side of the store I also visited the bakery side of the store. I selected the hazelnut bar from under the glass. This featured a shortbread base, hazelnut butter/ frosting?, WHOLE hazelnuts and chocolate ganache. The whole hazelnuts were interesting, as there was nice crunch, nut flavor to go along with the short bread base and layers of frosting. Of course chocolate hazelnut is a classic pairing, but this was a nice twist.

The mac and cheese was $7.99 a pound! A little steep. The chocolate hazelnut bar was $2.75.

Waf’s Westside Deli, “Pastrami Sub”

I recently discovered that I like pastrami, specifically lean pastrami. Subway has a pastrami sandwich, and I heard that the Oasis Diner in Burlington Vermont is going to be converted into a Jewish deli, so I’m looking forward to getting an authentic pastrami on rye. Waf’s Westside Deli also does a pastrami sub.

Waf’s Westside Deli, Winooski Vermont

Waf’s Westside Deli, Box

Why do I have a picture of a Styrofoam box? I believe Waf and crew put the four “custom” knife holes in the box, this serves to let some steam out, but keep the oven-heated sandwich crisp and hot. Nice attention to detail of how the sandwich will hold up as take-out.

Waf’s Westside Deli, Pastrami Sub – Lean Pastrami, onions, lettuce, tomato, melted provolone, spicy mustard (AKA “the works” when you call in an order)

The pastrami is lean, the roll is crisp, and the lettuce also provides a nice crunch. The combination of mustard and the spiced meat, kind of reminds me of a hot-dog. I think next time I may take Subway’s cue and order this sandwich with pickles. As I mentioned in an earlier post, be sure to order in advance. The large sub is $7.66 before tax.