by Ryter Lore

Created on: February 22, 2009   Last Updated: February 23, 2009

Few things can compare to that initial aroma that hits you when you first walk into a deli. The garlic pickles, the corned beef, the pastrami, yes, even the scent of a good rye bread can make even the most cultured gourmet's mouth start to water. But what foods actually define Deli in the United States?

Though most delis serve a variety of meals, it is the sandwiches that are probably the mainstay and backbone of a good deli in the United States. The most common of those are the afore mentioned pastrami and corned beef, but turkey, roast beef, brisket, liverwurst and even tongue are very popular as well.

What may be more important than the meat choice itself is how the sandwich is made. A good ol' US deli sandwich would be made on fresh crusty rye bread with a hearty grainy mustard and the meat would be piled so high it is almost impossible to get ones mouth around it to take a bite. Yum!

Side salads are also a very important part of a deli menu. Creamy cole slaw, macaroni salad and homemade potato salad are the norm. Though all the side salads are preferably homemade, I stress homemade potato salad because you can always tell if canned potatoes are used and that my friend is a big no no.

A nice cup or bowl of hot soup from a deli is also a tummy warming treat. Vegetable is always nice but the chicken/matzo ball is hard to beat. Traditional chicken/matzo ball soup is and always will be one of the true deli comfort foods of all time.

Sometimes though when soup's not what you're craving or when one of those huge deli sandwiches is a bit too much, maybe just a deli snack is desired. That's when chopped liver can come into play. Served with crackers, it's crunchy yet still smooth and tasty. A potato knish is also always a fine deli standard choice. Most deli's also offer kugel too. Potato or noodle, you can't go wrong.

But of course probably one of the most important if not the most important defining food of a US deli is that amazing little food whose aroma hits you when you first walk through that front door. Yes, I'm speaking of the pickle. Sometimes a bit taken for granted and lost in the shuffle, the pickle is very important. If a deli doesn't have that crispy, garlicky little treasure that compliments every other bite, it's just not worth it. Somehow it just makes everything taste better.
On that note, it's time to stop salivating and off to the deli I go.

Learn more about this author, Ryter Lore.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.