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Friday, July 7, 2000
Emma's Deli saves the day for Citko's fans
Deli sandwiches, curry chicken salad keep lunchtime crowd coming back for more
The downtown lunch crowd that for years made a daily dash to Citko's Deli for a quick sandwich or a curry chicken salad need not mourn its recent closing.
Emma Burleson has saved the day - and the daily dietary routine for many - by buying the location next to the Seagull Villa, next to the Centre Theatre and creating her own production there.
Not much has changed: Customers still sit in the same mix of wicker and resin chairs inside the small dining area, munching on the same sandwiches, salads and fresh baked goodies as they did before. Burleson said that's because, as far as she could see, little needed changing.
"We wanted to try to keep the same clients," Burleson said.
Little change
That means there's still the same curry chicken salad recipe as before, the same selection of sandwiches as before (for the most part) with the same pasta salad on the side. There are also the same complimentary desserts with each meal as before.
On our recent visit we sampled a couple of sandwiches and a trio of salads, all for under $6.
First up was the Trio Salad, which comes with pasta salad, a fruit salad and a choice of chicken salad, tuna salad or chicken curry salad. We opted for the chicken curry salad and found it to be somewhat bland - lacking the distinctive zing of a strong curry - but tasty nonetheless.
Burleson said the curry chicken is a complicated taste to satisfy. "Some people say that it's too strong, while others say that it's not strong enough," she said. "Maybe I ought to start making two batches to please everyone."
Hmm, maybe so.
The fruit salad consisted of fresh watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe with a peppering of poppy seeds, but no discernable dressing. The pasta salad, which is a mainstay of the deli, was good - spiral pasta coated with olive oil, olives and Parmesan cheese - and made for a simple and filling side dish.
Small but tasty
The sandwiches were the highlight of the meal, with the Liz's Medley taking top billing. Both sandwiches came with pasta salad.
Liz's Medley starts with a fresh baked croissant. On top of that there's bacon, turkey, ham, tomato and lettuce. There was also cheese (Burleson says it varies between Swiss and American) but what appeared on the sandwich we ordered appeared to be processed American cheese food slices. The sandwich was delicious, between the flaky croissant and the piles of deli meat, we almost didn't notice the processed American cheese food slices. Almost.
The other sandwich we tried was the Lukey's Veggie Bagel, which was similarly delicious.
Stacked atop a split egg bagel, the sandwich consisted of a cream cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, capers, Boston lettuce and a cucumber dressing. The same sandwich also often comes with a Russian dressing, Burleson said, whichever is on hand.
The sandwich was on the smallish side - the size of a regular bagel - but tasty. The cream cheese and the cucumber dressing set off what could have been a dry sandwich nicely, and the vegetables were fresh and crisp.
To top off each meal, Emma tosses in a free homemade dessert. On our visit, there were slivers of several items to choose from that included cheese and cherry Danish and carrot cake. All three were excellent, though my dining companion noted that her carrot cake was more chock full of nuts.
EmmasDeli carries on the downtown take-out tradition set by Citkos Deli, which suits a city where little has changed in years just fine.
Emma's Deli
412 N. Chaparral St.
887-8935
Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday
Checks: Local
Credit cards: Visa, Masterard
No Alcohol
Wheelchair accessible
Entrees: $4.50-$5.95
Food: **
Service: **
Atmosphere: *
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