Fishman’s Kosher Deli – St. Louis Park, MN

As many of you know, I LOVE to go out for lunch with FireRetarded for a number of reasons. The most hilarious one is the fact that he never tells his wife, DeltaForceCommander, how much he actually spends when we gorge ourselves during the day and she’s not around. I had heard about Fishmans for a couple of years and just never made it there. I’d been to Cecil’s in St. Paul, and I wanted something a little closer to home. This was my suggestions when FireRetarded called and said he was starving.

Fishman’s is a kosher deli/restaurant/store in St. Louis Park and is a pretty slick place. The store is MUCH larger on the inside than I ever suspected and the deli is pretty substantial. The restaurant is in the front of the store and sort of curtained off. When we both got there, we checked out the menu. I was a little surprised at how expensive the sandwiches were, but that’s probably because they offer two sizes – regular and basically double stuffed. Since I’m a big eater, I’d have to go with the big one, but we both found an alternative. If you order the deli plate, you get your choice of four meats and it comes with bread, so you can put together your own sandwich – all for cheaper than the double-stuffed sandwich.

So that’s what we both got: the Deli Plate – salami, turkey, pastrami, and corned beef. I got pumpernickel bread, since I was feeling sassy. FireRetarded got the same deli plate, but with bologna, hard and regular salami, and maybe the pastrami? I also love Matza ball soup, so I got that and FireRetarded got us an order of fries to share. See why we never tell DeltaForceCommander how much we spend at lunch?

The Matza Ball soup was absolutely delicious. Lots of chicken and carrots and the ball itself was pretty sizeable. One of the best Matza Ball soups I’ve ever had.



The waitress also brought the fries for us. I’m not sure if they were battered or breaded or what, but they were some of the best fries I’ve ever had – and I’ll repeat to you people: I’m NOT a fry guy usually. Don’t skip on the fries at Fishman’s – you won’t be disappointed.

The deli plates were pretty significant. The meat itself was awesome. I’d definitely put it up there with Cecil’s quality and flavor. I was slightly disappointed we only got two pieces of bread each. That means one sandwich or two open-faced sammiches (which is the route I took). I did think about putting all four meats onto one sandwich, but decided against it to make sure I could taste each meat. The meat and bread were fantastic though, so no complaints. Both plates also come with coleslaw, which FireRetarded ate for me and called me stupid for not liking. Hilarious. We were both stuffed when the dust settled – a fantastic lunch.

The food itself is really good and there is lots to choose from. It’s not cheap by any stretch. I think both of us paid $30 (but don’t tell his wife that – if she asked, it was $11 each…) Yeah, it’s THAT pricey, but we did eat a LOT of food as well. Seriously, if it weren’t for the price, I’d eat here a LOT more often. Maybe when I feel like splurging for lunch, I’ll head back here.

Top 5 things about Fishman’s
1. All of the meat, actually
2. Matza Ball Soup
3. French Fries, and I’m not kidding
4. Really friendly servers
5. You can gorge yourself and then go grocery shopping – bonus round!

Bottom 5 things
1. PRICEY
2. Could have been more bread on the deli plate
3. The small restaurant fills up fast
4. Lots of stuff has sauerkraut, of which I’m not a fan
5. Sever lack of pork products (yes, I’m kidding. Geeeesh, some people are so sensitive)

www.fishmanskosher.com