Cecil’s Deli – St. Paul, MN

It had been a long time since I was at Cecil’s, so when D.Rough and I drove through the neighborhood the other day, we decided to stop in. It was just after lunch, so we were hoping we wouldn’t find a huge line of people waiting to eat. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait.

We ate in the dining room, so we got to see the menu. If you order at the counter, you’d better either know the name of the sandwich you want, or what you want on your sandwich, so you don’t waste their time deciding.

I ordered a strawberry phosphate (because I’m an old man) and a sandwich called the Sasha (I think – if it isn’t, it’s the other one right next to the Sasha that also starts with an “s”) and a side of sweet and sour cole slaw. D.Rough ordered the Spicy Roast Beef sandwich and a side of potato salad. The sides come with all the sandwiches, so we had to pick something, right? I had to fight really hard NOT to order the matza ball soup, but I persevered and didn’t get it.

We didn’t wait long at all for our food. It arrived looking delicious and super filling.

My sandwich had brisket and a bunch of cheese with a fried egg on top and also a layer of what Cecil’s calls Bird Sauce – I don’t even care what that is, it’s delicious. Then they grilled the bread like a kick in the face grilled cheese sandwich. This was amazing sandwich. It was only a little bit drippy, and somehow the whole thing managed to stay together for the entire meal. I can’t figure out how it wasn’t falling to pieces, but it didn’t. It was a solid sandwich. I can’t rave enough about the sweet and sour cole slaw. I’m not a huge may fan and this is the reason why I am now spreading the word about this slaw. Seriously killer – some vinegar and some sugar ad green and red peppers mixed in with the slaw with some celery seed (perhaps). Brilliant and I might be swinging by Cecil’s every day after work now…

D.Rough’s sandwich was also awesome. It was a roast beef sandwich with lots of giardiniera on it. I was curious if the meat itself was spicy or if it was just the peppers. D.Rough assures me it was just the peppers. It didn’t matter, it was great. We kept trading bites of sandwiches so each other could sample it. That’s the way to eat at Cecil’s (but only if you really know the person you’re eating with – although now I want to have a business lunch and snag a bite of my boss’ sandwich there. Hahahaha). D.Rough’s potato salad was good. The yellow coloring comes from the egg yolks they used rather than using mustard, so I was glad about that. It had plenty of chunks of potato in it, and I thought it was one of the better potato salads I’ve eaten (which honestly, isn’t that many).

I love going to Cecil’s and really need to get there more than I do.


www.cecilsdeli.com