Ever been to Rein's Deli in Connecticut right off I-84?

The original Underground Gourmet (published 1967), after citing the crowds and contemptuous service at Katz's, concluded, "Whether a great deli sandwich is worth enduring the ordeal is a decision only the diner can make. The number of people in Katz's at any time of day or night testifies to the triumph of greed over pain."

It is a toss up for me between Mike Deli near Crescent Ave and Leebman's on Johnson Ave, both are locate in the Bronx. Never really ate in Manhatten as the prices seems more expensive to me than in Brooklyn or the Bronx, so I have no opinion for the best deli's in Manhatten.

I'm sorry I missed this post, Giacomo.

Anyway, those spots are night and day. But equally fantastic. It all depends what you're in the mood for. I've posted about my love for Mike's deli ad nauseam here in the past. Leibman's is great, though.

When I was in college I worked a Stella D'oro route. Of course, this was about 35 years ago when Stella D'oro was still in their landmark location on 237th, just off the Deegan. So I ate there quite a bit.

Italian cookies from Stella D'oro for breakfast, Jewish deli from Leibman's for lunch. Tell me that's not a New York story .

I used to love going past the Stella D'Oro factory on the Deegan and the smells that came out of there put me in a feeding frenzy! I loved their Breakfast treats and the Anisette cookies. I still inhale a package of them every once in a while!

And they still taste the same after all these years.

Now, of course they were never as good as fresh baked cookies from a good Italian bakery. But they're better than most packaged cookies, and they've remained consistent for all these years. That's really saying something.

When i'm out that way in the BX i go to Casa Della Mozzarella, they have some good quality stuff in there.....PB talking about eels for the holidays i always like to go over to Randazzo's another good spot for fish, then get some Ravioli's and Spinach Noodles from Borgatti's for Christmas dinner ....Can't wait for the holidays!

I've known the Randazzos all my life, buddy.

One of the sons was an ADA at the Bronx County Courthouse on 161st (yeah, THAT went over big in the neighborhood ).

He's a really good guy, though. He's a big shot now in a cushy administrative job here in Bronx County. Which just goes to show, education pays off, and the working man IS the tough guy .

That being said, we always bought our fish from Cosenza's. And I'm not even kidding .

Which son are you talking about? Frank...He's the one that always took care of me when i go in there, real nice guy.

There are two brothers who took over the store when their parents passed. They both have sons named Frank (named after the grandfather, obviously). And to further confuse things, they were born a couple of months apart. I'm gonna be 55, so I wanna say that they're about 46 or 47.

One of the Franks works the store, the other is the one I was talking about. Brilliant kid. He's worked in Bronx City Government for years. And he's as ethical as they come. Being from Belmont did nothing to corrupt him whatsoever as an ADA. But like I said, he's a City Administrator now.

Wow, their parents didn't waste no time on having those kids...Like you said the working man is the tough guy that can go to sleep at night with a clear head...I have to hand it to the Bronx and Brooklyn tho for having some of the best spots for Italian foods this side of the Atlantic, can't be beat.