Dominic’s Delicatessen
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The lady with the burgundy bandana-beanie hybrid on her head, sweatshirt tied around her waist, and socks and CROCS on her feet shifted out of the way of the door as I approached. Soon, she was behind the counter, the voice past a loose-leaf sheet sign reading “PLEASE KEEP PROPER DISTANCE 6 FEET,” holiday cards from the O’Dell family, and four tightly-wrapped golden muffins. But see, ordering is only the beginning of this deli on Main Street, the cannoli shell if you will. The filling delivers the dessert. Shelves of Italian favorites and specialties—Loacker products, MUTTI sauces and pastes, blue and gilded pouches of Cav. Giuseppe Cocco pastas, and CANTUCCINI—abound and at the second rug is a case of deli meats and cheeses. The menus are black chalkboards, white chalk markers, proper menus that leave the efforts of digesting to the food. It might still seem like this deli is a bit too ricotta...
“Cause like a good neighbor, Virgi is thereeeeeeeeeeeeeee!...that’s me,” sung the central character to this story. She had just helped out a customer, and her whimsy could not contain the thrill of it.
“You’ve got an Italian, aye,” she asked one customer as she rang him up.
“I got an Italian gyro, absolutely,” he proudly confirmed.
It’s this kind of sandwich certainty, small town gossip, and sometimes cringeworthy exchanges that fuels a boisterousness that resembles New York City if it swallowed a chill pill. Each and every conversation starts with a yell followed by words.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Anyone home,” came in one regular, knocking on the ordering counter.
He was a fire starter, and it was an older gentleman. that answered his call, coming out to talk about the crash at the Chinese food restaurant a block away that happened yesterday.
“You complain about everything,” the graying character said after the customer prattled off a few remarks. He went outside and soon, the customer boomed back to Virgi: “I’m gonna take whatever’s left of the macaroni salad—pack it up for me.”
“I’m gonna join Pop outside,” he continued and was out the door, abandoning the stool at the window counter most deeply in the record nook.
“No meat on her,” Virgi called out in song during Louis Prima & Keely Smith’s “Boney Bones.”
Really, I could stop here. But alas, there is one more curiosity: the Sri Lankan elephants’ presence. You read that right. Wooden statues above the higher set of shelves and a jade necklace, further ornamenting a lampshade of metalwork and orange and blue stained glass, raise some questions. Interestingly though, I think I have the answer. You may have picked up the zest, the maraschino cherries, and mini chocolate chips—remember, this delicatessen cannoli has been piped with something flavorful. These elephants are the last little note, the cinnamon pinch.
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Drink: Small Coffee
“Got time to wait? Or, do you want an iced coiffee?” No, that isn’t a typo. The lady at the register earned her New York stripes with a full-on coffee accent. Also not a typo. There’s a New York accent, a Long Island accent, a Bronx accent, a Staten Island accent, a Queens accent, and a coffee/deli accent. She hit that final one hard. In a generic cup, patterned like dried mango and stamped with some coffee clip art, along with eco sleeve that is just as utilitarian, the coffee she handed me was hot very hot but not mouth burning—a familiar kind of deli counter sorcery. At first, there was no flavor, a product really offering the comfort of coffee more than anything else. As sips went down, it gradually made its way to coffee status, nothing standout but certainly nothing that siphoned away from the experience either. And, importantly, I’m certain that it wouldn’t clash with any sandwich choice.
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Price: Small Coffee=$1.50
Hours: Monday–Saturday {6:30–17}; Sunday {CLOSED}
Extra Notes:
There is a Dominic15 WIFI network, but I think that it’s just for store use if anything.
Food*: N/A
*They’re food selection is pretty great, so I’d recommend joining the ranks of male compatriots and grabbing a sandwich if you ever get the opportunity. The lady at the register at one point responded to a customer’s order with the following: “Would you like garlic aioli or Chipotle aioli?” Would you like delicious or delicious?