Restaurant Review of Eppy’s Deli in Chicago
11 07 2007
Eppy’s Deli cracked me up.
There was a handmade sign on the door depicting two men. The first was dead and had a Subway sandwich in his hand. The second man was surrounded by babes, and had one hand full of cash, and an Eppy’s sandwich in the other.
There was a handwritten timeline behind the register that went something like (I might be getting these dates wrong):
1956 - Epstein made fun of for using Kosher salt
1960 - Kicked off sports team. Joins accounting team
1976 - Ate at Subway for the first time. Got pissed off.
1986 - Ate at Subway for the second time. Got even more pissed off.
1995 - Saw Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. Got inspired.
And then, in 2004, self-described “old Jewish guy” opened his Kosher deli.
MENU
As you might have guessed, their specialties include the corned beef, the pastrami, and the reubens, but I ate a made to order salad piled high with beets, artichokes, chick peas, broccoli, carrots, cucumber and a mountain of field greens. The ingredients were fresh, the balsamic vinagrette was nice and tangy, and the price was right. Other vegetarian options include the portabella mushroom sandwich, the egg salad sandwich and some of the rotating soups.
I will definitely head back to Eppy’s for a salad, and of course to appreciate Epstein’s lovely handiwork.
Note: Since writing this original review, I went back to Eppy’s to try the portabella sandwich. With each sandwich, you get to choose from 5 different breads, 5 different cheeses, any vegetable from the salad creation station, and 2 of any of the 5 sides which include cole slaw, fruit salad, and potato chips. The portabella sandwich was ok, but not stellar. I definitely liked the salad better.
PROS
Good, fresh salads
Cheap prices
They offer 10% student discounts, and 10% off if you work in the area
CONS
Not a whole lot of vegetarian options
LOCATION
224 E Ontario St
312-943-7797
