All day long they stream in to this squat building on a desolate stretch of Bladensburg Road: women in broad-brimmed hats, construction workers, retirees, professionals with phones clipped to their belts. If you didn’t know that a pastrami or corned-beef sandwich could inspire such devotion, then you’ve never chowed down on these properly stacked creations, layered with good meats and slathered with spicy mustard. For a change of pace, there’s a milder but no-less-excellent Polish-ham sandwich.
Pickle jars, rainbow cookies, and other appurtenances of a classic deli are nowhere in evidence (the place doubles as a soul-food joint), but the sandwiches alone are enough to take you places—and to keep you coming back.
Open weekdays for breakfast and lunch.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
