Family-Owned Merritt Delicatessen Offers Satisfying Sandwiches

We're all busy these days. We also like to eat out. So, why waste your valuable time trying to figure out where to go to nosh on something when Patch has already done the legwork for you? Each week, Patch picks a great restaurant either in town or nearby that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice and one dish from there to try:

Sometimes you're in a rush, and dining in simply isn't an option. So, what's the ultimate grab-and-go food, you ask? Why, a sandwich, of course. And when you need to grab one, there's nothing quite like a good old deli to get just what you're looking for.

Merritt Delicatessen in Farmingdale has been family owned and operated since 1956, and it's nice to see a small business continue to flourish in these rough times.

35 Northwest Dr
516-249-5560
Open daily for breakfast and lunch. Prices of menu items vary.

The Dish: An All-American classic: roast beef, American cheese and extra mayo on seedless rye bread, with a side of sour cream and onion "Dirty" potato chips and a bottle of diet Root Beer to wash it all down.

How's It Taste: This sandwich pretty much re-defined the parameters of the phrase "delicious." The centerpiece of the sandwich- the roast beef itself - is sometimes overcooked in some delis, rendering it stringy and tough. In this case, however, it was rare, tender, and we were able to bite through it with ease. The addition of a generous helping of American cheese, a large dollop of mayo, and soft, fresh rye bread with nary an offending seed in sight brought an almost creamy, succulent texture to the sandwich. The "Dirty" potato chips complimented the meal perfectly, with the sour cream and onion flavor adding just the right amount of "bite" to the proceedings.

Despite the somewhat intimidating size of the sandwich, we were able to overcome our initial doubt and actually finish this monster, aided in no small part by just how tasty is was.