Restaurant Review: Murray's Deli and Restaurant in Bala Cynwyd

As an East Coast gal I know a thing or two about a good deli. A woman I cooked for, whose ancestors brought pastrami to America, was basically a hero in my book. How many people can claim to be a part of deli history? I took great delis and great deli sandwiches for granted until I left the right coast. Time spent in the Midwest and California made me homesick for a truly good corned beef special or hot pastrami sandwich.

 is a great deli and restaurant. The food is simple, no fuss and done the right way. For this review I was fortunate enough to have both breakfast and lunch at the eatery.

Breakfast was crowded and I slipped into a booth and ordered some coffee to start. It was a decent cup of joe (they brew Ellis coffee here) and just needed a touch of sugar and cream. It wasn't super strong but that is fine.

I began with half a grapefruit which they had dusted with a little bit of white sugar. They had done me the courtesy of taking out the white pith in the center and cutting along the edges of the actual fruit so that it was easier for me to eat. It was a delicious and vitamin C-filled way to start my meal.

The blintzes I ordered arrived piping hot with all but one perfectly intact. The two cheese and two blueberry filled bundles were crisp on the outside and brimming with their respective fillings. Though I was given both applesauce and sour cream I stuck with the dairy condiment. I am not a fan of applesauce with my blintzes. The cheese filling was slightly sweet and wonderfully creamy. The blueberry filling was a touch tart and densely flavored. If I had to choose a favorite, I would say the cheese blintz beat out the blueberry by a nose.

When I went in for lunch I brought another diner in tow. He had the Murray's Delight (hot Roumanian pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing) and I had a turkey pastrami special (cole slaw, russian dressing on rye). The two sandwiches share some commonality but are vastly different.

The Murray's Delight is a dense sandwich—hot, packed between two slices of butter soaked, grilled bread and overflowing with thick slices of melted swiss, rich pieces of meat, a layer of acidic sauerkraut and a generous slather of Russian dressing. It is a wonderful array of textures, temperatures and flavors. This is a fantastic sandwich but not for the faint of heart. My fellow diner could barely finish the entire sandwich (I have never seen him struggle to finish a dish in my life). The french fries that come on the side were crisp and tasty. 

The turkey pastrami special is one of my favorites. The fact that it is turkey pastrami instead of corned beef or regular pastrami makes it a bit more health conscious without sacrificing much flavor. They expertly slice the meat so that it's paper thin and there are what seem like hundreds of slices in your sandwich. They pile it super high and lay on the cole slaw and Russian dressing really thick so that each bite is saturated with a bit of crunch and a bit of slightly sweet goodness. The mile high sandwich proved to be too much for my smaller mouth so I had to remove some of the turkey pastrami. I devoured the readjusted sandwich in an instant to the surprise of my server and my dining companion.

Wash it all down with some freshly brewed iced tea (I did), water, soda, juice, milk, Doc Brown's soda or your favorite Snapple beverage. What caught my eye though were the 6-packs of beer in the refrigerated cases. In a state with very rigorous liquor laws, it's always amazing to me to find unexpected places that are able to sell alcoholic beverages. I never would have guessed that Murray's would be one of those places.

The service is quite friendly. Everyone was professional, gave us plenty of time to figure out what we wanted to eat, answered our questions and offered us to-go boxes (obviously before seeing that the plate was empty...). It's an old fashioned type place where you still have to go up and physically pay the cashier instead of just handing your server your credit card but I don't mind at all. 

The decor is typical of a deli, there is a long deli to the right of the doorway and a dining room to the left. The first thing you face upon entering is the cashier, the local newspapers and a la carte candy bars and packs of gum. There are TVs in the dining area and random movie paraphernalia posters, stills and photographs all over the walls. It's a cozy space where people of all ages can enjoy a good honest meal with their loved ones. There was plenty of laughter, debate and gossip going on the last two times I visited and I imagine it's that way all the time. I will definitely bring members of my family here in the future for breakfast or lunch.