Mikeys Deli has been open just over 9 months now and to be fair I’ve walked past it a few times and never ventured in. Recently I ended up with a wee flyer from them and seeing the fare on offer thought it was time to venture round. Mikeys Deli is situated right beside the northern Whig. It has a few colourful chairs and tables outside and a chopper push bike. It’s a New York style deli. Think actual Neow Yoik deli as opposed to Americana Diner that we’re all to familiar with these days. When you go in its a small place but with pretty ample seating for a place of its size. the main seating is a long table by the window – perfect for people watching while you eat.
The far wall is covered in signatures and anyone can sign it. The walls are covered in posters of American films and in the corner is a bookshelf filled with all kinds of American toys – Spiderman, storm troopers and the Stay Puft man all feature. There’s a hustle and bustle about the place with people constantly coming in and grabbing a sandwich and leaving. A man in a hot dog costume comes in while we’re there to collect leaflets. It feels alive. We order our food at the long counter, a Sloppy Joe meal and a portion of hot wings. The sloppy Joe (for the uninitiated) is a loose meat burger, a little bit like chilli in a bun. The meal comes with friesand a drink for £5. A small portion of wings is about £3 and has 6 large wings in it and a side salad. It’s good value that’s for sure. We’re eating in so we get our food in wee red baskets, this pleases me greatly, I love eating my food out of these things. Feels more authentic I guess. The sloppy Joe is delicious, the mince is tender and the sauce is tomatoey and well seasoned, the underlying cheese melted and stringy. The fries are skinny and crisp and as I eat my Sloppy Joe the meat falls out onto the fries, effectively leaving me with a portion of chilli fries. Win:Win. My preference for wings are for the small variety. These are the larger ones, but they are very nice. The hot sauce could be hotter but the meat is moist and tender and the whole thing has a proper flavour instead of just heat.
I have to mention the staff at Mikey’s Deli they were friendly and helpful from the word go. At the end of the wings one of the fellas even brought us over finger bowls. He then brought us a marker pen so we could sign their wall and asked us what we thought about the food and to let him know if All in all Mikey’s was a delight to nip into for lunch, the food was good , the staff were excellent and the craic was high. Next time I’m having the NY Cheese steak. Mmmmmmm Cheese Steak.
