The Best Deli in Every State

A low-key, friendly sandwich shop, Trencher’s Deli has quietly become a Tulsa mainstay for its thoughtful, quirky menu of inspired soups (including ndambe, a vegan Senegalese black eyed pea stew) and sandwiches. All breads, meats, and desserts are made in-house, and standout sandwiches include a vegetarian beet Reuben, tawook (marinated chicken or tofu, roasted tomato, pickles, and garlic puree in a house-made pita), Cuban, Stram Don (thick-cut pastrami, coleslaw, Russian dressing, and Swiss on an Italian roll), and the Swizzle (fried chicken cutlet, spicy coleslaw, and spicy mayo on a bun). Also, we’d be remiss if we didn’t compliment them on the naming of their signature salad, the Salad Jessy Raphael.

In this Oregon city, one deli stands above the rest: Kenny & Zuke’s. Founded by Ken Gordon (a classically trained chef) and Nick Zukin in 2007, it has become iconic for its take on classic Jewish deli fare, and even spawned an offshoot in Portland International Airport. Their oak-smoked pastrami took months of trial-and-error to perfect, and from there they started working on bagels and bialys, rye bread, pickles, and just about every other menu item, which are made from scratch in-house. Don’t miss the waffle fries topped with pastrami and cheese sauce.

Unlike some classic Jewish delis which focus either on meat or dairy plus appetizing (essentially, stuff that goes with bagels), Philadelphia’s iconic Famous 4th Street Delicatessen does it all, and it does it very, very well. In business since 1923 and lined with gleaming glass cases beckoning diners with smoked fish, knishes, salami, kugel, cakes, cookies, and more, Famous 4th Street just looks the way a Jewish deli should, and it doesn’t disappoint. Dig into an overstuffed corned beef sandwich with some potato latkes on the side, and go to Jewish deli heaven.

Founded by Long Island native Michael Gabriel in 2016 and today run by executive chef Ryan Audette, The Provisioner uses simple, high-quality ingredients to craft a daily-changing selection of mouthwatering sandwiches. One look at the menu will make it obvious that there’s a high-caliber chef here: the flagship Provisioner hero stuffs a fresh-baked ciabatta with five-hour braised beef, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, and jus; the T-Bird comes with fresh roasted turkey breast, house-made stuffing, cranberry sauce, melted cheddar, and mayo; the Carnegie piles house-made corned beef (there’s a theme here) ,melted Swiss, sauerkraut, and homemade Thousand Island on thick-sliced rye; and the Saratoga is a ciabatta with BBQ sauce-smothered breaded chicken cutlet, bacon, and melted cheddar. Hungry yet? There’s also a wide selection of Italian-style cold sandwiches made with imported meats and cheeses, but everything that can be made in-house, is made in-house. Also, don’t sleep on the macaroni and cheese, wings, and Mexican street tacos.

This casual Polish-inspired deli makes a wide variety of traditional Polish foods from scratch according to old-world recipes. Handmade pierogi are filled with potato and cheese, sauerkraut, and ground pork; cabbage rolls in tomato sauce, homemade kielbasa, and hunter cabbage stew (bigos) round out the menu, along with a few traditional deli sandwiches. Go for the sampler plate to get a taste of everything.