Empire Deli

Big Eats from the Big Apple:
Empire Deli brings New York flavor to the heart of the Empire State of the South.
- Alex Bender

Soho. Manhattan. Studio 54. These may all be places in the Big Apple, but they are also all items on the menu at Empire Deli. Walter Foley and Laurie Irby recently opened Empire Delicatessen and Catering on Forsyth Road to bring New York-style subs down South. Thankfully, Empire Deli relieves us of our sore deprivation of things like gabagool, prosciutto, pastrami and other Italian ingredients found on a REAL sub.

Now, I’m no international food critic, but I am critical of food (even internationally sometimes). Despite what some people might think they know about food, I like to think I’m familiar with the best subs (hoagies as we call ‘em up North) and pizza in the country. See, up north of the Mason-Dixon, where I grew up, the mom and pop sub/pizza shops usually outnumber the gas stations in towns similar in size to Macon. The sandwich bread is made from the same dough as the pizza crust and you can grab a six-pack when you pick up your food.

Inside Empire Deli, the menu is drawn out artfully on large chalkboards that hang above the counter. All the meats and cheeses behind the glass display case are cut as you order. The Italian Stallion immediately jumped of the menu towards me, and I thought I’d go for a ride. Loaded with pepperoni, salami, ham, prosciutto, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, roasted red peppers and a balsamic vinaigrette, the Italian Stallion was an almost natural choice. I say an almost natural choice only because I would have liked to try about a half-dozen other things on the menu. The standard Italian sub is my usual choice back at home so this gave me something to compare it with. I ordered the foot-long for two bucks more and figured I’d end up leaving with half. If a sub’s good, it’ll still be a good leftover the next day.

I was impressed. The meat and other ingredients they use at Empire are top-notch quality, and they don’t skimp on the quantity. The roasted red peppers and balsamic vinaigrette gave The Stallion a unique taste that managed to deviate from the standard Italian sub without losing the basic concept.

The chicken Parmesan hero was another I had to try. If you can take an entire Italian dish and make it into a good sub, you’re doing something right. Empire nailed it with massive breaded chicken cutlets covered in sauce and melted mozzarella. The bread is baked fresh daily at Empire and is good but sort of generic as far as subs go.

They also feature a pretty impressive breakfast menu and a selection of omelets that rival their subs. If you don’t feel like ordering off the menu, you can pick and choose your own ingredients and bread to customize your sandwich. The wide array of chips, candy and snacks in front of the counter, along with a fridge of salads and dessert items, make rounding out a meal a breeze.

Salads bore me so I skipped straight to the tiramisu for dessert. It didn’t suck. It was light but still rich, which worked out for me since I was stuffed from my sub. There’s no soda fountain, but there is a cooler full of soda and sports drinks, and they also serve coffee for that late breakfast/hangover crowd. (Editor’s Note: At least he didn’t call it “pop”.)

The prices are a bit higher than you’d find at a franchise, but you get a lot more for your money at Empire Deli, both in the quality and quantity of food. Empire is a unique deli that gives the best sub shops up North a run for their money.