Dallas has never been known as a Deli town. Tex Mex? Yes. BBQ? Yes. But not Deli. Well perhaps the tide is shifting.
Last month Zinsky’s Delicatessen & Catering Co. opened at 6025 Royal Lane, in the Preston Royal Shopping Center at the Northeast corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. Having grown up in New Jersey and Lived in New York City, my cravings caught up to me and yesterday I went and checked out the new deli in town.
Zinsky’s is the creation of Jim Baron and Mark Brezinski, both established and well respected restaurateurs. Jim has built the local chain of Blue Mesa restaurants and Mark, after a career with Brinker Restaurants now owns the Bengal Coast Restaurant in the Centrum at the corner of Cedar Springs and Wellborn. With a creative backing team as strong as this, there is a high level of expectations set.
Zinsky’s occupies a space formerly occupied by Jason’s Deli. The space has been beautifully remodeled. The décor is handsome, clean, contemporary and simple. And on top of an inviting atmosphere, one sniff when you walk in the door will tell you that good deli has arrived! The tip off should have been when I heard the Fiddler on the Roof music playing as I walked in!
I had my deli test usual… A corned beef sandwich on rye and potato salad. The food quality was very good… the Sandwich had a hearty serving of corned beef and the potato salad was creamy and tasty. I have to admit, I was a bit worried when my food came out. Being an old school New York Deli guy, I am used to that Deli experience… Loud delis, wait staff with attitudes and food that is all about the food, not really about the presentation. My lunch at Zinsky’s was Dallas-style deli. Clean and new restaurant, with friendly service and a sandwich that was almost too perfect looking to be good deli. The corned beef was uniform in nature, sliced a bit thicker than typical in a deli and each piece on the sandwich appeared uniform in nature. The potato salad looked painstakingly portioned in the ramekin and the pickles looked cut with precision. I was thinking, this precise yet somewhat untraditional presentation and appearance may also mean that the food would taste similarly untraditional. Fortunately, Dallas-style Deli tasted an awful lot like its New York counterpart!
For dessert I tried a few pieces of Zinsky’s rugelach (a traditional pastry) and it was outstanding! Literally, my favorite part of the meal (and I am not typically a “sweets” lover, so that is saying something).
The bottom line? Give Zinsky’s a try for yourself… with food and service this good, Dallas-style deli might just catch on! Let’s hope so, because it would be a shame to lose a good deli!
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