The dish: Stateside Deli

Robin Miner-Swartz | rgswartz@lsj.com

Stateside Deli in Okemos has the corned beef you've been dreaming of

Wow, do you people like your corned beef.

When I reviewed Amici's Deli in The Dish column on Aug. 8 (http://bit.ly/amicis), I complained it had been far too long since the Lansing area had deli sandwiches that were worthy rivals of those found in New York City. I really liked Amici's pastrami but was unsatisfied with their bread and corned beef.

Readers were quick - and enthusiastic - to inform me that the deli I longed for actually did exist ... in Okemos.

With visions of mile-high corned beef sandwiches in my head, I hopped in the car and headed east to the Stateside Deli to see what the fuss was about.

The menu

The Stateside Deli's menu features more than 50 named sandwiches and the option to build your own, along with a handful of salads, sides and soups. You also can buy meat and cheese by the pound and loaves of fresh bread.

Overwhelmed by the sheer size of the menu, I asked the friendly young woman behind the counter to recommend their two best corned beef sandwiches. I got:

• No. 32.5, The Stateside Special with cheese ($8.70), with hot corned beef, cole slaw and Russian dressing; and

• No. 35, D's Reuben ($8.95), hot corned beef, swiss, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on grilled rye.

At the risk of being overly effusive ... OMG.

I took the sandwiches to go so I could try them both back at the office. My editor, who's originally from New York, happened by my door as I was inhaling the first and making audible "yummy noises," and asked what the big deal was. I pointed to the massive sandwiches in the foam containers and his eyes widened.

He plopped down and promptly split half of each with me (they're truly that big) and said the sandwiches reminded him of the deli his family visited after church on Sundays on Long Island.

The bread - oh, the bread. The bread is perfection. It's the twice-baked kind that holds up beautifully under the weight and moisture of the meat and other ingredients - holds up so well that it's even good the next day.

My only regret is they were out of chopped liver when I visited (they were making a fresh batch). I'll definitely be back for that.

The atmosphere

The small, narrow restaurant - first and foremost - smells like a deli. Those who have stepped inside "real" delis know what I mean. Even a nose stuffed-up by allergies gets a heavenly whiff of cured meats. For my money, this is the best part of a deli's atmosphere.

The staff is helpful and jovial, offering menu suggestions (listen to them) and chatting with customers. But beyond the staff singing the praises of this or that sandwich, you're likely to encounter a customer doing the same for you. A man I'd never met walked up to me and started raving about everything he's eaten at the State Side Deli, noting that he had recently moved here from Detroit and declared this was better than any food he'd found in the Motor City. He went on to say he was confident it rivaled his favorite New York City deli, too.

It's high praise when customers are doing the selling for you.

Thanks to everyone who pointed me in their direction.

Contact Robin Miner-Swartz at 377-1018 or rswartz@lsj.com. Restaurant reviews are done anonymously at State Journal expense. For previous reviews, go to hub.lsj.com.