Donna D.’s signature sandwich is fresh mozzarella on a roll with tomatoes, shredded iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced pickles, a small amount of white onions which must be sliced paper thin and honey mustard sauce. As simple odd as this sandwich may sound, very few delis have been able to perfect it. Either the bread is stale, they don’t shred the lettuce, or even **gasp** use processed mozzarella or even **larger gasp** don’t use the right honey mustard sauce (which I actually don’t even know the name of the brand I prefer). Only two delis have been able to master my sandwich, Toasties in NYC and the Ave in New Rochelle (yes I’ve schlepped to Westchester for my favorite sandwich). You would too if you have ever experienced the amazingness of the Ave.

But at last I have found another deli that can not only perfect my sandwich but also offers da bomb sandwiches for DIRT cheap. I’m talking $7.50 for a foot-long sandwich that can easily feed two people. Sal, Kris, & Charlie’s Deli is just north of the Triborough bridge in Astoria and is an old school deli. Their signature sandwich “The Bomb” is basically every meat and cheese that they offer loaded into a freshly baked Italian sub. The sheer weight of it could easily knock out anyone trying to steal it from you. The sandwich is that good. So be prepared to use it as a weapon to fight off perps.

Sal’s is a cash only joint and doesn’t have any seating so be prepared. For an inexpensive date I suggest grabbing food from Sal’s then heading over to Socrates Sculpture Garden or Astoria Park for a picnic.

Sal, Kris, & Charlie’s Deli’s store front

The bomb & Root beer

What shall I eat?

Slicing cheese

Fresh mozzarella, lettuce, tomatoes, honey mustard, and finely sliced onions & pickles on a roll

23rd Ave Astoria

Located in the heart of Long Island City’s business district, LIC Market is a charming farm house inspired restaurant that serves up local seasonal food. I stopped by here one Sunday morning to enjoy their brunch. We arrived at few minutes before 11:00am to avoid having to wait for a table, like most popular brunch places in the city this place can sometimes be a bit of wait. But the food and price are well worth it. The gazpacho, a favorite of mine was perfectly chilled and tasted like the tomatoes were just picked from the vine. It was a very refreshing start to our meal. We also enjoyed roasted baby turnips, juicy shredded brisket with a tangy red cabbage slaw, fluffy buttermilk pancakes, and slow roasted duck hash. I can’t wait to go back and try their dinner menu.

Roasted Baby Turnips with Parsley, Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Aged Balsamic

Complimentary Pastries with Housmade Berry Jam & Butter

Fried Eggs Over Easy

Gazpacho

Slow Roasted Duck Hash with Crisp Potatoes, Red Onion, Peppers, Dried Cherries & Pine Nuts under two Fried Eggs

Buttermilk Pancakes with Toasted Pumpkin Seed Butter & Maple Syrup

Shredded Brisket & Red Cabbage Slaw