Yale Street Deli

The Yale Street Deli was tasty yet alarmingly dirty. They shut down after The Cairns apartments opened up across the street sporting a Boarshead deli. That wasn’t the reason they closed though. They actually started a bakery in Montlake Terrace to be closer to their families. Yale Street Deli will be missed.

Word going around is the deli closed. Guess I’m not gonna be having a sandwich there anytime soon.

I walked by here the other day, for the first time in a while. There were freakishly new and shiny condo buildings scattered around, and the Yale Street Deli was empty except for an old refrigerator dragged halfway out of its place and standing there crookedly. The sign was gone and there were no turkey sandwiches, nevermore. I suppose in ten years this whole area will look like the Pearl District.

A good sandwich shop shouldn’t be about frills, fancy truffles, gourmet or yellow curry chicken; it should be about delicious sandwiches. The Yale Street deli is a tiny little box of a store unconcerned with things like aisles you can actually walk through, updated signage, overt politeness or even (I fear) strict cleanliness. However, they make a wide array of incredibly delicious sandwiches, both hot and cold, at unbeatable prices. The first time I visited, there was a crowd of construction workers coming in and out and many of them uttered a variation of, “You have the best (meatball, turkey, tuna, etc) sandwich I’ve ever had!” They offer only the basics as sides: chips, candy, cookies, espresso (it’s Seattle) and cigarettes. The only places to sit are green plastic chairs situated under an awning outside.

Today I cheated and visited a new fancypants deli that opened across the street. Initially I was impressed with the gelato and tortes and Panini sandwiches and customers in business suits, but my sandwich was lackluster and overpriced. Yale Street Deli, you, with your greasy walls and your working class clientele, have my heart, and I’m sorry I ever strayed.