Hello, All! I would like to request your feedback. Midtown Deli will be opening soon (believe it or not!), about 4-6 weeks. We are going to have a full bar and would like to have a yummy 'wine & cheese/fruit' plate as an appetizer. But I will be honest, we are "beer people"! While I've only had one wine I didn't like, I simply don't know that much about it. And since I don't know much about wine, I don't know what wines & cheese compliment each other. So can ya'll help me out?
Also, I'd love your thoughts on what meats & cheeses in general you'd like to see available. Dan & my vision is for our deli to be YOUR deli, serving what YOU like. So how about it? Have to give a quick disclaimer: We only have about 2300 sq. ft., so keep that in mind! It is unfortunate that we won't be able to carry every single meat & cheese in the world. But we can try to hit the favorites and develop a plan for giving our customers an option for ordering any really unique requests.
Whew! Sorry for the long-windedness. I cannot help it that I am extremely gifted at gab!:tiphat:

that is good to hear - the deli will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. why don't you call the Broadway Wine Merchants store in Auto Alley and ask that Q? I bet he would be happy to give some tips.

I would like to be able to get a good pastrami sandwich, and having good Italian meats (hard salami, pepperoni, cappicola, etc.) and cheeses will probably be a must. It would be nice to not have to go all the way to the Med. Market for that.

I also second the suggestion to call up Broadway Wine Merchants. Very helpful over there :)

Yay!

Yes, we have met David @ Broadway Wine and he is great! I'm sure he can give us some excellent tips on wines & cheeses that were made for one another.
We will have all the Italian goodies mentioned!

Hooray!

I think serving wine, cheese and fruit would be a great thing. Another person you may ask is the people over at Market C, they sell alot of different kinds of cheese. Just make sure to get a variety, and not just the usual cheeses (i.e., cheddar, swiss, etc.).

How about this?

http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=246&d=1235612129

(Stay tuned: trying to insert photo!)

I'll 2nd the pastrami.

I wish I could find some like I had at Friedman's Delicatessen in Chelsea Market (NYC). It was the best that I have had, my wife even liked it and she doesn't like pastrami.

It'd probably be worth your while to go down to Forward Foods in Norman. They have a HUGE selection of gourmet cheese from all over the world. FritterGirl's pic looks like their main cheese case. They and Market C could give you some great recommendations/tips.
Definitely keep some Manchego on hand for an app plate. It's a staple.

I agree that Forward Foods has a nice selection of cheeses but for those of us who live on the NW side it's not a place I'll visit more than once or twice a year at most. I am a vegetarian and don't care much about the meat but I would love to see the great variety of cheeses that usually come on a cheese plate in a nice restaurant. Frittergirl's picture looks nice.

if you are beer people, stick to your passion! there are so many more great beers available in oklahoma these days (not as many as some places, but still...getting better) that could be paired with different cheeses and meats. you could even contract to get your own house brew...i happen to know the next great okc brewer...if you are interested...

It'd probably be worth your while to go down to Forward Foods in Norman. They have a HUGE selection of gourmet cheese from all over the world. FritterGirl's pic looks like their main cheese case. They and Market C could give you some great recommendations/tips.
Definitely keep some Manchego on hand for an app plate. It's a staple. Nope. WF Austin! And that was only 1/4 of the case. Nice try, though! :smile:

It'd be great if you'd have a good selection of Oklahoma-grown wines, too! (No... I'm not a winemaker or grape grower. :))

I would like to be able to get a good pastrami sandwich, and having good Italian meats (hard salami, pepperoni, cappicola, etc.) and cheeses will probably be a must. It would be nice to not have to go all the way to the Med. Market for that.

I also second the suggestion to call up Broadway Wine Merchants. Very helpful over there :)

Yay!

This sounds perfect bandnerd. I would say the same thing and add perhaps the more "expensive" italian meats like proscuitto, serrano, bresaola, coppa etc.

A good pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard would be awesome! More meat on the sandwich, the better (you should feel like you need to eat it with a fork and knife)

Wine options sound great too. Not what I would expect with this sort of deli concept, but I think its a good idea nonetheless. Different.

I'm sure anything you guys put out there will be great. I'm very excited!

I am very excited about you guys opening in Midtown. I think you should stick with your passion and be VERY careful asking for pre-opening feedback as it will be all over the place. Too much feedback could dillute your concept if you aren't careful. Just sayin'.

I am very excited about you guys opening in Midtown. I think you should stick with your passion and be VERY careful asking for pre-opening feedback as it will be all over the place. Too much feedback could dillute your concept if you aren't careful. Just sayin'.

Thanks, Tuck. I appreciate the tip. Certainly don't want to water anything down. And your right, we're not going to be able to please everyone. But I've worked for too many "brilliant" people that never stop to ask the customer what they like or want. Drives me nuts.
And thanks, everyone, for the great feedback and support!

Tuck's a smart guy....

How about this?

http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=246&d=1235612129

(Stay tuned: trying to insert photo!)

Frittergirl,
Please send me everything in this photo. I'm a confessed Cheese-o-holic.
Send crackers. I don't care what they are, just send crackers with the
shipment.

Thanx,
Prunepicker

Prunepicker, you need to head to Forward Foods down in Norman, they have tons of cheeses, as much or more than shown in that picture.

Forward Foods has a great selection, it true, but don't think it quite matches that in the photo.

http://www.forwardfoods.com/images/scale.jpg

Here is one of Forward Food's cheese cases. DeliHead, as for wine/cheese parings, Forward Foods website also has a pairings page you might find of interest:

http://www.forwardfoods.com/?page_id=164