Tony’s Deli

I bumped into a couple of friends at Starbucks — Side note on Starbucks…shut up…I don’t care about your fancy pants coffee shop. I don’t even like coffee. The Wife likes Starbucks and that’s where we go….shut up — after eating the Two Taco Tuesday special at Taco Del Mar and they had just come from Tony’s Deli. They swear by the Cheese Steak and eat there all the time. So I thought I’d revisit good old Tony’s and see if things have improved since my first visit.

So I went to Tony’s a few times before writing this review. First time back I didn’t get the cheese steak but thankfully, someone at my table did and I was able to get a good look at it. It looked great and they loved it. But I opted for the Italian Club – turkey, pancetta, tomato, avocado, pesto, romaine, mozzarella and mayo on sourdough.

Very fresh and bright, clean flavors. I thought the pancetta instead of bacon was a great change of pace as well as the pesto. It was a very good club.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that cheese steak though and had to go back just for it. I really wanted it to be good and when I took my first bite, the bread was sooo soft and the steak was cooked perfectly.

Cheese Steaks at Tony’s are not the variety you’d find at Gino’s or Pat’s in Philly with their cheeze wiz, greasy mess. The meat is thicker than the paper thin stuff you’ll find in Philly and much better quality. A normal cheese steak at Tony’s comes with steak, grilled onions and peppers, provolone and mayo on their classic crusty roll. Sooooo good! Best cheese steak sandwich in Bend. We can’t stop talking about it. That bread! Oh man, it is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside (kinda like me).

Tony’s Deli has some of the best customer service as well. Always friendly and accommodating, eager to help out with your order and make recommendations. We went in for an early dinner and got to the door at around 6pm (they close at 6:30pm which we were unaware). They looked like they were done for the evening as everything was spotless. I had to ask if they were still open and even asked if we should get our orders to-go. They were totally cool and said it was perfectly fine. They jumped into action and we had our cheese steaks in no time.

I’m pretty sure it was the owner that came out and asked us how everything was. He assumed that the Wife was the one that opted out on the peppers and onions on the two cheese steaks we ordered. He was probably assuming that not getting the stinky onions and peppers would be lady-like. Well, I’m the nancy in this case. I wanted just cheese and steak. For me, that is what a cheese steak is all about. Cheese and steak.

If you like cheese steak, give them a try and let me know what you think. I don’t want to hear about your favorite east coast cheese steak as I don’t care and this is about Tony’s Deli. If you know of a better one in Bend, I’d really like to hear so I can disagree. On a final note, the side dishes at Tony’s could use some serious help. Just serve some chips man.

Tony’s Delicatessen
320 S.W. Century Dr., Suite 410
Bend, Oregon
647-1653

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