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Restaurants & Stores, Boston Area

Avenue Deli — Exclusive Preview

By jabbett
Published February, 13 2007 10:10 pm
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It’s here — the Gordon & Alperin “kosher strip mall” is finally entering its delicious phase two. The Kosher Blog had an insider’s preview tonight of Avenue Deli, 549 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA (under the supervision of Rabbi Aaron Hamaoui).

First, “deli” is such a limited term. While the restaurant has all our favorite deli standards — pastrami, corned beef, et al — the menu is dotted with so many other delicious choices like steak tips, hamburgers, kebabs, grilled panini, and hearty soups. But even such a menu is limiting, confides owner (and attentive chef) Ricardo Bosich.

He likes to wake up in the morning and think of new and fresh dishes to serve — so expect to see interesting, homemade specials listed.

Our dinner was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The hot corned beef and pastrami sandwiches (served on fresh bread from Bodavi Bakery next door) were both delicious, especially coming in from the bitter New England cold.

Reasonably priced, too — three dollars cheaper than Rubin’s. (Granted, Avenue Deli has counter service, but with Ricardo behind the counter, it’s a pleasure.)

And as a special treat, we were served a plate of grilled chimichurri-marinated steak. It looked so good, we forgot to take a photo before digging in…

The finishing touches are still being applied, so do call first and ask for the hours - 617-332-4170.

34 comments so far (Post your own)
1.At 10:36 pm on February 13th, 2007, Jonathan (not Abbett) wrote:

I’d just like to add my hearty endorsement. I’ve been hooked on Gordon and Alperin’s pastrami for a while and it’s even better in a hot sandwich. The grilled steak was delicious and it’s great eating at a place that appreciates your business.

2.At 9:52 am on February 14th, 2007, Yehuda wrote:

agreed. Ricardo is a fantastic and welcoming host who takes pride in his food and joy in serving it. aesthetics of the place be damned - i look forward to many more meals in the new deli.

3.At 11:06 am on February 14th, 2007, Greg wrote:

These pictures are making me hungry.

4.At 10:38 pm on February 14th, 2007, Ellen wrote:

Great food. I enjoyed it. Hearty soup and tasty salads.

5.At 9:18 pm on February 20th, 2007, jabbett wrote:

Had another great meal there tonight — prime steaks, short-rib “asados,” more steak tips, burgers, sandwiches, hot chili, and mountains of crispy fries.

6.At 12:51 pm on February 21st, 2007, Big E wrote:

When’s the official opening?

7.At 3:29 pm on February 21st, 2007, jabbett wrote:

They’re officially open, but I’d still recommend calling for their hours before heading out to Newton.

8.At 12:01 am on February 22nd, 2007, Jonathan wrote:

Great beef milanesa tonight! And good mushroom soup.

9.At 5:50 pm on February 22nd, 2007, yeho wrote:

yummy meal. we found the pastrami a bit bland (no pepper/spice-coated border) but the hot chili, steak tips, and burgers were top-notch. here’s hoping they stay around for a long time!

10.At 9:55 pm on February 25th, 2007, chava wrote:

There is more to a dining experience than the food. We went this evening and were thoroughly disappointed.The place was packed, and there were about fifteen people waiting around for seats and food. (There are only three tables and a few stools). We waited over 45 minutes for our orders and then found out that our friend’s order was lost, so he had to wait even longer. There were only three people working and they all looked harrassed and helpless. When we finally sat down to eat, one of our party discovered that his hamburger was not just rare - it was actually raw. The cook was so pressured to get out the orders, he didn’t bother leaving it on long enough. This place has potential, but unless they get organized quickly, you will have a very stressful meal.

11.At 12:04 pm on February 26th, 2007, Big E wrote:

Typical. Another Boston kosher joint that doesn’t have its act together. How pathetic.

Just to give you a sense of what it’s like to have a real dining experience, I was at Le Marais in NY Sat. night. First, the place was open until 1 am. Food was first rate, service was professional, and everything was under control. We ordered the food, it came within a reasonable time, it was (very) good, and we paid for it. Simple as that.

12.At 2:11 pm on February 26th, 2007, DeisCane wrote:

Le Marais has had its fair share of bad reviews both here and on chowhound–including one or two from me. I’d cut a little slack for a place only “open” for two weeks.

13.At 10:46 am on February 27th, 2007, Big E wrote:

Okay, let’s hope that Avenue Deli gets its act together. The Boston kosher community needs a place like this to make it.

14.At 1:18 pm on February 27th, 2007, Neil Rosenbaum wrote:

Naturally, I look forward to seeing how the Avenue Deli rates in the 2007 Boston Kosher Community Survey!

:)

15.At 10:38 pm on February 28th, 2007, David wrote:

I am in from out of town and decided to try based on the this blog and have not regrettedt he decision - have gone twice the first night chose off the special list (do ask to see what is on it) and got roast prime rib with a chimchurri sauce - amazing one of the best pieces of meat I have had in a long time - the next night went with just a plain rib steak - likewise the quality of the meat was excellent and it was cooked to perfection - I can see why they won best butcher in Boston last year -

yes the dining room is small and I can not talk about when it is crowded but even for carry out it is well worth the visit -

16.At 12:25 pm on March 2nd, 2007, Rafi Finegold wrote:

We went last night for the first time and ordered steak tips, baked sweet potatoes and vegetable soup. The steak tips were the best meat I’ve had in a long, long, long time. Ricardo is such a gracious host and that made our visit all the more pleasurable.

17.At 1:50 pm on March 19th, 2007, Paul wrote:

Anyone know what the deal is with Avenue Deli? Called their phone number yesterday and got no answer, not even an answering machine. I even went by the store and it was closed. Does this place have regular hours? Aren’t they crazy for not being open on Sunday evening?

18.At 11:44 am on March 21st, 2007, Big E wrote:

Hope everything’s okay. Seemed like the place had promise.

19.At 4:54 pm on May 30th, 2007, Uri wrote:

So I swung by Avenue Deli last evening at 7:40 to get some of those highly recommended steak tips…unfortunately - the lights were off and the shades were down. The sign on the door however says they are open until 8PM. I saw someone inside so I knocked on the door. The person answered and told me that business was so slow that they decided to close early. I think if they sporadically close early - this will worsen their problem as they will alienate customers who know they can’t rely on the posted hours…

Just my two cents.

Hope these guys make it cause we need em’…there’s just not enough kosher restaurants in boston!!!

20.At 10:47 pm on December 12th, 2007, David Weinstein wrote:

I stopped by this evening 12/12/07 and Avenue Deli was closed went in to Gordon and Alperin and spoke to Ricardo who indicated he was forced to close Avenue Deli - so alas it is no more - is still cooking and selling some of the food at Gordon and Alperin -

21.At 12:25 pm on December 13th, 2007, Ari wrote:

Nothing new — the Avenue Deli has been closed since July. A few months ago, though, Ricardo indicated to me that he was hoping to re-open it soon, so we’ll see…

22.At 6:58 pm on February 14th, 2008, Susan Davis wrote:

Avenue Deli is open, better than ever and plans to stay! Hope to see you soon.
Susan and Ricardo

23.At 8:09 am on February 15th, 2008, Dani wrote:

Awesome!!! Will be there on Monday for lunch with my boy!!

24.At 11:30 am on February 15th, 2008, Susan Davis wrote:

Dani,
We are closed on Monday, hope you can make it another day.
Susan and Ricardo
Avenue hours are
Sunday 11-8
Closed on Monday
Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday 11-8
Friday 11-2

25.At 3:51 pm on February 15th, 2008, Dani wrote:

Thanks for the info. Glad your open for business again.

26.At 9:04 am on February 18th, 2008, former customer wrote:

I saw the initial posting that you were open for business on Feb 14. I was excited to hear the news. So I decided to go for lunch on Sunday. But what a surprise. The deli was closed. Why on earth would you say you are open for business again, only to once again be closed a few days after your grand re opening. Especially on a holiday week end when more people go out to eat. That is no way to run a business.

27.At 2:48 pm on February 18th, 2008, disappointed wrote:

we were also very excited that avenue deli had reopened and tried to go for dinner on sunday night (2/17) at 7 PM. we were pretty miffed to find it closed. does anybody know what’s going on?

28.At 3:20 pm on February 18th, 2008, abe wrote:

We also went yesterday. The owner happened to be there and said they closed for the holiday weekend. Hopefully they will be open this week.

29.At 3:58 pm on February 20th, 2008, skabbett wrote:

We had the opportunity to visit Avenue Deli last night and enjoyed an excellent dinner including soothing tomato soup, mouthwatering prime rib, delicious tacos, and a scrumptious brownie for dessert (our son’s favorite part of the meal)! We plan to visit again soon!

30.At 8:59 pm on February 24th, 2008, D wrote:

Awesome!!
Had the Korean Ribs!! Freaking awesome!
the corned beef sandwich was delicious, and so was the Roast Beef. You have to get the Sweet potato fries.
Cant wait to go back.
Seriously, Highly Recommended!

31.At 11:48 am on June 30th, 2008, Big E wrote:

What’s going on at Gordon & Alperin? For over a week, there’s been a sign outside that says “closed for renovations” but there doesn’t seem to be any work going on inside?

32.At 2:33 pm on July 1st, 2008, Ari wrote:

Are you sure about that? I was just there on Thursday morning (June 26), and I did not see a sign. I was able to buy meat from G&A at that time. They even made me a sandwich from the deli at 10am.

33.At 9:46 pm on July 1st, 2008, Big E wrote:

They were definitely closed this past Monday, when I saw the sign out front.

34.At 1:11 pm on July 2nd, 2008, Ari wrote:

They are always closed on Mondays.

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