Restaurant Review: Dell'z Deli

Hole-in-the-wall restaurants ALWAYS have the best food.  On the corner of Cannon Street and upper King Street in downtown Charleston, you might catch this doorfront.  If you're walking too fast, you might miss it completely.  The funny thing about the restaurant: it is exactly this big.  Mostly, it's just a kitchen, with a counter that allows four customers to peek over into it.  The reggae pulses right when you open the door, and you can watch Cof C students come in to order a wrap, sign the muraled wall with a Sharpie, and hop on their bikes, heading to class.  

 The concept is simple.  Pitas, wraps, and salads-- with a focus on fresh ingredients and healthy recipes.  The City Paper describes it as "Veggie heavy comfort food"-- they are exactly correct.  Now, don't be deceived.  This isn't your ordinary wrap and salad place-- Dell herself is working the counter, with family members working right next to her.  They are famous for the Beach Bum wrap: spicy shrimp, rice and beans, tons of veggies, spicy mustard, ranchelada sauce.  Today, my friend Christine & I ordered the Workout Wrap (tofu beans, green onions, mushrooms, zucchini, sprouts, carrots and goddess dressing) & the Hummer (black bean hummus, cilantro, sprouts, lime). Confession: I inhaled my half of the Hummer so quickly that I didn't even come close to getting a picture. It was SO good. But I slowed down enough to snap a quick photo of the Workout Wrap, mostly because the portions are so stinking big!  I took this part home for lunch tomorrow; you can't beat two meals for $7.

And I cannot forget to talk about Dell-- she's a sweetheart.  Her reputation as a kind soul precedes her, as the only thing I've heard about Dell'z Deli over and over again is this: "Fantastic food. Dell is a gem."  The amazing thing about that is it's completely true.  The food is great-- yes.  But what will keep people coming back time and time again is the spirit behind this place.  It's contagious.  When they found out it was my first time in, I got the most genuine welcome from all of the people behind the counter.  Even though she had a million things happening in the midst of the lunch rush, Dell stopped what she was doing to lean over and thank me for coming, and then asked me to let her know what I thought of the food.

When I got home, I intended to eat the second half of my wrap for lunch tomorrow, but Donald was "dying of starvation" (his words, not mine") so he pilfered my leftovers from the fridge.  After eating it, Donald said, "These wraps made eating vegetables not feel like a chore."  Ha!  (Guess we know what he really thinks of my cooking... I must be too heavy handed with the veggies I try to sneak into his food.)  It's pretty easy to tell that I'll be back.  Especially when her extension, a smoothie shop, opens next month.  I'm sold.  (interior photo source)