Since 1977, Mom’s Deli has been serving sandwiches to St. Louis on Jamison Avenue. Personally, growing up in South City, Mom’s Deli became one of my favorite shops because I grew up within walking distance from it. Last February, my heart was broken along with many other STL natives, when Mom’s Deli was closed. But hope for the beloved Sandwich shop prevailed as a new location was announced and just recently opened up on Hampton Avenue, still close to its former location.
Pulling up to the new location for the first time I was a little skeptical. The former location to me was a perfect mess. The small, houselike feeling made you feel incredibly welcome and like you were sharing a meal from your very own family. Cramming into the restaurant and walking through a shop where you could select drinks, chips, and side dishes, you waited to get to the front of the line. The small unorganized setup was a perfect storm of chaos and anticipation. The larger setting for the deli scared me, as I felt that this feeling of family and home that separates the restaurant from the others would be lost and traded in for a more traditional restaurant feel. But after a long wait just to get inside the building, all of my worries went away and I immediately felt better. The restaurant is still designed to look and feel like you are inside somebody’s home, and they’re welcoming you to come in and join them for a meal.
But of course the calling card for the restaurant is the Mom’s Special. As a staff, we have already talked about this sandwich with it being ranked our number one sandwich in our first edition of the Perfect Bite. So the expectations were incredibly high for me, as this is personally my favorite sandwich as well. And I am very happy to say that the sandwich was just like how I remembered. The sandwich’s simple ingredients still play incredibly well with each other, with their homemade Thousand Island Dressing being the real highlight of the sandwich, and pulling it all together…