I have to say that this restaurant was (IMHO) a lot better before it was taken over by its next door neighbor, Potomac Pizza. The food was much more like an authentic New York Deli than it is now. The last time I went, we didn't even get a bucket of pickles for the table to munch on while we waited. What kind of deli is that?
These "new" owners seem to buy cheaper ingredients so the food doesn't have that same intensity of flavor that you hope to get. It's just another step in the homogenizing of the American taste buds, but it is a bummer for those of us who grew up in neigborhoods where the ethnic food was made by first & second generation cooks who used as many of the same ingredients as they used in the Old Country as possible.
It's like the difference between real corned beef and the stuff that Hormel sells that resembles the real thing, or a Dill pickle from a barrel rather that a bottle. Similar, but definitely NOT the same.
That being said, the Celebrity Deli is a good place to go for a sandwich or a quick dinner. Just don't take the name too seriouslu.
Having gotten that
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