Featuring.....Chicago Deli

Another new restaurant has opened on Avenue Hidalgo. The Chicago Deli is the brainchild of owner/operator Pedro. Some of you may remember him as the head chef at Marino's last year. The restaurant located in the prior location of Koko-Nuts Bar. He left there and has opened his own place, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Although the dinner menu is the same as the lunch menu.














This man does not skimp on servings. When we went there for breakfast I had an omelet with bacon and B had eggs over easy. B's eggs were done to perfection and there were three yolks present. Usually one only sees two. Coffee is extra but bottomless and tasty. Breakfasts will certainly fill you up and are in the $5 to $7 range.



The food was so good that we decided to take Ivan there for his birthday lunch. Among other choices for sandwiches, he offers roast beef or pastrami. B opted for the roast beef and was given his choice of about seven different cheeses! He was a bit skeptical but reported that it was the best sandwich he has ever had on Isla. Strong praise indeed.






I was also impressed with the variety of mustards brought to the table. Normally the old standby of French's yellow is all you get. I was thankful to see something else on offer.




Ivan and I opted for the bacon cheeseburger. Again with the choice of cheeses. Ivan went for the manchego and I took gouda. The portion of fries (extra) looks meager here but Ivan and I shared an order for $2. The burger was $5.



It certainly was a filling lunch, but, to be honest, I have had better burgers on the island. My favorite being at San Cocho's. These were definitely what I call box burgers. Preformed, stacked and frozen. They weren't despicable, being Angus burgers, but still, I would prefer a fresh, hand formed one.




Here's a sampling of his breakfast menu and then the lunch/dinner menu. Interestingly, the breakfast menu is in pesos while the lunch menu is in dollars. Residents of the island receive an automatic 15% discount off their bill. Sweet!

I didn't get a picture of Pedro since he was in the back cooking. But I did get the bartender and the waiter to pose for me. Some of you may recognize the guy on the right. This is Cesar, one of the waiters for the past few years at Don Chepo's. He still works there at night. They both speak very good English.

If you're on the island now or plan a visit soon, I would recommend you give this new place a try. I would really like to see him succeed in this unique (to the island) venture. In fact, Heather is up from Playa del Carmen visiting and that's where I'm taking her for breakfast this morning.