The Daphne $7.75 (with a pickle and side of potato salad) Turkey, avocado and Cajun sauce on sourdough bread
How best to take the measure of a man or a meal? A fine question.
For a man, it’s often his handshake. A firm grip tells you something; so does a too-firm grip. For a pizza, I typically order a pepperoni when I try a new place. If they can’t do that well, it’s unlikely their pesto-eggplant-pineapple special will be any good, either.
But what to do at a deli? There are so many classics. For me, the best test is a turkey sandwich. It’s simple, straightforward and easy to get right – or wrong.
Since I’d never heard of Daphne’s before last week -- tucked away on mostly residential Corona Street between Third and Fourth avenues – let alone been there, I figured I’d start with turkey. Sure, it has other, more intriguing options, like a pastrami egg salad (I’d thought Heidi’s was the only place brave enough to try that one), meatloaf, and a hummus, tomato and cucumber concoction, but I wanted turkey – turkey and avocado.
Daphne’s has been around about three years. It is named after the owner’s large dog, who comes in almost every afternoon for bacon scraps. The signature sandwich, then, must be the Daphne: turkey, avocado and Cajun sauce. I added cucumbers and tomatoes because my mom says vegetables are good for me. The turkey was good and avocado was great, but the best part about this sandwich was the spicy Cajun sauce, which brought a tear to my eye and a lot of water to my lips.
It was a sandwich that came together well, anchored by the turkey, glued by the avocado, freshened by the sauce and bordered by the sourdough, which was strong enough to hold everything in but soft enough that I didn’t require Band-Aids in my mouth.
All in all, I would say that Daphne’s measured up. – Jonathan Shikes
To read about other sandwiches, check out the Our Weekly Bread archive.
