Sausalito's Gourmet Deli

An American deli with an old-world Greek twist.

7/10: Decent quality

Something important is lost when the word “delicatessen” is shortened to just “deli.” “Delicatessen” has a hand-made, carefully-considered, gourmet quality whereas “deli” sounds almost like a regular corner market - slapdash, thoughtless, grab-n’-go. Delicatessen feels old-world whereas deli is the American strip mall version. In my view, a “deli” is just a delicatessen with the specialness removed. A lobotomized delicatessen.

The Sausalito Gourmet Deli apparently tries to have it both ways - by inserting the word “gourmet” before the word “deli.” If they’d just stuck with the word delicatessen, they wouldn’t have needed the word gourmet.

Nestled a few feet back from the sidewalk on the ground floor of a Victorian house, Sausalito Gourmet Deli is a Greek-style American deli(catessen) that projects a warm vibe the moment you walk in the door –an old-world feeling with lots of aged wood in the counter, shelves, floors, tables and chairs.

The owners Frank and Eve Hontalas emigrated to Sausalito from a town about an hour south of Athens, Greece that starts with a “P” (I didn’t quite catch the name, even though Frank said it twice). When I asked the wife how long they’d been running the place, she answered with a wry smile, “All our lives.” In truth, Frank started the business back in 1974 and Eve came to work with him shortly thereafter. If I had to guess, I’d bet they are in their early 70’s now.

When I wandered in, Frank and Eve were the only people behind the counter – which is a small crew for a delicatessen. But then, Sausalito’s Caledonia Street is off the beaten path and the Saturday lunch crowd is light. Their shelves are packed with packaged gourmet items, wines and several brands of chips. The deli case has a wide array of small-batch homemade dishes – featuring a platter of stuffed deviled eggs and authentic Greek hummus.

Frank and Eve own the building, so I asked if that’s been helpful in keeping the business profitable. “Oh yes,” says Eve. “We were very lucky to be able to buy the building early on.” In my research of delicatessens, this is not an uncommon theme. Delicatessen owners try and stretch to buy the entire building so they can avoid the ever-increasing rents that can easily put a small, local food service operation out of business.

I ask Eve what their popular items are. She gestures to menu board, grins and says, “The board.” Meaning that all 40 sandwiches they offer are popular. Then she mentions the spanakopita (Greek spinach pie), the combo sandwiches (pretty standard combos like BLTA and Avacado & Cheese), the meatloaf sandwich and the Reuben. I order the spanakopita, a soppressata (dried salami from Souhern Italy) sandwich on a French roll, a pint of their red potato salad with herbs, and a caprese sandwich on soft ciabatta bread for Kerri (my wife) and Luka (son, 14) to share.

So, how was the food?

The spanakopita: Though it wasn’t heated all the way through, it was still a mind-blowing culinary delight. The phyllo dough was perfectly flakey and buttery (I had butter grease on my hands after eating it). The filling was the right blend of cheesy and earthy. It’s a nice portion, too, but not quite enough to fill me up. So I moved on to the sandwich.

Soppressata sandwich on a French roll: This was just a standard-issue deli sandwich. Good, but nothing special. The Italian dressing on the baby romaine leaves is a nice touch, but everything else was average. Tomato, provolone, pickle, lettuce, brown mustard, bread. Period. Pepperoncini or pepper relish would have added a nice pop and gone well with the meat. Or maybe a special mustard would’ve helped. I’m not 100% sure. But this was a very run-of-the-mill sandwich.

Red potato salad with herbs: Red potatoes are great for potato salad because they hold their shape and texture. When it breaks down, it’s very creamy. Though quite delightful, this potato salad was SO creamy that I had to wonder about the amount of mayo in it. But overall, top-notch flavor.

The Caprese sandwich on ciabatta: Both Luka and Kerri claimed it was, “so good.” I only got one bite though. The mozzarella did have a nice consistency – not too squishy and not too hard, and the pesto was well apportioned (i.e. not overbearing).

Many fans of this place are quick to point out the garden patio out back – a wonderfully peaceful, lush and sun-drenched spot with a water fountain that invites you to linger and chat. Many also write about the warmth and friendliness of the couple themselves. This element is key when it comes to running a deli(catessen). If people just wanted a straight transactional experience, they’d go to the deli section of their local supermarket. But aside from the convenience and reasonable quality food, people don’t get a lot out of that grocery version. Whereas at a deli(catessen), with its warm and welcoming atmosphere. they have the opportunity to feel something: Welcomed, taken care of, interacted with, and just plain seen. This personal touch, the humanity of this experience, is what makes the deli(catessen) worth visiting. Well, that and better-than-average food.