Ticket Editor: New Sarasota restaurant now open for lunch with N.Y. Jewish deli favorites

Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·3 min read

Downtown Sarasota is home to many of the region's best restaurants, including a few that appeared in my recent story on the top spots for wings. However, I'm always looking for new dining and drinking destinations when exploring Main Street and the surrounding avenues.

On a recent Friday, I departed from our air-conditioned office on Upper Main and walked to Lower Main. Sure, the heat and humidity started to feel like a fat dog's tongue pressed against my face, but I had a couple of cool diversions along the way. My first destination, one of the most highly anticipated downtown Sarasota restaurant openings of the year, had already closed for the day. However, a sign on the door offered some very exciting news.

Palm Avenue Deli in downtown Sarasota now serving lunch

Corned beef sandwich on caraway rye bread at Palm Avenue Deli in downtown Sarasota.
Corned beef sandwich on caraway rye bread at Palm Avenue Deli in downtown Sarasota.

Chef Natalia Levey and her local Hi Hospitality Group began welcoming guests to Palm Avenue Deli — which shares prime real estate in the theater district with their other exceptional restaurants and lounges, Kojo and the newly opened Bar Hana — for breakfast only about a month ago.

On Friday, July 21, the sign on the deli's door notified folks that the restaurant would begin serving lunch on Tuesday (July 25). I confirmed the information this week with Robert Castellon, Director of Operations for Hi Hospitality Group. As of today, the deli is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The newly unveiled lunch menu includes Jewish deli classics like a corned beef or pastrami sandwich on caraway rye (single $15, New York-style double $26), matzo ball soup ($8), potato latkes ($11), chicken salad, chopped chicken liver ($9), N.Y.-style cheesecake ($7), smoked fish platters, and full sour pickles for a mere nickel. Other notable dishes include Chicken Waldorf salad ($4 per scoop), Israeli couscous ($12), two caviar options, and the Palm Avenue Burger that I must try, topped with pastrami, cheddar, horseradish aioli, crispy caramelized onions, and dill pickles on a sesame bun ($18).

The most popular dishes at Palm Avenue Deli are the New York classic deli sandwiches

Pastrami sandwich on caraway rye bread at Palm Avenue Deli in downtown Sarasota.
Pastrami sandwich on caraway rye bread at Palm Avenue Deli in downtown Sarasota.

"We have been open for breakfast for three weeks now and the neighborhood has shown an overwhelming amount of support," Castellon said via email July 26. "From guests that are new to the deli concept, to the guests that enjoy it for its sentimental and nostalgic value, the response has been very positive. In any opening, there are always small adjustments and pivots that need to take place, and we are taking every guest's feedback very seriously in an effort to make this the best version of itself."

Castellon noted that the most popular dishes have been the classic New York deli sandwiches. However, he said they have been pleasantly surprised to see how many people have enjoyed the less traditional dishes, such as the Chilled Beet, Strawberry & Watermelon Gazpacho (their "play on borscht"), as well as the Israeli couscous. Dinner hours should be added next, as Castellon previously informed me, followed by a limited late-night menu. The plan is for Palm Avenue Deli to eventually operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Reuben sandwich at Palm Avenue Deli in downtown Sarasota.
Reuben sandwich at Palm Avenue Deli in downtown Sarasota.

"We are so happy to see such a great mix of guests that are enjoying our offerings with such varied relationships to this type of restaurant," Castellon said. "From total newbies to the guests that give us hugs for the walk down memory lane."

Alas, as a child in the 1980s, family trips to visit my grandparents in the Bronx did not include stops at the Big Apple's famed delis. As an adult, though, I fell in love with these classic New York Jewish deli dishes, and my next stroll through downtown Sarasota will most definitely include a stop at Palm Avenue Deli.

Palm Avenue Deli is at 1297 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota.
Palm Avenue Deli is at 1297 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota.

Palm Avenue Deli, at 1297 N. Palm Ave. in downtown Sarasota, is currently open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. For more information, call 941-263-3742 or visit palmavenuedeli.com.

Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.​​​​​​

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Palm Avenue Deli in Sarasota now open for lunch