The Diamond Deli (Second
Visit) Akron, Ohio Date of Visit: 07/24/15 http://diamonddeli.us Click Here for Original Visit To quote Zeppelin, It’s been along time, been a long time but we are headed home from the zoo and stopped by to revisit the Diamond Deli. While there was certainly some good stuff on our first visit, it just didn’t compare to Primo’s…our local deli favorite, especially the sandwiches. Today, I found the sandwiches to be much more competitive than I remembered on our first experience. |
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The Reuben was built on nice rye, loaded with Swiss and pungent
kraut, had a tart spread of Russian dressing but when it comes to
the corned beef…I still prefer the much deeper pickling at Primo’s.
Good Reuben regardless.
We tried one of the specials, titled “Old Bald Guy”...not sure why that appealed to me even more so than the "The Captain Nifty Vampire Fangs Wrap". The old bald guy was delicious. Turkey, smoked gouda, bacon, green apple, onion, sundried tomato mayo on a grilled ciabatta bun. Tastes exactly like it sounds. Tart, sweet, earthy, smoky X2, piles of meat, what’s not to like.
We also tried the Italian sub, cappacola, ham, salami, provolone
cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and Italian dressing. For me, you
can’t beat the spicy Italian…yes, from
Primo’s. Steph actually prefers Diamond’s… she's not so much
into the spicy end of most equations. Both are excellent, if you
like a bit of punch or prefer the more delicate, there’s a good
option in town. |
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The broccoli salad is stupendous, good tater salad, the fruit was
much less peak this trip…sides are well done top to bottom.
The desserts were more of a split. The cheesecake doesn’t taste like much of anything outside of the cherry topping. It does however leave a seriously greasy residue coating your mouth innards.
The carrot cake remains a much, much better option. I realized the
cake layer itself is much sweeter than Primo’s, which gets you an
overall sweeter product with a thinner layer of
cream cheese frosting than the thick blanket of frosting on
Primo’s more savory cake. Both are pretty stupendous, as are the delis.
Whatever your preference...Akron actually and maybe surprisingly does pretty well in the classic sammitch catergory. |
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Change in Ranking | |||||
Original Score | Which Way? | New Score | Why For? | ||
B- | B+ | Much Better Reuben
& Sandwiches Overall Plus Quick And Friendly Service Made For Great Stop |
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This is going to be rough. Such a fan of Primo’s it was time to give another long standing Akron Deli a chance to show what they can do. The Diamond Deli is located right downtown and apparently does things the way they want. Once you figure out how to park you enter a somewhat claustrophobic space dominated by a counter and reach in coolers. They seem to keep hours that work best for them, closing the doors at 3 p.m. It’s loud, busy, and swathed in Zips memorabilia. Everyone is moving, all the time. “If you have time to lean…” anyone who has worked in a restaurant can complete that phrase and it appears a solemn mantra here. I
did my best to keep an open mind and was truly surprised by some of
the findings. The soup du was a Cajun clam chowder which was rich
thick, replete with clams and had a wonderfully spicy warmth that
sat on the tongue. |
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The salads were familiar, but in ways you don’t often remember them. Fresh, bright, flavorful, they must be made in smaller batches to maintain such quality. Even the fruit salad, all fresh fruit, in March no less, was superior to anything I have had in other locations. Now down to
business. How are the sandwiches? In all sincerity they are really
good, really big, and they will absolutely make you anything you
want in addition to the staples and a varied menu of specials named
after memories of families and friends. The only problem is they
don’t stand up to Primo’s to me. The Rueben lacks the intensity of
each ingredient which literally slaps your taste buds awake across
town. The Cuban was recommended and delicious, but still had a
muddiness of flavors that cost them the competition in the sandwich
category. |
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Fruit Salad |
Cuban |
Reuben |
Now the brass tacks. The Diamond
Deli might not make as good a Reuben as some others, it might very
well be my favorite Akron Deli. (It’s new so a couple hundred more
trips are required for confirmation.) First I much prefer the sides
and salads at the Diamond, and then we took the final test. Both places home-make their carrot and cheese cakes. Upon first
glance into the self serve dessert case it appeared we were in for
certain disappointment. The carrot cake didn’t have the tower of
cream cheese icing and the cheesecake didn’t look like a brick of
spectacular. In all honesty, however, both were simply amazing.
Definitely home-spun, but with care and a wild abandon for general
health consciousness, both signature cakes are fabulous. |
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If you can believe it, the icing on the carrot cake, at less than half the height of the Primo's version actually lends a sweeter note the the whole production. They are are wise to limit it's presence. Primo’s might be bigger with better sandwiches, but the Diamond takes the cake on other accounts. Sides, specials, desserts and an attitude that is one of a kind. An alternate universe where every (no really...every) employee is open and gregarious and going out of their way to ensure you are enjoying yourself between their constant cleaning fits, makes the Diamond a memorable experience for lunch that already has me craving a return visit. |
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Ratings | |||||||
Food |
Service |
Ambiance |
What's Best |
What's Worst |
Overall |
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B | B | C | A | B | B- | ||
Desserts,
Sides, and Service |
Some Disappointment in the Cuban/Reuben |