JLB review: A downtown deli worth its schmaltz
- Famlily-owned and Naples-based%2C Larry's Lunchbox opened its third location in Fort Myers in December
- The kosher-style deli serves Jewish favorites such as matzo ball soup and knishes.
- It is counter service with food delivered to your table after ordering.
It was my third or fourth visit to Larry's Lunch Box, but I still slowed down.
I never can remember if this month-old downtown Fort Myers deli is east or west of Hendry Street; if it's behind the bail bond place, or the criminal defense attorney? So I slow down, eyes peeled for Larry's little sandwich-board sign.
The last thing I want is to miss out on the matzo ball soup (knock on wood, hasn't happened yet), or get there when my takeout pastrami sandwich is no longer steaming hot.
Larry's opened in October in that odd, central unit along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard that housed Edison Lunch Box for seemingly forever.
It marked a few firsts: The first kosher-style deli to operate downtown in far too long, and the first really good one to operate in Lee County since Miami Connection closed in 2009 — and no, I'm not counting bagel places, or delis that happen to offer corned beef.
The kosher style is more specific than that. There should be pickles — bright green ones, garlicky and half-sour with a faintly bitter funk – and beef tongue and freshly chopped liver. Corned beef should be brined and cooked in house, then sliced thin and piled high on chewy rye bread flecked with caraway seeds. There should be liverwurst and lox and latkes.
And all of this should be done well.
Enter Larry's.
This new Fort Myers location marks the third for the family-owned, Naples-based chain. For Fort Myers Jews, and the gentiles who love their food, it marks an opportunity to enjoy knishes and excellent chicken salad without driving to Naples or Sarasota.
That chicken salad is served in big hunks glistening with mayo. The chicken is boiled with onions and celery and aromatics, then its broth is skimmed of schmaltz and used in soups, including matzo-ball and chicken-noodle varieties that are at once gloriously rich and impossibly light.
That skimmed-schmaltz is, of course, saved and worked back into Larry's tender matzo balls, the kind bubbie would roll with exceedingly gentle hands.
There is roast beef and turkey and corned beef. The meats are served in simple sandwiches, and in more complex ones with fantastical names. I have a thing for Cliff's Cosmic Connection (a Reuben with slaw in lieu of kraut, more or less), and for Paul's Popular Pursuit — same, just add chopped liver. Mention how fresh said liver tastes to the young man behind the counter, and he may explain how his father chops it himself each morning.
There are thick burgers cooked to order. And chicken sandwiches served juicy and hot. Salads feature a bounty of vegetables — tomato, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, sprouts —to be drizzled in Larry's house-made dressings.
You order at the counter and wait at your table for food. Dishes come the moment they're ready, meaning your knish, filled with fluffy mashed potatoes, may serve as dessert (fine by me).
Larry's has better signage now. Just this week big letters were plastered across the deli's gray-blue facade. I'm less likely to miss it, but I'm still going to slow down.
Jean Le Boeuf is the nom de plume of a local food lover who dines at The News-Press' expense.
Larry's Lunchbox Delicatessen
2200 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers
• Food: ★★★☆
• Atmosphere: ★★☆☆
• Service: ★★★☆
• Price: $-$$
• Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday.
• Call: 208-4035
• Web:larryslunchbox.com
• Noise level: Moderate
• Etc.: Soft drinks only, takeout available, delivery to a limited area with minimum order, catering and box lunches available.
SAMPLE OF THE MENU
APPETIZERS
• Potato latkes, $2.75
• Matzo ball soup, bowl, $4.75
• Tossed salad, $6.50
ENTREES
• The Lestar Burger, $6.95
• Chicken salad plate, $7.50
• Beef tongue sandwich, $11
NOTE: Edison Lunch Box remains open at 2241 Widman Way, Fort Myers.