Gandolfo's New York Deli — Restaurant in Bellingham

So I have a lot of history with Gandolfo's. I started out eating at the original locations in Provo and Salt Lake in the mid '90s. They were my favorite places to eat and I ate there an average of three times a week during the five months I lived in UT. I used to chat with the owner/founder about why he moved from NY to UT. He was a good guy and I loved that food. That was probably the biggest thing I missed about UT when I moved home to WA. After a few years, I stumbled upon a Gandolfo's in Redmond. I was super excited and my wife and I planned a date night around eating there. It.was.aweful. The flavors were way off and the construction was terrible. We never went back and it soon went under and became a Gyro restaurant.

Not long after, we were on our way to Canada on the Guide-Meridian and noticed another Gandolfo's near the Bellingham Walmart. This was around 10 years ago and we immediately assumed it was just another crappy location like the one in Redmond. We continued to visit the Provo and Salt Lake locations every time we visited UT to see friends and family and as we started to have kids, it quickly became one of their favorite restaurants to visit while we were there. Now that they're older, they refer to it as visiting their childhood. My oldest daughter started college in UT a year ago and though the original Provo location isn't really there anymore, she frequently ate at the new location a few blocks away.

We don't get to Canada as often as we used to but we've started visiting the Bellingham area a lot more frequently after some close friends moved there. One day while driving up the Guide, it occurred to me that the Gandolfo's there had been around for a long time now. Crappy restaurants don't usually last unless they're McDonald's or Burger King. One-offs like the terrible Gandolfo's in Redmond, go down in flames. I decided to check out their Yelp rating and found that they were very highly rated with a good number of reviews. Had I wasted 10 years of opportunities to eat at one of my favorite sandwich shops?

I rolled in and ordered the Big Apple, which has always been one of my favorites. I've tried nearly everything on the menu and I could easily ping pong back and forth between that sandwich and the Brooklyn Bridge. Another thing I always loved there were the salads. My favorite was the Ranch Tortellini. That salad has sadly been retired but happily, they had six options for me to choose from. I chose the red potato, bacon and sour cream salad and started munching on that while I waited for my sandwich. It was very good and I started to get more excited about what was coming. My sandwich arrived and the first thing I noticed was that it looked like the sandwiches I used to get in UT. I was very pleased, given the terrible construction of the last Big Apple I had eaten in WA. I bit into it and the angels immediately started to sing. It was as good, if not better that every sandwich I had back in the early days. The combination of Roast Beef, Cappicola, Feta and pepperoncini is delicious! It comes with pepper jack but I usually swap that out for Swiss. So good! If you want something a little more straightforward, the Brooklyn Bridge is a bacon turkey and provolone sandwich, which I again swap for Swiss because I love Swiss.

The folks who run it were very friendly and helpful. Good service combined with great food is the magic combination for me. They even gave me some banana pudding to take home with me. I shared it with my kids and they loved it. It kind of tasted like banana cheesecake. I'm giving this place my highest recommendation and letting you know that you now have a go-to place to eat when you visit Bellingham or are on your way to Canada. It's not too far off of I-5 and it's right on your way if you're crossing the border at Sumas or Lynden. Go...

I come from a long line of Italian sandwich eaters. Thanksgiving dinner? Take a roll, make a turkey sandwich….just like my mom and grandpa are doing. Fancy lobster dinner with the wife? Grab a roll, make a lobster sandwich. Traveling in a new town? I ask the concierge where I can find the best sandwich shop. I am genetically disposed to have sandwiches be my favorite meal. Because of that, I was looking forward to trying Gandolfo’s for the first time after driving by and seeing the sign. I walk in, and can instantly tell it’s the owners’ passion project. From the walls hiding - behind positive inspirational sayings, New York-ish decor, and Border Patrol memorabilia (I’m guessing there’s a connection here) - to the display of home-made salads and banana pudding, these folks put the things they care about into the restaurant. As an additional bonus to the busy wall decorations, it helped muffle the sound waves so I didn’t have that ringing in my ears as I do with many other restaurants which only have hard surfaces. I was greeted by an extremely friendly lady behind the counter, who I told it was my first time there and asked for a recommendation which would highlight her restaurant to me. The menu was quite large and detailed, so I was hoping for some guidance. Instead of recommending the most expensive sandwich or just giving me one option and being done with me, she asked some probing questions (Do you like sauerkraut? Do you like spicy mustard? Etc…) and settled on the I Love NY with Russian dressing (the other option was mustard). Although I usually don’t eat corned beef or pastrami, I really wanted to try whatever the recommendation was. Without hesitation, I will say it was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life! The rye bread was warm and soft, the Russian dressing was extremely good and the portion balanced perfectly, the cheese (Swiss, I think?) was thin enough where it didn’t overpower the flavor but enhanced, while still enough to give the bouncy-ness to my teeth that I love with hard cheeses. And the meat….the meat. Oh. My. Gosh. Quality pastrami and corned beef cut into thin slices piled thick (just enough for me, maybe too much food for some) showing they weren’t as interested in profit margin as they were in delivering a stellar meal. One of the fallouts of COVID has been the decline of both quality and service in the restaurant industry, both lowering expectations and creating a defeated feeling often when we go out (instead of “Ooh - we’re going out to eat!” it has become “I’m away from the house and I’ve gotta eat - let’s get this over with”. However at Gandolfo’s, the food, service, and atmosphere fed both my body and spirit. I left physically heavier but emotionally lighter, and can’t wait to go back to try the...

I’ve lived in Bellingham for 5 years now, and I’ve consistently been a returning customer here for 4 solid years ever since I first discovered the place on my way to school one morning. There’s many driving factors that keep me a dedicated fan of this particular business, first and foremost Mr. and Mrs. Tan are practically the physical embodiment of what quality customer service looks like in today’s world, in my experience they’ve always gone out of their way to make me feel at home there as a customer. The quality of ingredients used here will give you a serious run for your money, I highly reccomend the French Dip as a roast beef lover myself but this business also specializes in both hero style subs and classic square bread sandwiches like the pastrami on rye and the Reuben. Aside from the many great options they offer for sandwiches, this deli also makes amazing side dishes like red skin potato salad, broccoli salad and pasta salad. Not to mention their hand made banana pudding is to die for, it’s texture compares to no other. Another huge plus is the impressive menagerie of law enforcement memorabilia used to decorate the store’s interior between the official medals, flags and uniforms donated to him by veterans who have come into visit Mr. Tan in the past. Its a comforting feeling knowing someone in this city still expresses positive feelings and support for our law enforcement and servicemen alike, especially in today’s opinionated day and age. Overall, Gandolfo’s NY Deli in Bellingham is a family friendly, high quality Jewish Style delicatessen that’s definitely worth a try if you haven’t...