Weinberger's Deli — Restaurant in Grapevine

Loved this place! I love a good deli and have been to great ones in New York, Chicago, Indy, Detroit, Philly, etc., and have to ask myself how have I lived in this area for several years and not gone to Weinberger’s before. You can count on me returning again and again and again. It will take several dozen visits just to get through all of the things on the menu that I want to try. First of all, it is important to state that this is a Chicago-style deli. To me that means it has a particular attention to flavor combinations of all kinds dealing with meats, toppings, condiments and breads. As opposed to a New York deli that is a huge pile of meat on one of a couple bread choices. Both are good concepts, but I think it is harder to pull off all of the variety of a Chicago-style deli, and Weinberger’s definitely succeeds. My wife had a New Yorker – corned beef, coleslaw and Russian dressing on a garlic grilled onion roll. It was excellent, and because she got the “mini” it was just the right size for her. Meanwhile, I studied the menu for quite some time online before we arrived and then again as we stood in line. My guess is there is always a line, at least there was at 1:15 in the afternoon on a Saturday when we were there. Probably a dozen people ahead of us, but it moved quickly. While there were easily 3 dozen sandwiches I was deciding between, I ended up selecting the Father Dolan – corned beef, pastrami, turkey pastrami, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, lettuce, tomato, green onion and hot Giardiniera peppers on a garlic grilled poppyseed hoagie! Wow. Flavor and texture were outstanding. The Giardiniera was hot, but the right hot for my palate. The meat on both of our sandwiches was perfect. I could only eat half so the other half made a great lunch a couple days later. So, the first hurdle, quality sandwiches, more than cleared. To me the other hurdle for a deli is potato salad. They have three: Mustard, Baked and German. Again for me, it is mustard potato salad that is the standard bearer of potato salads. It was outstanding. Probably the fourth best I have ever had, coming in behind Shapiro’s, The Commissary, and my mother’s, and since none of those are here, it scores as the best potato salad I have had in the DFW area.

By the way, there are even a half dozen Vegetarian sandwich choices that look outstanding.

It will take years, but I will make my way through the many sandwiches I was torn between – and that includes dogs and Cubans as well.

By the way, this place is small. I didn’t count, but it can’t be more than a dozen tables, most 2 tops.

5 enthusiastic stars for...

I had the Dragon Breath Cuban, chips, and a side of potato salad. I cannot share my enthusiasm about Cubans, they’re my favorite sandwich to buy when I go out to eat. I wanted to support a more local deli than something that is a chain deli. I first decided that I’d love to try something new when my sister called and I asked her for recommendations, she raved on about this place, saying it has the BEST Cuban she’s ever had and has an amazing style when it comes to making food! So, I was already happy. I placed my order as soon as I could and did not expect it to be ready so fast! I was in Plano so it was a ways away but totally worth it. I spent $12ish bucks and was hoping it was worth the time and money or else I’d be disappointment and my sister would never hear the end of it. Once I got home, I opened the box and saw a 6ish inch sandwich wrapped that’s as still warm after sitting for 40 minutes. I was disappointed at first because I was like, “great, another chain with its half footlong sub that’s all bread” I unwrapped it and found that it was a nice toasty footlong sized Cuban. Yet, it had been perfect from the toast, the crunch and the overall presentation. I tried the sub and it was AMAZING. I usually have a hard time finding Cubans because I feel like they come out really weird if you choose the wrong place. I was so happy with this sandwich because it was a bit spicy, but you could still taste the overall quality of each item. I’m amazed, nonetheless. My mom also made potato salad for birthdays and stuff as a kid and even to this day, I looked forward to eating some for my sisters birthday but due to the quarantine, someone took all the eggs and potatoes. I needed my fix of potato salad and didn’t want to go to a grocery store to get done because the quality would be off. I decided to get an order since I saw it and again, after my drive home, I tried some. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. Even my favorite places make awful potato salad, so it was amazing to finally find a place that makes my moms potato salad. I will definitely be coming back next week or even tomorrow. I may have an addiction. 10/10 recommend the dragon breath Cuban and...

After months of carting the Manling to the Warhammer Citadel to get his geek on (apples and trees and all that), we constantly saw this place packed to the gills, and upon a recommendation from a coworker, we finally decided to try it out. It's a long, narrow, cozy little counter-service sandwich joint with tables inside and out and a crazy-busy atmosphere. The crew there really had things under control though, taking orders and slinging sandwiches like nobody's business, without being weird or rude about it.

If it's your first time, be warned: for a sandwich joint, the menu (on the overhang above the kitchen, pictured) is expansive, diverse, and detailed. And EVERYTHING LOOKS AMAZING. Would advise to pre-game your first visit, depending on how long the line is.

Clearly, this joint is a local legend, and its reputation is well-deserved. I ended up with the Dragon's Breath Cubano, which was absolutely amazing and densely packed with flavor. The serrano salsa was just a bit spicy, good for normie white people and bad Mexicans like my wife. Had I kept reading, I would've seen the Red Dragon, which has habanero instead. Habanero is my jam. Next time, little sandwich. Next time.

My son (the aforementioned Manling) got the Italian Meatball, and judging by the euphoric trance he entered upon first bite, it would suffice to say "yeah, it's good". My wife, who has had a lifelong love affair with both meatloaf and meatball subs, almost went with the latter as well, but why double down on a first visit? She ended up going with the Thor's Pattymelt (with grilled meatloaf!) and had no regrets.

Just to round out the nutritional scope of our meal we got a baklava, a chocolate chunk cookie, and a peanut butter cookie. All three were incredible.

For as busy as they were (Saturday lunch hour on a cool autumn day with lots of foot traffic), we got served startlingly quickly. Food was great. Line was long. Go there. Get you...