BNY Deli — Restaurant in Thornton Township

Wow, I've never had a negative experience here. Like all food cooked on site I don't expect things to be the exact same each time I visit. There's also so much on the menu that I am still trying out each item before I move into build your own territory. Have there been times where there was a bit too much oil on my reuben, yeah probably but not something to quibble about as I could have stated when I order to go easy on the fat used on the grill.

My husband and I can split a large sandwich, each have a dish of mac and cheese (wonderful stuff), split a dessert (they're on the large side) and he has a soda (I don't do sweetened beverages so I just do water) and our bill averages out at about $26. Not too bad for well cooked food with no strange ingredients.

If I wanted cheaper fare I'd go to potbelly's or jimmy johns but the quality of the food at Bernstein's is much better. Is it like what I'd find in NY, probably not and it shouldn't be. I've had great deli food in Memphis (go figure), Cincy and downtown at Ada's (which sadly is now closed) and I've loved each restaurant for it's on reasons. But these days it's getting hard to find a great deli.I am beginning to believe Julia Child more and more that American's have become so focused on "health" that how food tastes has gone by the wayside. I think you can have both.

The things I like here: The bensonhurst, the reuben, the rachel, the reuben egg rolls, the mac and cheese, the chips (when fresh), the pickles (we always ask for an extra one), the carrot cake, and the those crazy cookies with all of the yummy stuff in them. There's probably more but those are the things that have caused me to say, "it's time for a Bernstein's run."

I've never had an issue with the staff. They've always been very nice to us. There is one African-American gentleman there who has always been there when we go and he is very nice and friendly and always answers any questions we may have.

The only time we've been disappointed is when we go and they're out of reuben egg rolls.

The only negative is parking. The lot is a small one and the lines for the spaces have faded so sometimes it's hit or miss if you can get parking close to the deli. Doesn't help that folks sometimes park willy-nilly. Not too big a deal in non-winter months but if there's snow on the ground or very cold the walk from the Vollmer side of the lot seems a bit...

To start with the good: The matzoh ball soup and chicken noodle soup were good. That's all that was good. Now the bad: The corned beef sandwich was lacking in every respect. Hardly any meat and soggy rye bread. The potato pancakes that were $1.50 extra as a side were about the size of silver dollars but were flavorful. The Reuben egg roll is a great sounding item but is a novelty and wasn't anywhere near as delicious as it sounded. We also ordered a Good Life sandwich which was portrayed on the menu as being warm and was delivered to our table cold. None of our food arrived together. One of us was finished before the next got their food. We ordered a turkey sandwich to go and when we got home it was just turkey and bread. It didn't even have the provolone that they charged 75 cents extra for. The young staff didn't really seem to know what they were doing. It's really too bad. I grew up going to Al's deli in Homewood. Was hoping for another south side gem like that. This place is just too far off the mark. I think the owner needs to visit Shapiro's deli in Indy to see how a top notch deli serves food. Sadly I dont think we'll...

10-07-2020 Okay, I've heard from friends how good the corned beef is at BNY, so today I decided to try it myself. It is a nice size deli with a setup for pre-covid19 dine-in. The young man behind the register took my order with kindness and patience. He answered my questions even though some of the answers were listed on the wall behind him. I asked for three cornbeef sandwiches for my wife, son and myself. He mentioned that the sandwich is also offered in a double meat size. I wanted coleslaw as the side until he showed me the tiny thimble it comes in. I instead went for the slightly over-cooked homemade chips. Once I arrived home I slowly ate my sandwich, making an effort to really taste it. The corned beef was pretty good, not sure if it really classified as double meat. I'm not a small guy, and I enjoy a good sandwich, and that was a good sandwich. The prices are a bit inflated but they make a good corned beef sandwich. If their prices were more reasonable I would make this deli, my deli. If price is not an obstacle, give BNY a try. Let me know what you...