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Jason's Deli

By: The Lady of The Night Out

Here's a riddle:

What happens when you cross a New York style Jewish deli with a ragin' Cajun kitchen? Answer: You get Jason's Deli. It's hard to compete with memories. but Jason's is every bit as good as Sam and Hy's, the quintessential 1996's Jewish deli of my youth. And Commander's Palace, that New Orleans culinary landmark, has met its match in the muffaletta department. Laissez les bon temps roulez, shane maidel! Jason's Deli is one place where opposites attract!

Who should eat at Jason's Deli?

Folks who want it their way. Jason's staff prepares everything as you go through the line. Even though the specialty sandwiches clearly state the ingredients, you can still leave out the onions. Great for those with dietary restrictions. In fact, 60 percent of Jason's diners change at least one item. The restaurant eventually added a "build your own sandwich" section to keep you picky eaters happy. And if you don't like what you've created, no problem. Jason's will gladly trash your first sandwich and let you start again.
Bargain hunters. The most expensive sky-high sandwich is $5.95. And these are a meal in themselves. And dessert is included in the price, making the meal even more affordable.
Ice cream lovers. Knock your socks off. Eat until you suffer brain freeze. It's free!
Families. Kids eat free one day a week - Sunday's on Maryland Parkway, Monday's in Summerlin ... as long as they order from the kid's menu. Can't get cheaper than free! Items include peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese and a deli dog. By the way, local schools hand out free dinner coupons at Jason's to encourage attendance or behavior modification. Don't cut school; cut your sandwich instead.
Cajun cooking fans. This restaurant started in Beaumont, Texas, a Gulf Coast town spittin' distance from New Orleans. Corporate knows how to prepare a mean muffaletta.
Lunch bunch in a hurry. Don't eat at Jason's Deli at 12:30. The line usually snakes out the door. Pick a less insane time and you can have a snazzy deli sandwich made to order your way in five minutes or less.
The starving. Kids, these portions are huge!

Who shouldn't eat at Jason's Deli?

The fress to impress crowd. The charm of Jason's is: there's nothing fancy about it. It looks, smells and sounds like a deli. You'll feel comfortable if you show up in a suit, but it's not Charlie Palmer's.
Folks who want to be waited on. Even though the place has the hardest working bus boys in LVNV, you gotta go through the line to get your food.
Romantics searching for a quiet dinner. This is a working deli; the sandwich makers holler from one end of the line to the other. I find that charming, but it's not that conducive to a seductive tête-à-tête.
Drinkers. Jason's decided not to purchase a liquor license.

Ok, so what's the food like? The must have sandwich: hot pastrami on rye. A mountain of meat was wedged between two slices of rye bread so fresh I expected them to talk back. The meat was just spicy enough to get that tingly feeling in your mouth. And the mustard: loud and bossy, just like it should be.

Every sandwich comes with a pile of potato chips, baked Lay's potato chips or pretzels and the tastiest dill pickle this side of Second Avenue.

A perfect permutation is the New York Yankee sandwich. This home run pairs hot corned beef with hot pastrami. A roof of melted Swiss cheese adds enough goo to hold it all together.

Always a traditionalist, I had to sample the deli club. Oven roasted turkey and imported ham make friends with crispy bacon, and a duo of cheeses (Swiss and cheddar.) This architectural wonder is built with toasted branola bread, which has a chewy, nutty texture of its own.

The Texas-sized Super Spuds are meal in themselves. Jason's uses one and half baked potatoes. The Pollo Mexicano looks like an artist's palette it's so colorful. In addition to the usual suspects - sour cream and cheddar cheese, this spud spotlighted chunks of juicy chicken breast marinated in cumin and other Mexican spices. Homemade pico de gallo added that south of the border pizzazz.

The "lite" version has only 4 grams of fat and 630 calories.

Jason's calls its muffaletta section "madness." Order a whole one and you can feed an entire cube farm. Solo diners: one quarter is more than enough.

We sampled the ham muffaletta, named for the distinctive round loaf that forms the wrapping for this circular sandwich. The kitchen cuts the loaf in half and scoops out just enough to make a pocket. Muffalettas always feature an olive mix that gives them their vivid taste.

The Jason's version uses ham and salami and provolone cheese, which is melted to look like a bubbling lava flow when the sandwich is grilled.

Dessert in the desert: The favorite item is the free soft serve ice cream. Add a white chocolate macadamia cookie, a deserved and decadent indulgence.

Don't be penurious and skip the strawberry shortcake. Fluffy squares of pound cake alternate with fresh strawberries held together with a grout of sweet whipped cream. The natural tartness of the strawberries acts as a counterbalance to the sweetness of the cake and cream to make a refreshing final note.

History: Joe Tortorice and Rusty Coco founded the restaurant in 1976. Tortorice, who just got out of the Air Force, felt a Jewish style deli in redneck southeast Texas would be a novel idea. He moved to Houston to work in a deli to see if he preferred hot pastrami to hot tamales. Partner Coco joined two years later. He had restaurant experience: his father owned Foody Doody grocery stores. I'm betting he felt he could sell a lot more food when Doody wasn't in the title.

They started with just 12 items. Today the menu is four pages.

The last word: The search for the best Jewish deli is over. It's Jason's. And the RJ readers agreed; the restaurant won Best Of in 2002.

Where is it? Currently, there are two locations in LVNV. I ate at 3910 S. Maryland Parkway just north of Flamingo. Phone: 702.893.9799.

The Summerlin location is 1000 S. Rampart at Charleston. Phone: 702.967.9008.

Soon there will be a third location in Henderson near Stephanie.

Website: http://www.jasonsdeli.com

By: The Culinary Curmudgeon Lady of the Night Out

They say location is everything in the real estate world. Ditto for restaurants. The folks that own Jason's Deli obviously don't have blue license plates. Anyone in their right mind wouldn't locate a restaurant on Maryland Parkway just north of Flamingo if they want to feed anyone except UNLV students - because it's impossible to pull out of the parking lot.

After a delicious meal on a week-day evening, it took me 10 minutes to make a right turn. I'd be there a good half hour if I had to cross eight lanes of traffic to turn left.

and FOREVER if I decided to have lunch on a Wednesday when traffic is as thick as those hot pastrami sandwiches.

My advice: until the restaurant hires a rent-a-cop, park at Opportunity Village and hoof it.

Even though I can't stand the New York Yankees, I loved my New York Yankee sandwich. Every time I go to a deli, I can never decide between the hot pastrami and the corned beef. Jason's solved the dilemma. I can have both on one sandwich! Fans, this sandwich was almost six inches tall. The only time I opened my mouth that wide was when the periodontist was taking X-rays.

Where do they find those perfect pickles? Skip the potato chips - who needs the salt and fat?-- and pile those pickles high!

Almost 60 percent of Jason's business is take out. You don't have to be a brain surgeon to figure out those terrific sandwiches taste even better with a beer. The restaurant elected not to pay the exorbitant price for a liquor license, so a bracing cup of java is the stiffest drink on the menu. If you decide to dine in, just add your own crème de cassis to the black courant iced tea.

Another good thing about a restaurant with a significant take out business: the kitchen knows how to pack your leftovers so they don't spill. I can't tell you how many times my food ended up sloshing around the back seat after some hotrod cut me off. I took home a cup of Jason's tortilla soup - it was triple wrapped. I ate every last drop. These people should give seminars!

And how can you not rave about a restaurant that serves FREE ice cream?

Aired 15 November 2002

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