New Yorker Deli & Pizzeria

It seems locally owned restaurants are few and far between in Pensacola.  At least, I've had a hard time finding them.  I came across New Yorker Deli and Pizzeria on pure chance.  I was actually driving down Scenic Highway looking for somewhere to eat when I spotted it out of the corner of my eye.  Risking life and limb, I did a quick U-turn and found my way into the parking lot. The New Yorker looks like a converted house.  The living room was converted into the main dining room.  There was only a tiny two top in the corner left when my brother and I arrived.  I'm a bit claustrophobic so  I opted to sit out on the patio.  There's about six large round tables outside.  As it was a relatively balmy night, it was perfect for eating outside.

If you've read my blogs before, you may have realized I can't resist appetizers. I saw a crab dip for $5.99 and thought it couldn't be that big of a serving.  I was very surprised when out comes this huge casserole dish.  Then I thought, oh it's probably a bunch of cheese.  I was wrong again.  This has got to be one of the best crab dips I've had.  I could definitely taste the crab along with a few other ingredients.  There's just enough cream cheese and mozzarella in it to make it nice and rich.  The dip is served with lightly toasted pita bread.  I thought it was good but I rather have a good chunk of garlic bread to with it.  I would definitely order this one again regardless.

Chicken Gumbo and French Onion Soup

My brother and I learned our lesson about ordering an appetizer and two entrees.  This time we decided to share an entree but got two soups.  I had the chicken gumbo and my brother the french onion soup.  Unfortunately, these were a poor follow up to that great dip.  My chicken gumbo soup had so much pepper in it that it was nearly unpalatable.  I couldn't taste much more of anything else.  My brother hate the french onion soup.  It's one of his favorite kinds and this one apparently fell far short of his standards.  He considers a good french onion soup to have a rich beef broth packed with caramelized onions, a good amount of croutons on top and then melted cheese.  Basically, the kind you can picture in your head.  This one was nothing like that.  The cheese was inside the soup instead of on top and the soup itself had a layer of fat on top.  Not exactly appetizing. 

Garlic Chicken Pasta

My brother and I shared the Garlic Chicken Pasta and as you can see, even split the serving size is huge.  It's served with a couple of pieces of french toast.  The flavors are spot on in this dish.  The chicken is cooked perfectly.  It was still tender and juicy, unlike some other places.  I guess I wasn't feeling very well that day because for some reason I felt as if the sauce was a little gritty like it "broke." I did eat all of my chicken and was satisfied. I did mention it to my waitress when she cleared the table.  I was kind of surprised when she took it off my check, considering I was adamant that I was very satisfied with what I was able to eat.  

Throughout my meal, I was coveting the variety of pizzas, subs and sandwiches I saw around me.  Literally, each item that came out looked better than the last.  I will be revisiting New Yorker Deli and trying some more of the menu out.  I couldn't find a website for the New Yorker but I was able to find some websites that claim they have the menu, even though it didn't look like the most up to date menu.  All of them looked about the same though.  Click here if you would like to check it out.