Have you met The Dave? No? It’s high time you did at Hansen’s Manhattan Deli. (Photos: courtesy of Carey Hansen)
By Karla Walsh
At our favorite restaurants, most of us have mainstays. I, for one, can’t visit Wasabi without ordering the Brussels sprouts appetizer for the table. Restaurants tout their signature dishes, too, like Cheese Bar’s “World-Famous Mac,” Lua’s Smush Burger and Table 128’s irresistible chocolate chip cookies with sea salt.
Whenever I chat with restaurant owners and chefs, they appreciate fans’ loyalty to the bestsellers. But often, what really gets them talking are the “sleeper hits,” the overlooked menu items they wish we would order.
So for you, dear reader — and frankly, for me, too — I’ve rounded up a few menu suggestions from the folks who know them best.
Hansen’s Manhattan Deli
Most-ordered item: The Little Italy
Sleeper hit: The Dave
Sure, the piled-high Little Italy is a fan favorite, with good reason: It’s a hoagie stuffed with pastrami, hard salami, provolone, Swiss, onions, mild fried peppers, brown mustard, mayo and dressing. But the under-the-radar alternative named after the deli’s original owner, Dave Bassman, is such a cult classic that regulars kept ordering it even when it slipped off the menu for 18 years. After Carey and Corey Hansen bought the place from the Hagars, in 2020, they asked them who this Dave was because customers kept asking for the simple steamed sandwich with sliced-in-house pastrami, Swiss, pickles and mustard on an onion bun. Now it’s back on the menu under the “warm originals” section. “The history makes this so special, as does the nostalgic feeling people get when they order it,” Carey Hansen said. “It’s so simple, yet so good.”
Sleeper hit:Astoria bagel sandwich
The classic “BEC” is one of the most popular orders, right up there with a simple bagel with cream cheese. But if you ask Sarah Chem, the business’s creative director and co-owner, with her husband, Toney Chem, your next trip should include a taste of Astoria. This sandwich is “inspired by Greek flavors and our time in Queens,” she said. “It’s built on an everything bagel with cucumber dill cream cheese, turkey, spinach, tomato and feta. It’s fresh, savory and perfectly balanced.”
Sleeper hit: The Molly sandwich
When Steve Taylor opened the pizza place in Norwalk, he was eager to introduce the neighborhood to Neapolitan-style pizza. Since Day One, there have been two such pies on the menu, the Margherita and the Marinara, and the former, topped with fresh mozzarella and basil, is the No. 1 seller. “The other pizzas are Americanized versions of the original, including the pepperoni, which is our No. 2,” Taylor said. He rounds out the menu with appetizers, salads, lasagna, keto bowls (essentially crust-free pizzas) and some serious sandwiches. “Our Molly sandwich, with bacon, pepperoni, roasted red peppers and mozzarella, has never really caught on,” Taylor said. “But of the few who’ve have tried it, almost everyone comes back for more. It has a loyal following, albeit a small one.”
Sleeper hit: Boquerones
“The burger and fries keep the lights on around here,” chef-owner Chris Hoffmann said. And rightfully so: The double smash patty with American cheese, onions and pickles is a masterpiece of editing and execution, and the fries are pillowy on the inside, wrapped up in a golden, crispy, salty coat. (Mmmwah! Chef’s kiss.) “Our appetizers and entrées change frequently with the seasons and with our own whims,” Hoffmann said. He still recommends the burger, but he said you should start with a round of boquerones, which is essentially tinned fish on toast. The word is Spanish, but at Clyde’s, it nods to the chef’s Danish heritage with slices of dense dark rye bread topped with homemade tomato sauce, La Quercia bacon, piparra peppers, marinated Spanish white anchovies, micro mustard greens, a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of smoked olive oil. If you’re used to sub-par brown anchovies on pizza, Hoffmann swears this dish will change the way you think about them.
Show Comments (0)