Deli

The scene repeated itself over and over yesterday. A hungry diner would walk up to the Homewood Delicatessen, look through the darkened window with a frown, then finally catch the yellow sign in the window.It was a death notice."Closed. We thank everyone for their support," read the handwritten sign telling customers that the Homewood Deli was out of business."We were just here last week," said a surprised Thelma Gross, who had come to the deli with Doris Carroll, a co-worker at the Board of Education.

People come back to Ocean City for the traditions - a favorite restaurant, beach spot or mini-golf course. For visitors looking to try something different, this season has a lot of new things to offer, whether you eat at the town's new (and only) Jewish deli, grab a beer at a new craft brewery or take time to go to the circus. And while you're enjoying what's new under the sun, take a moment to look at what's beneath your feet. The town just finished up the second and final phase of its three-year, $6 million boardwalk renovation project.

I believe in bootlicking boosterism as much as any columnist, so if you want to tell me that Baltimore has the best crabcakes, the nicest harbor and the most plentiful downtown parking in the world, hey, I'll pass it on.But I have to draw the line when it comes to pastrami. Journalistic integrity and my own taste buds demand it.Loyal readers (i.e., blood relatives) know that I am somewhat of a pastrami expert. I have eaten it in such exotic and unlikely locations as Saudi Arabia, Beirut, Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

Lou Davis, the dean of State House reporters, cracked the Annapolis equivalent of the "glass ceiling" Friday as he became the only journalist honored with a meal in his name at Chick & Ruth's deli of Main Street. Gov. Martin O'Malley and House Speaker Michael E. Busch joined in the ceremony at which "the Lou Davis" -- a lox, eggs and onion platter with deli potatoes and toast -- was added to the menu wall alongside dozens of sandwiches and other meals named for politicians. Teddy Levitt, owner of Chick & Ruth's, said Davis has been a customer at the deli since the 1960s.

Attman's Delicatessen Weiss Deli 1127 E. Lombard St., Baltimore -- 410-276-7910 Hours --8 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays In and out in --10 minutes This deli nuked the meat and cheese in a microwave, added chopped onions and slapped the combo on rye spread with sharp mustard. At $4.73, it was the cheapest of the three; lighter on the onions and beef than the others, but still tasty. Know of a good carryout place? Let us hear about it.Write to sam.sessa@baltsun.

Brown's Wharf, Fells Point. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays to Wednesdays; 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays to Saturdays. Call 276-5751.Rosalie Spence, owner of the Deli, is a familiar face. Visitors to the Brown's Wharf shop quickly recognize her from the days when she sold hot pretzels and popcorn at the Brokerage and in Fells Point. Now she sells Belgian waffles, raisin nut logs, bagels, breakfasts, sandwiches, salads and desserts at a friendly storefront on Thames Street.The Deli just opened three weeks ago, so it's not without new business pains -- a wait here, no seafood salad there -- but don't let that stop you from trying the healthy-sized combination sandwiches that come with creamy coleslaw and chips ($5.50)

Annapolis residents are fond of saying that theirs is a real town, not a museum like Williamsburg or a cluster of trendy bars like Georgetown in Washington, D.C.Charles A. "Chick" Levitt, who died Sunday at age 67, was one of those who made Annapolis real.Thirty years ago, Mr. Levitt and his wife, Ruth, moved from Baltimore to Annapolis, bought a sandwich shop on Main Street and renamed it Chick and Ruth's Delly. The quirky little delicatessen with its orange and yellow walls soon became a gathering place for state and local politicians.

Those who have never been to Attman's Deli on Lombard Street -- what can we say to these people? You've been deprived. You've missed not only one of Baltimore's great pleasures but one of Baltimore's great scenes, especially at lunch hour. Rich atmosphere, campy signage, smells that compound cravings, loud and friendly sandwich makers, a mob of customers, all of them mad for good deli, all of them calling out answers to the question, "Who's next?" as they wait in line along the glass counter.

People come back to Ocean City for the traditions - a favorite restaurant, beach spot or mini-golf course. For visitors looking to try something different, this season has a lot of new things to offer, whether you eat at the town's new (and only) Jewish deli, grab a beer at a new craft brewery or take time to go to the circus. And while you're enjoying what's new under the sun, take a moment to look at what's beneath your feet. The town just finished up the second and final phase of its three-year, $6 million boardwalk renovation project.

When the new menu comes out this month at Chick and Ruth's Delly, an Annapolis mainstay where politicians' favorite meals are named for them, John R. Leopold's name won't be on the chicken noodle soup. Out of office - for whatever reason - means off the menu and off the wall behind the counter. The former Anne Arundel County executive resigned after he was found guilty in January of misconduct in office. The soup, however, will remain on the menu that is in the process of being redone, the iconic deli's general manager Chuck Munyon said.

When the new menu comes out this month at Chick and Ruth's Delly, an Annapolis mainstay where politicians' favorite meals are named for them, John R. Leopold's name won't be on the chicken noodle soup. Out of office - for whatever reason - means off the menu and off the wall behind the counter. The former Anne Arundel County executive resigned after he was found guilty in January of misconduct in office. The soup, however, will remain on the menu that is in the process of being redone, the iconic deli's general manager Chuck Munyon said.

Harbor East Delicatessen and Pizzeria will close for renovations on Sunday. When it reopens, a short time later according to co-owner Alexander Smith, it will start breakfast service and unveil new menu items. Smith is also a partner in the neighboring Harbor East restaurants Ouzo Bay and Manchurian Rice Co. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood

At Chick and Ruth's Delly in Annapolis, where politicians' favorite meals are named for them and listed in large print signs above the counter, a diner can order a "John R. Leopold" - chicken noodle soup. But that may not be for much longer. A new menu at the downtown restaurant comes out toward the end of February, and officials who are out of office are also off the menu. Whether Leopold will be removed from his position as Anne Arundel County executive - he's currently suspended, having been found guilty Tuesday of misconduct in office - is unknown, and owner Teddy Levitt said he's thinking about what to do with the menu.

Don't look for the Roland Park Bakery & Deli in Roland Park. The combination bakery and counter shop is in Hampden now and doing well, where it appears to have filled a niche between the fancy fare of the neighborhood's new spots and the slapdash grub you can still find at the old haunts. A longtime fixture of Roland Park life, Anita Ward's combination bakery and sandwich shop reopened last year on Chestnut Street after 27 years in the Roland Park Shopping Center. The move wasn't entirely voluntary.

Open only since last month, Luigi's Italian Deli in Hampden avoids any of the missteps that invariably are part of a new restaurant. Luigi's, and several of the small restaurants on 36th Street in Hampden, aka The Avenue, belie the old adage that patrons are reluctant to walk up stairs to a restaurant. At the top of these steps is a pleasant porch furnished with four tiny tables. Sipping a Blood Orange Pellegrino and tackling one of the specialty sandwiches makes scaling a few steps a small price to pay. There is also a spacious patio out back.

Luigi's Italian Deli opened Thursday in Hampden. It's on that block of front-porch businesses, just a few doors down from the Verandah. The owners are Jeanine and Ryan Little of Reisterstown. This is a counter operation, with some seating inside and outside on the porch. On the menu are specialty sandwiches like the Isabella with prosciutto di Parma, soppressata, dry-cured coppa, Asiago, green olive spread and tomato, and Luigi's Italian Cold Cut with mortadella, salame, capicollo, prosciuttini and provolone.

Washington -- It was a dark and stormy day. So I ate deli.Lots of deli. Three chopped livers, three corned beefs, three pastramis, three hot dogs, and six slices of cheesecake.After all that, the day seemed brighter.The occasion was a dueling delis contest among three delicatessens in the Baltimore-Washington area -- Attman's of Baltimore, Hofberg's of Montgomery county, and Carnegie of Vienna, Va.The contest, open to all noshers, was a fund-raising effort to benefit children with cancer.

Domna Christie Economides was renowned for the tuna salad sandwiches, homemade milkshakes, sundaes, hamburgers and hot dogs that she served to generations of hungry City College and Eastern High School students at her Northeast Baltimore delicatessen.Mrs. Economides, who was 85, died Feb. 19 of Alzheimer's disease at her home in Palm Harbor, Fla., where she had lived since 1985.She and her husband, Steve Christie, whom she married in 1927, came to Baltimore that year from Greece and opened Christie's Delicatessen at Gorsuch Avenue and Loch Raven Boulevard.

Jason's Deli 8874 McGaw Road Columbia 410-309-5980 www.jasonsdeli.com The healthy menu consists of sandwiches, subs, salads and pasta dishes made with no high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats or MSG. There's a gluten-free menu, too. “Our variety really sets us apart,” says general manager Jay McClurkin.

Lenny's Deli added a third location in Harborplace a few months ago, and just last week it threw itself a grand opening. Lenny's still operates in Harborplace and Owings Mills, but this expansion wasn't without its risks. So far, so good, says reviewer John Lindner, who discovered there a praiseworthy Reuben. Here's what else Lindner found at the new Lenny's Deli , which, I'm happy to pass along, serves breakfast all day.