OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — There's a new deli in town. Phyl's Deli has only been open since April, but the word is spreading quickly about the Old Market sandwich shop. 3 News Now Anchor Serese Cole heard so many good things about it she had to check it out.
If you love a good sandwich, Phyl's Deli may be the spot for you.
"It reminds me of all the best delis that I've walked into where you're not quite sure if it's done—like, are they finished? But you taste the food and you're like, this is amazing," laughed Craig Hoffman.
Hoffman is the chef and co-owner at Phyl's Deli.
"We have kind of leaned very heavily into that kind of New York Jewish-style deli feel," he explained.
His love for cooking came from his mom Phyllis, the restaurant's namesake.
While the deli may be small, the sandwiches are anything but.
"From early on they weren't going to be skimpy sandwiches. They're hefty," Hoffman explained.
Take The Rami for example. It's Phyl's signature sandwich.
The pastrami is smoked in-house and marinated until it's tender.
The Rami starts off with rye bread made fresh by the Lithuanian Bakery. It comes with oatmeal stout mustard, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese and about a pound of pastrami.
"Does it even all fit?" asked Serese.
"No, not most of the time," replied Hoffman.
The roast beef sandwich here is called The Beast.
"We have our Lithuanian bakery roll, horseradish aioli, confit tomatoes, red onion, arugula, and of course roast beef," Hoffman said.
He adds cheddar cheese and more horseradish for flavor.
"What do people say when they take a bite of this sandwich?" asked Serese.
"'Oh my God, it's pretty amazing!' Or, 'oh my gosh, how am I supposed to eat that?' But they find a way. Usually, people get through half, and they're like, 'I got to take the other half home'," said Hoffman.
The bagel and lox is also a hit.
"Bagel and lox. It's both simultaneously so deli and so Jewish that my card is now punched for life," he laughed.
The bagel is topped with butter, a generous spread of their homemade veggie cream cheese, capers and a lot of lox.
"People love it. I knew it was going to be good and then people started coming back almost every day," he laughed. "What I love about this is the creaminess of the cream cheese, with the kind of salty, smokiness of the lox, and the sweetness of the bagel and the bite of the capers."
The sweet surprise was the Kugel Noodle. It's his grandmother's recipe.
Amazing and simple.
It's what Phyl's does best.
"I've always kind of believed that if you can do simple really well, then you've nailed it," Hoffman said with a smile.
Phyl's Deli is located at 1006 Howard. It's open Monday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They are extending their hours to 8:00 p.m. during the College World Series. The owners believe in giving you plenty of bang for your buck. Here are the prices of the sandwiches featured in Cheap Eats.
Everything Bagel and Lox $10
The Rami $14
The Beast $15
You can order online. For more details, go to phylsdeli.com.
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