The Deli

By all accounts, it was another bad travel day. “Dom” woke up at 4 am to make it on a 6:30 flight to our client’s offices in mid-America. The flight was canceled and he had to wait over an hour to get on a different plane. By the time he landed, Avis was out of cars. All told, when Dom arrived, he'd been up nine hours for just a two hour flight. Still, he walked into our team’s conference room with a huge grin on his face. After all, he was carrying a sandwich from The Deli. He unwrapped the sandwich and contemplated it for a moment. "Man that's beautiful," Dom said. Then he began eating.

The Deli has been elevated to an almost spiritual level for our team. We drove by it the very first day of the project when we were trying to find our client's offices. “Mike” noticed it and immediately said, "That place might be sneaky good," so we stopped.

The Deli did indeed look "sneaky good" as the parking lot was packed. On the menu was a variety of sandwiches, and an affordable combo meal that came with chips and a drink. We each ordered a combo meal and wolfed down the chips. When we got our sandwiches, we were not disappointed. The bread was soft, the meat plentiful, and the toppings fresh. "This is a damn good sando," Dom said, using his favorite moniker for sandwich. "Damn good."

The rest of the week, we take trips to The Deli every day for lunch. Each trip is accompanied with even greater praise lavished upon The Deli. The Deli "crushes," the bread is "unattainable in California," and the proximity to the client site is "huge." At around 10 am, Dom stops what he's doing and says, "Damn near time for lunch at The Deli, right guys?"

That week we flew back to California on Thursday. Our flights are all around 3 pm, so we have to leave the client site right around noon. That meant a quick trip to The Deli to pick up a combo meal. Mike and I are getting to work on the sandwiches on the way to the airport, but Dom has to drive. Dom is incredibly jealous as we eat, "Shit man, I'm damn near starving and I'm not going to be able to eat my sando for another half an hour." He pauses, "At least I ate those chips like they were my job."

We arrive at the airport. Dom returns the rental car then runs into the shuttle while unwrapping his sandwich, backpack bouncing on his shoulders. "What'd you get," Mike asks. "Chicken Pesto," he says, and takes a bite. "Wow, I’m a huge fan of this one." It only takes around five minutes for the shuttle to reach the terminal, but Dom's done before we hit the gate. I look over at his direction and he gives me a contented nod.

Over the next few weeks, whenever we are traveling to the client site we get excited for The Deli. So much so that Dom and Mike, who both have families, would almost rather fly out than stay at home. One week, only Dom and I need to be at the client site. We have a conference call with a client, who has just provided us a ton of information. After it wraps up, Mike asks us to stay on the line for a bit so we can catch up.

Mike: "First things first, what did you guys get for lunch?"

Me: "Italian"

Dom: "Prime Rib... with the Horseradish sauce"

Mike: "... Whoa! You don't have to rub it in"

It soon becomes apparent that our client does not share the same amount of enthusiasm we do. When someone skeptically asks us "How many times have you been to The Deli?" we ask for lunch alternatives. She mentions Subway. This does not go over well with the team.

Mike: "I mean, maybe there are places better than The Deli, but don't throw out Subway as an alternative."
Dom: "I know! I wanted to slap her!"

Another client mentions that The Deli isn't even the best deli in town – according to him, there are at least three places better. Dom is again incredulous, "Three places better than The Deli? What is this? The sando capital of the world or something?"

Dom at one point even decides to put together a list of all the sandos he's had at The Deli. He pulls up the online menu and begins scribbling in his notepad. I remind him we've only eaten there 5 out of 6 days we've traveled, because we once tried one of the places allegedly better than The Deli. "That's a day we'll never get back," Dom says. "Okay, I definitely had Prime Rib, Italian, Chicken Pesto, Club, and Turkey Avocado. And I just ate Tuna. Wow, did I really skip Ham and Swiss? I am a jackass if I did not get Ham and Swiss, I'm a HUGE fan of Ham and Swiss."

Dom of course picks up the Ham and Swiss that day. You guessed it, it "crushed," was "damn near a work of art," and was "huge."

As long as The Deli was open, the project probably could have gone on forever and we wouldn’t have cared. Our final week on the project, Dom and I arrive on a slightly earlier flight than Mike, so we pick up the rental car. Dom sends Mike a few text messages ostensibly to coordinate. In reality, this exchange occurred:

Dom: "I'm damn near starving."
Mike: "Eat here, or wait for The Deli?"
Dom: "Dumb question."

An hour later we were at The Deli.