It seems that 10 hours of sleep just isn’t enough for me these days. You would think that by going to bed at 7 pm it would make me want to leap out of bed when the alarm clock goes off, but I find that it’s quite the opposite. The more sleep I get, the more I want to stay under the covers.

I only tell you this because I slept in yesterday and ended up racing around the house doing things like trying to get my shoes on while blow drying my hair and brushing my teeth. And then I did the unthinkable for someone who is trying to lose weight – I failed to pack a lunch for myself. Skipping meals is not an option because skipping meals leads to a ravenous Giyen at dinner, which in turn means eating way too much at one sitting. The only sensible alternative was to buy lunch.

HOWEVER, since I am trying to be fiscally prudent and calorie conscious these days, eating out is a luxury in both respects. You can’t even understand how my mind functions when I need to choose one restaurant out of no less than 40 that are within walking distance. I start to hyperventilate. If I am going to shell out the dough for lunch (especially in these economic times), it better be totally awesome. There is nothing worse than having buyer’s remorse when it comes to dining out because you’ll regret what you’ve paid for in both calories and dollars. And you can’t return it because that’s just gross.

But really, lets get to the point of this whole post – TAT’S DELI.

I’ve walked by this place no less than a dozen times and there has always been a line out the door. Tat’s is a place that is stuffed with guys. More specifically, Tat’s is full of east coast transplants who are craving a bit of the authenticity in a world of chai tea lattes and crab cakes on small plates. I could almost say that Tat’s is the real deal, but I’ve never been to a deli in Philly or to any deli on the east coast, so I’ll have to describe Tat’s as exactly how you would imagine an east coast deli to be – awesome.

Since I am a bit neurotic, I almost didn’t eat there at all. As I told my lunch date, “I absolutely DO NOT want to be the type of person who hem-haws at the counter trying to decide what to get. They won’t stand for it! NO SUB FOR YOU!” But I eventually got my head on straight … who could resist being around good food and a room full of guys?!? This is not rocket science.

So as I hem-hawed in line trying to figure out what to eat before I got to the counter, the woman in front of me pulled me aside and said, “Get the Tat’strami. I DREEAAMM about this sandwich.”

And if that wasn’t enough to convince me, the deli guy behind the counter shouted out, “Is anyone here getting something OTHER THAN the Tat’strami or Cheesesteak?” Not a single person came forward. Complete silence.

The woman in front of me gave me a knowing look as if to say, “See, WHAT DID I TELL YOU?”

So, you are probably wondering how the Tat’strami turned out. Well, lets just say that it’s a day later and I am writing a post titled, “Tat’s Deli: A Gift from God.” All I can say is, “Get the Tat’strami, I DREEEAAAMMM about this sandwich.”

P.S. The people there are entirely nice. It’s just my wild imagination that made me think that there was a Sub-Nazi in there.

P.P.S. Oh yeah, wear loose pants. I was so full that I only had a snack for dinner. Seriously.

Tags: grub, tats deli