“International comfort food” is the way they describe the cusine at Delicatessen, the fairly new Soho eatery brought to you by the same man - Mark Thomas Amadei - that gave Manhattan (and then South Beach) Cafeteria. There are Cafeteria lovers and Cafeteria haters, so when juding Delicatessen, please do so with an open mind.

The open space exudes style - complete with natural wood panals and white formica tables. The glass garage door style walls didn’t emit even the slightest draft even though I was there on the coldest night of the year. Be sure to check out the downstairs lounge. Green leather banquets, a glass ceiling and an anything-but-ordinary mural by super hottie artist Juan Jose Heredia. And for the most part, the crowd emulates the chic motif – models and hipsters, seeking solace from the woes of being beautiful, lazily pick at their comfort food of choice. Leighton Meister was spotted lunching there as was Whitney Port. Like most Nolita/Soho spots, and despite the clubby nuances, it’s the kind of place where you may find yourself eating your casual Sunday night meal next to Mike Meyers or Julia Stiles. Whatev.

Onto the food! I actually frequent Delicatessen, so I can tell you about basically everything on the menu. (I’ll spare you though.) My favorites are: Cobb Salad, Chicken in a Bucket (fried chicken deliciousness), Halibut Tacos, and Yellowfin Tuna. The Mac n Cheese rivals others in the hood, but it gave me a post-meal belly ache twice, so… The burger comes on a wooden cutting board thingy and yummy but kind of small - fine for pint sized me, but likely inadequate to satiate my dad or brother. From what I can recall, every cocktail tickled my taste buds. And lest I forget about the menu’s superstar: The Ovaltine pudding parfait!

The best part: The Hostesses. They are sweet and smiley and make any eye-rolling, hesistation, intimdation, “if I’m ‘too cool’ for Beatrice you betcha I won’t be caught dead at Delicatessen” tude vanish instantaneously. Because Delicatessen actually isn’t the trendy, only-in-New York-kids kind of place that Cafeteria once was. Delicatessen is sweeter. It comforts me.

And on that note, I’d say they’ve served their purpose.

Delicatessen  54 Prince St @ Lafayette; 212-226-0211; open until midnight

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