Shlomo & Vito's is pricey but worth it

A step up from a regular deli — a few steps, in fact — it has shiny maple floors, table service, glitzy décor and a commanding dark maple full-service bar.

The extra-large portions are created with quality products. The food we sampled was without fault.

But for a deli, it's a bit pricey.

Two sandwiches and a cup of soup totaled $28.95. Add a beer, tax and a 20 percent tip, and you're looking at a $40 meal for two.

New York-born Dean Greenberg and Matt McKinnon are managing partners of Shlomo and Vito's, which despite its slickness is not a chain restaurant. The two Tucsonans, plus others, also have a stake in Sam Hughes Place Championship Dining. Other projects, including a restaurant in the former Soleil, are in the works.

Shlomo's is proud of its corned beef and pastrami, which comes from Detroit-based Sy Ginsberg.

"This was the best of all the ones we tasted," said Chef Tom Hollywood, 28. "It's prime Canadian beef, is very clean, and there's no strange aftertaste."

Hollywood said that the tongue, prepared similarly to corned beef and sliced thin, is another big seller.

'There's a line out the door every day at lunch," said Hollywood, a Tucson native who previously served as an executive chef in Seattle. "Just like the delis in New York, the sandwiches are huge."

Shlomo's menu has been tweaked since the eatery opened last month. A few items were removed, including Hungarian goulash and shrimp cocktail. Also, sandwiches now are available in half-portions ($6.75-$8.50).

The condiments are mainly house-made: "Any way we can chef it up, we do," Hollywood said. The vibe

When you're seated by the hostess, a plate of Boar's Head pickles is placed in front of you to munch on while you study the voluminous menu. The thickly sliced pickles are a salty treat and a nice touch.

Back to the menu. Besides a build-your-own sandwich ($11), about 20 other sandwiches are listed.

Table service is attentive, and an outdoor patio seats around 50. "It's going to be the place to be in the summer," Hollywood said. The food

Whole sandwiches cost $9.75-$12.95, salads cost $10 or $11, and desserts are $6 to $14.95.

Dinner entrees range from $14.75 for chicken pot pie or spaghetti with meatballs or Italian sausage to $21.75 for shrimp scampi.

At $5, a Streetcart Dog is one of the best deals. Like all of the burgers and dogs, the Boar's Head dog comes with fries and a choice of pasta salad, macaroni salad, potato salad or fruit salad.

We recommend ordering a $4.50 cup of one of the 10 house-made soups. An 8-ounce "cup" of chicken with kreplach was served in what most restaurants pass off as their "bowl." Chicken broth and shredded chicken cheerfully mingled with chunks of carrot, celery and onion. Kreplach is a Jewish ravioli or dumpling filled with ground beef. Twenty-four-ounce bowls of soup cost $6.75.

The Shlomo Classic is one of the restaurant's trademark sandwiches. Choose 12 ounces of corned beef or pastrami for the $12.95 ($8.50 half) sandwich.

All sandwiches come with hand-cut Yukon gold fries and a $1.75 side salad. The cucumber salad is made with champagne vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, fresh dill and salt and pepper.

The corned beef on our Shlomo Classic was lean as requested and piled so thick on the rye bread that taking a bite was a challenge. With just beef and bread and, of course, spicy brown mustard, we'd had our fill of the flavors after half a sandwich.

Sides like the potato salad and the carrot and raisin salad were standard issue but fresh and came in third-cup containers.

The N.Y.C. Lolita ($11.50; $7.75 half) featured Boar's Head sliced Buffalo-style chicken breast. The crusty baguette did a stellar job of reining in the piled-high meat, thick-cut bacon, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, Muenster cheese and avocado spread. We only wished that the avocado was sliced rather than a chunky spread.

Leftovers aren't really optional with the sandwiches: They're a necessity. We each took enough home for another meal.

Desserts range from $6 rice pudding to The Smidgen, a $14.75 sampling of cookies, rugelach, cannolis and eclairs.

Shlomo and Vito's New York Delicatessen

• Where: 2870 E. Skyline Drive.

• Hours: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays; 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 8 .m.-9 p.m. Sundays.

• More info: 529-3354.

THE BILL

The Shlomo Classic: $12.95.

N.Y.C. Lolita: $11.50.

Cup of soup: $4.50.

Total, before tax and tip: $28.95.