The Deli supermarket, Patong....closed!

[PeeCoffee]

That indeed is a crisis. There is, to my knowledge, only one really good deli chain in the PI - Santi's. I have two branches within an hour of me. If they closed, I'd truly be fucked.

There are delis and then there are delis.

Where I grew up there were Jewish delis.
I'm talking about the stuff that cardiologists tell you to avoid. They catered the really good stuff like fresh grilled pastrami , aged corned beef and pot roasts, chopped chicken liver with onions, tongue, knishes, reeeeal cole slaw and huge pickles, kreplach, ten different types of cheesecake ,smoked nova scotia (lox), pumperknickel, rye and a dozen different types of bagels delivered fresh daily.

There were Italian delis that carried unbelievable meats and cheeses...Polish delis...hybrid Russian delis...all with their own amazing ethnic delicacies (hence delis.
None were part of a chain and all were family-owned.
When I left New York I never found another real deli.
LA came close...but never hit the highest mark...but close.

Once I crossed the Pacific I seriously adjusted my expectations downwards.
There is a brand name available in Thailand named Thai-German Meat Co ('TGM' logo).
It suffices...but that's about it.
If I didn't enjoy Thai food I would probably die. Then again one day I will.

(Just reminiscing a tad off topic...memory or mammary lane for New Yorkers older than 40.)

[Davis Knowlton]

^I recently watched a really good documentary on the demise of the New York deli. From thousands in the early 1900's down to just a handful of family-owned enterprises today that have lasted a century. Unfortunately, I don't recall the name, but I'm sure you could find it with some digging.

"Deli Man" is the name.

[Mr Earl]

I paid a visit to the Villa market in Chalong this morn.
They had exactly what I wanted.

Lovely store, wow!

That area has changed a bunch in the past years or so!

[petercallen]

Opening villa marts and Makro stores just about anywhere you go on Phuket
good prices and good selection of most local and imported items, small specialty shops can no longer compete with them

[rickschoppers]

I went into the Villa Market the other day and it looks like they might be closing. They had less than half the stock from my last visit and the meat section was empty. They only had one large jar of Vlasic Kosher Dill Pickles that I snatched up. I do most my shopping at Macro, which is always busy. The prices at Villa are high, but they were carrying items I could not find anywhere else in Udon. Hopefully, I am wrong about their closing.