Friday Night Dinner at TooJay’s Deli

A little over two weeks ago on a Friday night my husband and I got to check out TooJay’s Deli for the very first time. This deli, bakery, and restaurant serves New York Style fare in a casual setting ranging from gourmet sandwiches to pastries to hearty entrees and has been around since 1981! There are currently 28 locations ranging from Pembroke Pines all the way up to Orlando and Lady Lake and surprisingly it is only located in Florida.

Luckily, we got invited to come out to the Hallandale Beach location to check it out for ourselves. Since it was my first time visiting and ever hearing about TooJay’s in the first place you can imagine how excited I was to try out their food since I am a huge fan of New York style food, especially of deli sandwiches like the Rachel and Reuben!

For starters, my husband and I ordered the fried dill pickles (which I heard are a very popular choice), the cheese blintzes, and the nova latkes. We usually like to order three appetizers when we dine at any restaurant so that way we can taste a variety of menu items and let me just say that I was beyond happy with our three choices!

The fried pickles were super tasty, fresh, and the breading was very thin and light so it didn’t take away from the flavor of the pickles. Plus, it was served with a creamy and homemade horseradish sauce which made the dish even better and addicting! I would strongly recommend for anyone who loves the particular taste of pickles to definitely try this dish because it is honestly some of the best fried pickles that I’ve ever had!

The cheese blintzes were phenomenal and my husband’s absolute favorite! For those wondering what cheese blintzes are, it is basically handmade crepes that are filled with sweet cream cheese and is served with hot fruit and sour cream on the side. While the combination may sound strange it was actually one of the most interesting things that I’ve ever tried! And since it’s on the sweet side you can even order it for dessert as well which is probably what I would do the next time I go!

My favorite appetizer of all was the Nova Latkes which are a must have if you are dining at the restaurant and which also happens to be one of their top sellers! It consists of crispy homemade potato pancake bites topped with sour cream, sliced smoked salmon, arugula, diced red onion and capers! So if you love smoked salmon and potato then it’s the perfect appetizer to try! The salmon was perfect because it was super fresh and tasty and the overall mix between the potato with the sour cream and other ingredients made the dish so flavorful and filling!

For my main entree I had the Chicken Capri which is chicken sautéed with mushrooms, artichoke hearts and capers in a lemon butter white wine sauce and is served with roasted potatoes and a fresh vegetable. Since I wanted to try the Roasted Brussels Sprouts Medley originally as one of my appetizers what I did instead was upgrade the vegetable side of my dish. I’m a huge fan of Brussels Sprouts so I was really impressed with the taste and flavor of this side and I really liked that it also had seasonal roasted vegetables in it and that it’s topped with crispy chopped bacon and a delicious balsamic glaze! The chicken was very soft and tender and had a delicious taste to it due to the lemon butter/white wine sauce on top and the mushrooms and capers just enhanced the taste even more. The roasted potatoes also had a lot of flavor to it and were very well seasoned which I loved!

My husband went for a more traditional choice so he had the “Rachel” sandwich which has hot pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and a homestyle Russian dressing in it and is served with french fries, Cole slaw, and a dill pickle. I was lucky enough to try a bite of the sandwich and let me just say that it did not disappoint! It was perfectly toasted and had such an amazing taste to it and you can actually tell that it is made with fresh and high-quality meats and ingredients. With a doubt, I would definitely order this sandwich as my main entree the next time I visit!

To finish off our meal, my husband and I had the “Combo Dessert for Too” which brings two signature cake slices of one’s choice. We ordered the Banana Dream and the Chocolate Cheese Delight which are two of the most popular cake selections. The Banana Dream cake was to die for because it was super moist and had a rich banana cream filling inside as well as chocolate chips, walnuts, and milk chocolate icing! The Chocolate Cheese Delight was also a great choice because it was super rich and decadent and they actually have brought it back for a limited time. Overall, both cakes were rich, decadent, and had a homestyle and very satisfying taste to them! I strongly recommend not leaving the restaurant without first trying one of TooJay’s Signature Cakes!

For more information about the restaurant and/or to check out the menu please visit http://www.toojays.com 

** I would like to give a special thanks to TooJay’s Deli for accommodating us and for providing amazing customer service! **

!! GIVEAWAY !!

As a courtesy of TooJay’s Deli, I will be picking two winners who will each be receiving a $25.00 gift card to dine at the restaurant and taste this delicious food for themselves!

Giveaway Rules:

1.) Must be following me on Instagram at: @culturedlocal

2.) Must be following TooJay’s on Social Media:

Instagram – @toojaysdeli  // Facebook – facebook.com/toojaysdeli // Twitter – twitter.com/therealtoojays

3.) Visit my Instagram page: @culturedlocal and tag a friend you would love to bring with you

4.) Must leave a comment on this blog post (this gives you two additional bonus entries)

That’s all! Winner will be chosen by the end of this week on 8/24. Good luck!