Alliteration at its Best

Danville for all its faults does sport a fair number of restaurants, but these restaurants for the most part fall into one of four categories: chain, pizzeria/sub shop, Chinese, and burger-joint. Notice something missing? The Deli. That's because Danville doesn't really do deli at least not stand-alone deli, and believe me Danville NEEDS a deli. Things are changing for the better as Danville now has at least three, this review will cover my favorite: the Bronx Boy Bagel.

What makes this restaurant great, besides a name that assaults the tongue like a Keith Richards' drumroll, is its style. The BBB isn't just a deli; it is a New York deli. For those of us who fortunate enough to have experienced a New York deli that descriptor alone should cover most of the review and you should just skipped down to the fourth paragraph, for the rest of you I'll try to elaborate. New York is a compact, bold, and busy city, and New Yorkers reflect these aspects of the city in virtually every facet of their lives. They carry more daily supplies in a suitcase than most Sherpas do on their backs, step boldly off the curb into heavy traffic with only the merest of side-eye glances toward the danger posed by the break-neck approach of their ubiquitous and psychotic cabbies, and rush from one place to the next in such a mass stampede that more than one wide-eyed wanderer has ended his first and last excursion to the city with a visit to an area hospital after being pushed unceremoniously into the path of an oncoming bus by the throng or been simply trampled while craning to check if building could in fact scrape the sky. New Yorker don't have time take lunch like the rest of the country, so a restaurants that caters to a New York lunch crowd must adapt its approach to fit the need to save time. The New York deli is the culmination of this effort, and the Bronx Boy Bagel has brought this experience to Danville.

Service in a New York deli is a high-speed exercise provider/consumer synergy. First thing you should now is that in a New York almost all food is order ahead of time either by calling ahead or through a process called standing order in which a person or group places the same order at a certain restaurant every day or week without fail. This done to save time of course, but it also allows the restaurant to establish a ticket line that does not depend on the people actually inside the restaurant at any given time, so the people in the restaurant are often in line behind a previously place order from someone who isn't even there yet. This has two great advantages: first it gives the naturally small business system of the deli a consistent supply of orders to keep it busy, and secondly as anyone who has ever had to cook for anyone will tell, good food takes time to prepare and this system provides the time necessary to make every order a high quality item. Additionally, this also allows food the be speedily delivered straight to the workplace by lean young men and bicycles. The downside comes on the end of the walk-in who hasn't called ahead since they are going to have to wait. New Yorkers, of course, now all this going in, and so should they find themselves late on the queue at a deli they simply take the magazine or newspaper they always carry along with their bottle water they just happen to have on hand and settle in for the duration. In Danville however, this approach can meet with resistance. People in Danville like their customer service to be personal and polite, foreign concepts at a New York deli, and the Bronx Boy Bagel has developed a reputation for being rude and unfriendly as a result. This negativity is compounded by the fact that despite the restaurant's lack of large call-in orders, walk-ins still often have a relatively long wait time. I have often tried to explain to Danvillians that it takes time to slice meat to order and that in New York this type of mechanical take a number service stripped of the niceties is a much appreciated necessity, but this qualifications often break against the rock solid retort," This DANVILLE not NEW YORK!" And there is the rub. Danville is compact, bold, or busy and the Bronx Boy Bagel is simply not built to cater to this crowd. But they are learning to change.

Like all delis, the Bronx Boy Bagel serves a dizzying array of sandwiches, soups, salads, side items, deserts, coffee, tea, fresh bagels and breads, and deli meats (from Thumann's) and cheeses by the pound. And it is all fantastic. Now matter how angry you get at the winding route your order took to the table, as soon as your teeth sink into soft sourdough, succulent rye, or chewy bagel or ciabatta all will be forgiven. The meat is fresh sliced, the cheese is thick cut, and the condiments are selected to accentuate the taste of the other ingredients. Their sandwiches are simply perfect. The soup taste like someone grandmother made them, and the salads are large and use great toppings that add flavor instead or texture (think cranberries instead of croutons). The deserts I won't say much about as they defy simple description; just go try one.

Recently, my wife and I had lunch at the Bronx Boy Bagel for the first time after a long absence. This was not an abstinence as I personally have no problems with the service there as I have a long and storied love affair with both New York and its delis, but life simply intervened in such a way that it had been many months since we had last been there. I ordered a Tremont Avenue Turkey sandwich with a health salad side while my wife became enamored of the fresh baked focaccia with sundried tomatoes. After ordering she and I both headed over to the line of free publications to entertain ourselves as we are for the most part regulars at the BBB and fully expect to wait at least ten minutes even though the restaurant wasn't quite busy yet. However, no sooner had we sat down and opened our perspective papers than our number was called and our food arrived. We were both stunned as the food had never before emerged from behind the high counter with such expediency. Then to my utter astonishment the clerk working register actually walked around the counter to help a customer with a desert selection. After checking the shop window to make sure I was indeed inside the Bronx Boy Bagel, I concluded that the former New Yorkers had finally listened to the complaintive wails of their clients and chosen to make their service more Danville friendly, or perhaps the Danvillness of this place has finally started to tear away their New York austerity, Either way if the level of service continues to match the quality of the food, Bronx Boy Bagel is sure to become a Danville staple.