pinegrove market and deli

one thing i have learned in my two years of blogging; i do not live in a food zone.  yep, to find great food it is not unusual for me to drive fifteen to thirty miles.  today i made the seventeen mile trip to pine grove deli and meat market, and it was well worth it.  i am a little late coming to pine grove; it’s a longtimefixture (60 +years) in avondale, i can’t say how i missed it.  perhaps because my deli experiences in jacksonville have been less than stellar, i have just given up. today was the exception.  a no frills exterior and interior, indoor and outdoor seating; the menu offers breakfast, and lunch sections.

what a nice surprise. firsttimevisitor and came based upon urban spoon reviews. walked in and knew this was a hotspot. small sitting sea was jammed with customers prior to 12:00. i had to order to go but ok, i'm easy. i ordered a cuban sandwich and a peanut butter cookie. sandwich was outstanding. full of fresh meat and bun was pressed, hot and somewhat crunchy. very tasty. cookie was top notch too. looking forward to coming back soon!

awesome. i've only been there twice, and had the roast beef club eachtimebecause it's that good, but i'm sure everything else is just as good. go out of your way to find this place.

surprise surprise surprise. now i was checking in on facebook this ( the only way to keep track of our kids) morning and saw a picture of a really nice and huge camel rider. now seeing a lot of pictures of food and never getting the food as pictured. so i commented. "so do you really think that this is the sandwich that you would get at pinegrove market......think not" well that peaked my interest and off i went. i ordered the camel rider to go and let me tell you it was as close to the same sandwich as in the picture that i posted here. i will say that the sandwich sure tasted a lot better then my words did. great job guys n girl at pinegrove market.


-----03 oct, 2012-----

sandwich fair, price not. now i went into pinegrove for a second time. thistimei got a sandwich and the lasttimei got some steaks. 21 day dry aged supposedly. now i'm not a meat expert like theses guy i think. now i have gotten dry aged beef before even in a deli in staten island ny. a 4th generation deli that my cousin grew up with the family. the ribeyes that i paid a good (18.99 each) amount of money for seemed to be really red in color more like a very freshly cut chunk of meat an not dry aged. so for todays order i decided to drive from the airport for a sandwich in which i have heard so much about via facebook. i ordered the roast beef 9" sub and the bread was really fresh n soft with nice flavor. i have started paying attention to the flavor of breads after eating many many subs in nyc and nj an wondering why they taste so much better then the subs that we get here. so the beef was kinda rare (i like it rare) and had some cheese and a leaf of romane lettuce with a dollop of mayo. now the sandwich all in all was pretty tastie but not worth the 11.64 that i paid for it. i think that if i go back i'll have to be in the area and have a fist full of dollars that i don't want anymore.

inside, pinegrove is as unassuming as it is on the outside. there's indoor seating, outdoor seating, and they do a brisk take out, too. the menu has a substantial breakfast section, but we were there to sample the two popular lunch items: the cuban sandwich and the beef burger. since we were firsttimevisitors, they gave us a free sampler pack of all their sides. we could eat them while waiting for our dishes to arrive or take them home to enjoy. they said, once we tried the sides, we'd be back. the sides change based on what is made fresh that day. we had chicken salad, tuna salad, hummus, tabouli, potato salad, greek pasta salad, pickles, and flat bread. they were all delicious, and nicely seasoned without overpowering the main ingredient.

the first thing that hit me was the presentation. i think this was the firsttimei saw a burger cut in half. my burger was ordered medium and right away i could see, yup, cooked perfectly. as you can see from the picture it was a great size as well. looking at the burger i have to say, it looked great, smelled good, so the first impression was: 'yes i'm looking forward to this'. once i took my first bite i have to say it tasted very good. the mixture of spices and the meat tasted great. as you can see from the picture i ordered mine with fries and with onion rings. holy crap those rings where huge. they as well tasted very good as the fries did.

great people and great food!. my husband and i went and had a late lunch here. it was the firsttimefor both of us. he got the cuban (which they're famous for) and i got the philly cheesesteak. both were huge and very good! next, i think i will try the turkey w/ tabbouleh. what really got me though, was the service. even though we introduced ourselves, i cannot remember the gentleman's name who we spoke with behind the counter. he was so knowledgeable and genuine! but was really lovely, the gentleman (knowing it was our first time) sent us home with a sampler of their other sandwiches and sides: chicken salad, tuna salad, pasta salad, humus, tabbouleh, pita chips to eat with and pickles. it was very nice! we sampled them yesterday and i was just as impressed. great food, wonderful service!!! we will definitely go back! oh - and check out their steaks and burgers.

definitely a fan. i know nexttimei’ll be getting the grilled cheese & cup of soup!

not to many places like this left. reminds me of the delis and markets from the 50's and early sixties. nothing fancy, just large portions of great qualiity meats. burgers are great. the half pounder was more than i needed to eat. nexttimei'll stick with the quarter pounder or have the cuban which also looked wonderful.

onion rings were home made. meats in butcher case also looked great.

best burger in town very likely!. new review of pine grove market & deli, a fantastic true hole-in-the-wall in avondale, where you can buy aged meat, deli items (try their pickles from ohio, sweet, spicy and insanely good), and what do you know, breakfast and lunch. other local foodies have been writing about this place and having some rare lunchtimelately, i rushed to meet a friend there. it's had a reputation of being a place no one wanted to share for fear of others ordering favorite food items until they're out of stock.

housed in a small nondescript hut-like building off pine grove, there were lots of cars trying to park during a busy business lunch so that's always a sign you're somewhere good. seriously craving a burger, their menu states their burger meat is freshly ground so i ordered the 1/4 pounder medium with all the fixings ($5.99) and a side of their homemade onion rings ($3.49). my friend, mitch, ordered their triple decker turkey club ($8.99).

we wait for the food (about 20 minute or so wait, my burger no doubt and lunch rush cause for delay), and when it arrives, i don't care about the wait because it looks juicy. salivating, i took my first bite, and easily, this is one of the best burgers in town. it kinda puts five guys to shame, in my honest opinion, and the bread is just the right texture, not too mushy but soft enough so i don't hurt myself eating it. the burger patty is a generous 1/4 pound (smallest burger, they also come in 1/2 pounders), perfectly cooked (no hockey pucks here), and well seasoned. you can taste how fresh it is. knowing my hubby needs a snack later today, i saved the other half (although i really did not want to but that's how much i love my hubby). the onion rings? battered in a cornmeal mix for extra crisp and fried perfect with no ounce of grease on them, i am in heaven. mitch loved his club (so healthy, i'm making him eat fried food next time); i tried his pasta salad, so fresh and tasty.

secret's out avondale residents; we're coming back and parking in front of your house for more deli grub at pine grove. next up to try is their breakfast and hot subs. thanks ron bajalia for working hard to feed us ravenous carnivores!