sherman's deli & bakery

originally opened in 1963 by sherman harris as a “new york-style family restaurant” and now serving both residents and palm springs visitors at two locations daily it was immediately following breakfast at cheeky’s that a ten-minute walk was made to sherman’s delicatessen and bakery, the sizable space absolutely packed on sunday morning just prior to 9:00am but service friendly and efficient with just a few minutes wait for seating.

without doubt a local landmark, the restaurant’s lengthy history dating back to the days of palm springs as a hollywood playground for the likes of sinatra, monroe and hope proudly displayed in photos of those and many others dining within the friendly confines of 410 east tahquitz canyon way, diners visiting sherman’s in 2017 will reportedly find little to have changed since the “old days” in terms of recipes and setting, the iconic artwork obviously an exception but the pastrami still cut-to-order and breads as well as desserts still baked fresh on-site daily.

known for their famous sandwich board and latkes, the latter’s featured spot on season 26 of diners drive-ins and dives turning already good business for the harris family’s second generation ownership into booming, it was with the lengthy all-day menu in hand and a pastry case looming large that the decision was made to sample one of the “chef’s specialties” first, the best-of-both-worlds beef n’ latkas placing a half-pound of fatty pastrami between two potato pancakes with all the fixins’, the meat itself moist with a good bit of smoke and spice while the spuds were crispy on the outside, fluffy at the center and without a drop of grease to be found.

promising everything to be kosher and focused on local sourcing as much as possible, the enormous omelet, knish and cinnamon bread french toastorderedone table over unquestionably tempting, it was with an eye on both appetite and time that the decision was instead made to progress straight to dessert, the 8” tall san jacinto slice any chocolate lover’s dream with a thick spread of ganache overlying two layers of cake and mousse with a core of creamy cheesecake while the carrot cake, taken to go, was pretty impressive in its own right with great moisture and spice sweetened by fruit and walnut-studded cream cheese icing.

for everything that south end lacks, it makes up for in service. i came here looking for the small diner experience, i got just that - minus the apple pie. as soon as i walked in, i was grated by both of the employees by the counter. they were both pretty chatty - which i would normally hate, but today was a chatty day for me too since this was my first stop in my east coast backpacking adventure.

the diner is pretty small and plain. the only thing that stands out is the feeling that everyone else in the diner seems to be a "regular".

iordereda western omelet and biscuits with sausage gravy. i zoned out for a bit but turn around definitely had to be less than 7 minutes. something i must've missed on the new menu was that the western is smother in sausage gravy. so, i had 2 items in the same sauce. this is only the 2nd or 3rd time i have biscuits and gravy but it has been the best so far. even though the omelet was smothered in sauce, it was still really good.

dried out bread.orderedcorned beef and the item must have sat under the heat lamp for a while. bread was dry and the meat was rubbery. you could do better buying dunns from costco and making it yourself for about 1/3 the price at sherman's .never again.

disappointed. i feel like i got taken for a bit of a ride. i'm definitely not satisfied that i got what i paid for. iordereda corned beef reuben. it was expensive, but at least it was salty. quite frankly, i think the reuben sandwich from arby's is almost as good, and significantly less expensive. the sandwich was piled high, but by no means was it "huge." i could easily have finished the whole thing in one sitting. if a sandwich is going to cost me $15, it had better be enormous. yes, the food was "good." but at these prices, it needs to be extraordinary.

what a disappointment!. wow, what a disappointment! iordereda corned beef sandwich and ended up up a rubber textured (mostly fat) sandwich. never again!

the masses are right: sherman's was packed, but the staff was very friendly.ordereda french dip and matzoh ball soup to go. food was hot, packed well, and tasted amazing.

maybe i should have gotten something else.... well i admit iordereda veggie sandwich in a deli that is supposedly famous for its meats, so consider that when reading my review. iordereda bowl of borscht to start, and i have had borscht many times, and this one was not good at all. it is served cold, which i could maybe deal with (although i think its odd), but there is nothing in this soup! it is literally like beet juice and some julienned beet pieces (and the beet pieces were so long it made them embarrassing to eat in public, i.e. awkward to handle). i always thought borscht was a hearty stew with potatoes and beef and vegetables...guess sherman's feels cold beet juice and beet bits make a good soup but i disagree. the veggie sandwich felt like something that was thrown on the menu to placate the occasional vegetarian customer. but i'm not a vegetarian! i actually like veggie sandwiches, but not this one. it was completely boring and bland. some lettuce, tomatoes, and cheddar on blah bread, with some onions and avocado. i'm sorry, but that is not a sandwich worth putting on a menu. i'm not a chef and even i could come up with a more interesting veggie sandwich than that. at least it could have said what it was on the menu, so i could have avoided it. to be fair though, my lunch companions both liked their sandwiches: one had the tongue sandwich (he's brave like that!) and the other had an omelette with fresh fruit. also, the potato salad that came with my sandwich was very good. if i ever get dragged to sherman's again i will go with my instinct and try the reuben (and maybe write a new review), but until then, this is the only experience i can base my review on!