Sunday, July 24, 2011

New Orleans Beer Spotlight: Stein's Market & Deli


So I've been writing this blog for over three years and it just occurred to me that for some reason Stein's Deli has never been on the New Orleans Beer Spotlight. Weird. Not sure why.

If you live here in New Orleans and you are remotely interested in beer you know Stein's Deli. Even if you aren't interested in beer but maybe perhaps are a hipster, foodie or a combination of both(A fipster? A hipoodie?)you know Stein's Deli. If you don't I really can't help you. My advise would be to get out of your house and have a relationship with your city though.


I've always considered Dan, the owner of Stein's Deli, the Godfather of the better beer movement here in NOLA. He has been(and is still is)an important part of everything beer you see around town. Obviously we now have Avenue Pub, NOLA Brewing and even myself helping out the better beer movement here in town but I can promise you that virtually all of us can tie ourselves back to Dan Stein somehow.

Stein's Deli is a Jewish deli that sells kick ass beer. No poboys here. He sells mostly New York style sandwiches but you can also get some other fun ones like the steak and cheese and also the Cuban. That Philly steak and cheese he does is awesome too! Since Dan is from Philadelphia you would hope it is!


You can also buy specialty meats and cheeses and all sorts of other food related items. During my brief two year stint at Martin Wine Cellar I saw people freak out over those H & H bagels. Still not really sure why people love them so much but anyway, he sells those too.


Be prepared though when you walk in because it's a tight space and he devotes a lot of space to his beer!!! When you walk in you'll see a bunch of shelving off to the right with a row of coolers against the wall. That is your beer destination. You will see a wonderful selection of imports and craft. If you're there looking for some domestic stuff don't bother because Dan doesn't sell it. oh and don't think about drinking on premise. They don't allow it. Stupid laws and rules. I hope he gets it changed one day. Maybe a petition will help?


Be on the lookout because Stein's will occasionally host beer classes, beer and cheese pairings and other cool beer events. If you haven't been to Stein's Deli then you need to stop reading this and get your ass over there. Oh and if he comes across as an ass remember he really isn't. He's truly a nice guy. He's just a Yankee. It's their way!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

1 comment:

Mark Janes said...

Glad to be involved on the beer side at Stein's, too! I do think we make a difference.

Btw, on the deli side (I have no direct connection, but indirectly love eating every morsel), the bagels are no longer from H&H. Dan would tell you there were some serious quality problems they couldn't seem to resolve and he finally made a switch to very delicious Davidovich bagels (also shipped in fresh from NYC).

Thanks for the spotlight, Jeremy. You're right...Dan was at the forefront of NOLA's craft beer movement, and this was long overdue!