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Category: Drugstores
Neighborhoods: Edgewater, AndersonvilleWith apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson:
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, but not if we're talking about the best brisket sandwich in Chicago adored by Jews and Gentiles: DIVINE.
Lox-O-Meter points to VGE for Very Good Enough.
You could do way worse for deli food. Wait: it's…
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I give them points for the sort of unique, old-fashioned, neighborhoody, mom-and-pop-ish character of the business. Otherwise, I'm just not enthused. The first time I went, my corned beef was very fatty and salty. I asked for "easy on the mustard" and my sandwich was slathered in the stuff. They don't have regular soda, just Snapple and some specialty sodas. I wanted to sit at the only available regular-height table for the sake of my friend's small son, but it was filthy. This wasn't at lunch rush; it was 2 pm. Oh, and I disliked the cole slaw.
So I decided to give them another try on a salami sandwich, which was better, but not stupendous enough to balance out the bad corned beef. Charred onion bagel; too much dijon mustard; pre-shredded lettuce out of a big bag like Subway; decent salami but not as tangy as I prefer. The highlight of the sandwich was when the guy asked me "hard or soft salami?" Not knowing the difference, I replied, "Which do you recommend?" to which he answered, "I like the hard salami," and of course I nearly lost it. Because deep down, I am still twelve years old.
Eh..
The 2 stars are for: the cheerful cashier and the tasty broth.
I recently relocated from L.A. and have been searching for a deli with amazing matzo ball soup without much luck.
I saw all of the reviews (good and bad) about this place and decided to give it a try, since I'd be in the area running errands today.
My order was quite simple; 1 turkey reuben, 2 mazto ball soups and 1 spinach pie. Twice I had to tell the young lady that I wanted my sandwich made with the turkey pastrami and twice she kept slicing from the bland hunk of "smoked turkey".
I should've checked my bag before leaving the store, but I needed to get to the jeweler to pick up a present.
I just got home and looked into the bag. I only have one order of mazto .... and it's not even good matzo. Well, the broth is tasty, but you don't buy matzo ball soup for the broth alone. The mazto ball is not tasty at all and the texture is unlike anything I've ever had in my mouth.
The reuben was 'okay'; I've definitely had better. *shout out to Canter's on Fairfax!*
Since I'm battling flumonia, I'll just sip on the tasty broth and drink my ginger ale and dream about light and fluffy matzo balls that I'm doomed to never have again.
le sigh...
NOT VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY
1. We were frequenting there a lot because it seemed like a nice summer ritual: get a bagel, read outside.
2. They've screwed up our orders twice without much compensation.
3. The most recent offense, we ordered 2 bagel sandwiches. 1 bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything. 1 egg and cheese on a salted bagel.
What we received were 2 bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches on everything bagels and we were charged for the same.
We politely told our cashier about the wrong order, and she was like, "We'll make you another one, sorry." We mentioned that it has to be a new one because she doesn't eat meat.
We received the same sandwich back (wrong bagel) with just the bacon removed; not a new sandwich.
Considering that we were never refunded for the price of the bacon, that's just adding insult to injury.
You would think "one of a few Jewish delis" would respect someone's wish to be bacon-free. BULLSHIT.
Wow!! Thumbs down!
I read all the reviews and was very excited to move over to a local business from CVS. It was clean, and seemed cozy and friendly. I wanted to help, as a business owner myself, and was waiting to be impressed. Until I ran into the owner today. What a Class-A jerk!
I switched my prescriptions over a couple of weeks ago, and was told since they did not have what I ordered, it would be on order and "should" be in by Tuesday. I'm used to pharmacies, or other good customer-service-oriented businesses, giving a call to make up for the inconvenience of not being able to fill an order immediately. But I was wrong for thinking that here!
No word from Gordono, a couple of weeks went by. I wondered what must have happened. I did finally call and they said it was closed Sunday, but they would leave a message. No call back. I asked them, "So, do I have to keep calling to find out if I have my order?" Yes, I was told.
I go in today, no one can find my prescription. The pharmacist goes up to the owner and the owner shouts out, "Yeah! I sent that back last week!" I told them I was befuddled; why didn't they call me?? Isn't that the practice--for a new, first-time customer with a special order?
"You want it? It can be here Monday, or take it someplace else, that's okay, too. I say, "So then I'll have to keep calling and checking to see if it arrived?" They say it will be in unless I hear from them. Yeah, right. "I tried to give you the business from CVS." He says, "We're not CVS." I said I thought it was supposed to be more of a personal touch, with this little pharmacy.
He says, "Take it somewhere else, you're being ridiculous." I told him, he too, was being ridiculous. This schmuck never took any customer-service training, and he really could benefit. All he had to say was "I'm sorry ma'am, our mistake, we can have it Tuesday and will give you a call." It could have been that simple!
But no, this guy is comfortable telling customers to hit the road, and that the customer is wrong...it was my fault this happened. I'll make sure to tell everyone not to patronize this sad little sack's joint. His business could do alot better if he had systems that worked in place; one of which would be to call the customer before sending products back. Or perhaps learning how to turn a frustrated customer around into a happy one. I have to do it all the time; apparently schmuck doesn't have to. Idiot.
Multi-tasking at its finest!
My errands for the day were as follows:
-make photocopies
-mail photocopies
-buy allergy medicine
-find something to eat (cuz I couldn't do all this on an empty stomach, right?)
So I go into Gordono's Pharmacy for the first time in my life even though I went to grammar school two blocks away and have lived down the street since forever. I guess it just never made sense to me that I could get a meal in the same place I could get Advil and 2 scoops of ice cream. (note to self: good place for hangovers!) The girl behind the counter was really sweet! She asked me what I wanted and didn't get aggravated with me when I just couldn't decide. I ended up getting a Combo Sandwich with Pastrami and Brisket. It was the perfect size. Loaded with lots of meat, but not so much that I couldn't take a Keshia-sized bite out of it. The pastrami was a little fatty but overall it was Dee-lish! It also came with a small side of potato salad and a pickle. 9 bucks. A little more than I would like to spend on a sandwich but it was good.
I just happen to be holding the documents that I needed to copy and was able to get it done while my sandwich being made. Scratch that off the list! Then I grabbed a box of Benadryl. Scratch that off too! When my sandwich was finished and I was ready to pay, she asked me if I would like anything else. I jokingly replied, 'Do you have stamps?' She promptly says, 'Yup! How many?' Huh?!?! You must be kidding...
Wow! Mission accomplished in one stop. Score!
I just left this place looking for a product in their pahrmacy. However they did not have it. Nontheless they were amazingly helpful. Just very very nice people. Can't go wrong stopping here first. They even ordered the item so next time I'm in they would have it.
Needed my allergy prescription filled at my insurance's website listed Gordono's as an accepted pharmacy. Its Yelp reviews seemed to make it sound decent (dispite my being a little concerned that it was also a Deli?) so I called and placed it. They were very polite and curteous and, as promised, called me the next day to confirm what my final cost was before I came in to purchase.
The entire store (deli and pharmacy both) is very clean and charming. The staff was helpful and quickly checked me out. I'll definitely be back.
Ok, seeing as I had written about the deli before, here goes for the pharmacy as I have now used that half of the store. :)
I was sick and miserable (as opposed to my usual just miserable) and in need of getting a Rx filled. I was not in the mood to take the bus to CVS or walk to Broadway to Walgreens or wait for the SO to take my Rx in for me. Then, like a beacon of light in the dark, I remembered Gordono's. But being that they are the last of a dying breed, the 'mom and pop' pharmacy, I wondered how would my insurance fair there? I bundled up and headed forward.
I inquired of the pharmacist about this and was met with an incredulous look, could it be that someone was as daft as me? And then his look softened as he realized I was delirious with illness and fraught with the desire to get well. He explained that yes, my HMO would be accepted (for what it is worth the damn thing does me little good in the grand scheme of medicine) and if I would just have a seat he would be happy to fill it.
Well, my 'seat' was actually me wandering over to the deli half of things and buying up the other necessary things to aid in the healing process. Since it is a small operation they have going on there it did take longer than the chain places to get the Rx filled but I am thinking about moving my regular monthly meds there to support a local business.
Holy sammich, Batman! That sucker was HUGE!
First time in there the other day and upon the staff…
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Giant ham sandwich. YUM
I popped in today for lunch and ordered a ham and cheese sandwich on rye. The ham was absolutely PILED up on this thing., and they slice it right there in front of you which is cool. Lettuce was of the shredded subway variety, but hey, that's ok. I'm in it for the meat and cheese, really. The tomatoes were fresh and the mayo, although a little too thickly spread for me, made the whole thing come together. Toss in a honkin' pickle and a little homemade potato salad (very mustardy=good) and it was a terrific lunch. I even saved half the sandwich for my honey, it was so huge.
I've had their ice cream before, which is also tasty. There's a cute little pharmacy in the back and the staff is pretty friendly. My sandwich (with pickle and side) came to about 7 bucks, a little on the pricey side, but worth it in my opinion--especially considering the size of the thing.
I'll be back for more sammies and to try their matzo ball soup!
First, they serve knish. This made me very happy. I have been looking, and who knew they were right around the corner from my super cute apartment?
The place was kinda pricey. When we went Sunday, the door was open, but they sign on the door said "closed"...we poked in and asked they said yes, and we went in and placed our order.
Super clean, and it only took about 5 minutes to get our order ready. They even heated up the knish! (though they don't serve it with brown mustard...)
For $25 for two sandwiches, and some knish, I felt like I was back in New York... not in Andersonville. But they were good. So was the slaw & the potato salad.
I was excited to know I could get real deli flavor/feel from this place. They also had noodle kugel, and kerplach soup....and a bunch of soda & candy from Brooklyn. Hot.
What was odd, were the day glow neon dining sets they had set up to eat on. I felt like an extra on Kids N'Corporated. We took our orders to go.
Then drank cheap beer, and watched a movie. It was super fun. A great way to spend a leisurely afternoon.
I'd go, it is a treat for once a month....and they get points for being close to my apartment.
And did I mention they serve knish?
It's nice that this place is in Andersonville, as I'm a huge fan of delis. But it seems to have 15 names - Gordono's? Pudgies? A giant sign that says "one of a few kosher delis!" - or something like that - is that its name? Is it gay? straight? jewish? a deli? a drugstore? prescriptions? What's up with this place?
Had a corned beef sandwich here awhile back that was good, AND they have my main sandwich requirement - brown mustard, sooo . . . that's good. It's in my neighborhood, so I'll keep coming here. Like that it's a little drugstore too, with lots of perfectly lined up and organized sundries.
Wow! A hidden gem of Edgewater/Andersonville!
Instead of going to our usual Sunday brunch haunt, Broadway Cellars, we decided to shake it up this week. My boyfriend had heard good things about this place, so we sashayed on in.
Now, I LOVE LOX. Love, love, love. When I saw the Lox Plate on the menu, I knew what was going down.
I had the Lox plate with a sesame bagel and chive cream cheese. The Lox plate came with a bagel and lox (obviously), cucumbers, cream cheese, capers, tomatoes, onions and shredded lettuce. The cucumbers were a very nice touch. The lox was great! You get a heaping helping of it.
God, it was delicious. My breath stunk for hours, but it was worth it. My boyfriend got the same thing and enjoyed it as well. We came back a bit later and picked up some Watermelon italian ice (delicious as well) and some pickled herring. The scoops of Watermelon Ice are HUGE! I thought a scoop, meant, you know, a scoop of ice cream. These "scoops" were bigger than my fist. Only $3 a scoop, too! Next time we'll share one instead of each getting our own.
This place overall is a little odd. It's a pharmacy and a deli - Lox in the front, Pepto Bismol in the back! There's seating inside and out, but there's not a ton of it. The layout was a bit odd, but the food was great and I'll definitely be back.
Part Deli, part drugstore, part ice cream shop? I'd walked past several times with wonder and decided, what the heck, I'll try a sandwich. They proclaim they are one of the few remaining Jewish Deli's. Now I know why so many have gone out of business.
I ordered a reuben. I watched the person behind the counter get out the fresh corned beef while toasting rye bread and thought that I was in luck. Wrong! The bread was burnt then soggy because, while they give you loads of meat, they microwave it!!!! What Jewish deli would be proud of a microwaved mess of corned beef, kraut and swiss piled on burnt rye? Ugh. The side of coleslaw was small and so-so. The pickle was good though. But not good enough to compensate for a lousy $10 reuben.
Maybe this is a better ice cream parlor or pharmacy, but as a Jewish deli, not thanks. You'd be better served going to the Jewel across the street.
Cashier: "That'll be $8.67."
Me: "$8.67?! For a bagel with cream cheese and lox?!"
Cashier: "Yes."
I mean, I know the lox is about $22/pound. And the lox is FANTASTIC, but there couldn't have been more than about 2 ounces of lox on there, which by my reckoning is about $2.75, which means the bagel and cream cheese alone cost almost $6. Maybe someone screwed something up. I'm still confused as to how it could cost that much. At least they were very nice.
The other times I have gone, it's just been for coffee and more simple stuff, which has been alright, and wasn't exorbitantly priced. I've never been too interested in the selection of goods they have, and I like my pharmacies to be available 24 hours.
Best Bagels I have found in the city so far. If you look they have day old bags for a buck. The bag is a 1/2 dozen. Day old is fine by me,it's going in the toaster anyway..
Update-not so good anymore. I have started making my own bagels and I give myself 5 stars!
A casual Jewish style deli in Andersonville. Pricier than fast food but definitely a decent value if you like to eat.
I get takeout from here every few months or so. The 7.95 special with pastrami sandwich, soup and side is a good deal.
The pastrami sandwich is a delight when the meat is moist and the bread is fresh. I've had the occasional dry sandwich here but it's the exception.
The brisket on pumpernickel rocks as well.
Had a smoked chub there once, very satisfying.
The chicken soup varies from rich and chunky to somewhat sparse. It's always at very least what Larry David might annoyingly describe as pretty, pretty, pretty good.
I usually get matzo ball. You get one large and dense spherical mass reminiscent of the planet jewpiter.
The noodle is ok too. Do they have kreplach? I believe so. I'll find out and let you know.
Potato salad: not bad. Or as Larry would say, "eh."
Good pickles.
I like the atmosphere there. I've had some funny experiences just hanging out waiting to order. Kind of a sweet and sour kvetchup topping for the one part of your day that gives your soul a one hour reprieve from the usual grind.
Wow, Now thats some good Ice Cream. This funky little place has a small town feel. Where else can you get your deli, Ice Cream and pharmacy needs met under the same roof? Here you can.
The staff is cool, and very helpful. Its a great place to stop at the deli counter and get a few sandwichs before heading to the lake for the day.
Have not tried the Lox or Bagles yet, but, the the amount i see flying out the door, they must be doing something right.
I love this place. If you're a fan of hard salami (no jokes), this is the place to go. They cut it fresh, and stack it high...seriously. We counted how many slices were on our bagel sandwich and it was 23. Not a fan of the coleslaw, but the potato salad was very good. Obviously home made. Service is always very friendly, and its practically in my back yard.
Gordono's (also JB's) is an odd mix of deli, ice cream parlor and drugstore. The drugstore itself is quaint and vaguely reminiscent of a country pharmacy. The deli, although self-proclaimed as "one of a few Jewish delis" doesn't serve kosher meat. That said, the bagels and sandwiches are good, albeit not up to NYC standards.
The best treat here is the ice cream. It's rich, creamy, just slightly soft and packed with flavor. My personal favorite is the "Bear Claw" which is chocolate fudge / caramel extravaganza.
Seating inside is minimal but take-out is a good option.
The "Closed" sign on Sweet Occasions darn near broke my ice-cream-loving heart last weekend, and nothing will ever replace its Zanzibar chocolate wonderfulness. But Gordono's (Pudgies?) will do in its absence. This place has a small-townish, old-school vibe to it that's pretty charming. I had a kid's cone of Oreo ice cream. It was huge and tasty. I'll be back to try a sandwich sometime soon.
Great sandwiches! The turkey pastrami was piled on pretty thick and it tasted great. I've also had the corned beef. It was good as well. If you don't like the food, load up on Tums and Pepto Bismol at the same time! A nice big and colorful candy aisle too!
$5 bucks used to get you a sandwich, chips and soda, but they nixed the soda part of the deal. But it's still a decent deal.
I am hooked on the pumpernickel bagel with veggie cream cheese. The cream cheese is the best I've had in ages - flavorful, chunky veggies, almost a peppery taste, and spread thickly on a fabulous chewy bagel.
MMM Ice cream. Sweet Occasions was closed to do water problems, so we headed up the street to Pudgies.(or whatever you call it.) I scanned the ice creams and saw PlayDoh. I thought what is Playdoh flavored ice cream? then I asked the staff. Guess what? they had no idea but they said I could try it. So I did. And then preceded to get a cone of it. It is yellow ice cream with neon pink and blue chunks in it. I said it was vanilla ice cream with sugar cookie dough in it, but the staff told me I was wrong. Either way it was yummy!
My mother had cantaloupe ice. It tasted almost exactly like cantaloupe, it was a little too sweet tho.
My daddy had a chocolate milkshake with extra chocolate sauce. It was yummy also. And the straw was extra wide.
They also have old school candies here, which is tons of fun. I bought candy cigarettes for my man, since he is trying to quit!
All in all it was fun, and I'll be back.
For the price, I wasn't impresed. The sandwich I had was ok, but I've had better, thicker elsewhere. They didn't have challah as a bread option. It's a cute location, kind of obnoxious seating. I did leave my purse here, and 20 minutes later, someone returned it. So I am thankful on that part. Still, I am about the sammie, and it wasn't that good.
Where else can you get your deli and pharmacy needs met under the same roof? This place is certainly one of a kind. I can barely think of any small pharmacies left and the deli part really adds a unique touch. They have really good lox and bagel sandwiches here for a very reasonable price.
A funky little old-school pharmacy, of the sort you rarely enounter anymore, but with a full-scale deli up front. Real bagels, praise be the god of your choice -- quite unlike the Abominations Unto The Lord you get at Einstein's and the like -- and sandwiches which, while not worth a massive cross-town trek, are quite tasty and reasonably priced.
Pharmacy? Ice Cream? Jewish Deli? Forget about it this place is awesome. A slice of old time Chicago.
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