Martin’s Wine Cellar goes back to the very beginning of the story for Tom and me. Our first date was not at the original place Uptown, but at The Pontchartrain Hotel as the venue for wine tastings hosted by Martin’s Wine Cellar.
Martin’s did a personalized wine bottle for the wine at our wedding, and occasionally Tom would drop in to get wine there. But most of our substantial collection came from winemakers who visited the show.
But Tom always said he thought the deli at Martin’s Wine Cellar was as excellent as everything else there. I never experienced it much until our daughter bought a house nearby that needed a full gut. We spent many hours at that house and ate often at the deli at Martin’s Wine Cellar. The house has been sold and Martin’s is again completely off our radar, until yesterday when we were in Metairie and looking for a place to eat. There just wasn’t anything I could think of for a quick bite that we hadn’t visited too much already. And then Martin’s popped into my mind.
The place is always rockin', whether people are perusing aisles for wine and spirits and gourmet snacks, or lingering over well-made deli sandwiches. With unupholstered wooden benches lining the walls, the decor can only be called spartan, and service is fast casual, though not especially fast. A lot of food comes out of that kitchen. Martin’s Deli has cases of salads under the counter where you order, with things like chicken salad, shrimp salad, and potato salad, etc. Usually, when I see these the salads look tired, but there is such volume here that it never appears unappealing.
But yesterday we got hot sandwiches. A club sandwich is my go-to, but the one here is called “The Executive Club”, and it has grilled ham and American cheese, so I passed on it. I have had it before and I do like it, but we went for something different. Tom was interested in the roast beef, but it sounded more like French Dip than a poor boy, and he moved on to a Cuban once I mentioned it to him. I got a burger, which sounded very basic. I also wanted to try the muffuletta. And I got a chocolate chip cookie.
It seemed like a long time to wait, but that was likely exacerbated by the need to have something for Tom to eat in the meantime. I have no idea why I passed on the opportunity to get some chips or a salad app right out of the case. At this place I could do that and I didn’t even think of it.
The burger was the best thing at the table, and it wasn’t really special. I have become a real snob about burgers, always expecting them to be hand-formed specimens of perfect beef. At a place like this, I have to stop being alarmed that the patty is simply round with no imperfections that point to a fresh hand-formed patty. Because sometimes a frozen patty on a grill is tasty too. (I am not implying anything about this burger because I didn’t inquire as to its pedigree.) I have finally come around to Tom’s dictum that he rarely practiced himself: If it tastes good, it is good.
And this burger did indeed taste good. A classic old-fashioned burger in every sense of the word, it had a simple bun with sesame seeds on top (no brioche here) that was nicely toasted. Inside was a simple round patty with melted cheddar cheese, a few slices of red tomato and lots of pickles, ample shredded lettuce, and a schmear of mayo. This was served with glorious fries that were frozen and battered and fried crispy.
Tom’s Cuban was surprising, though I shouldn’t have been surprised. I have set the Katie’s Cuban as the Gold Standard, and it remains on a pedestal with nothing coming close, but this was just odd, Instead of a bread that was dense and chewy, this was on an oblong bun with onion flakes on top. The roasted pork was so white I had to inspect it to see if it was turkey. And Tom loved it despite its peculiarities.
The muffuletta was also surprising. I asked if it was two pieces, as half a muffuletta is. Once that was affirmed I pictured a normal-size muffuletta in two halves. This was a small loaf and the pieces were small. This is still enough for one person, and certainly if it’s an extra thing, but it surprised me. We also had a confusing discussion as an answer to the “hot or cold?” question. I have come around to Tom’s opinion that it should not be served hot. I asked if it could be quick-toasted to crunch the bread but not heat the inside. I was told that I should order it cold because all the sandwiches are run through the toaster. But it was completely cold. This muffuletta had mortadella on it, which is almost rarely the case these days. The difference in flavor is obvious. I have become a big fan of mortadella. This was good.
The chocolate chip cookie was the chewy variety, and Tom loved it.
We sat at Martin’s for an excessively long amount of time. Tom didn't want to leave. Maybe he recognized it as his wheelhouse, or it was such a busy place to people-watch, but he was quite happy sitting there. It was so pleasant we will return to Martin’s somewhat regularly. Just because.
