Stein’s Market & Deli: An Old-School Deli on Magazine Street

Some New Orleans restaurants you discover. Others you hear about so many times that they simply end up on The List.

Stein’s Market & Deli was firmly in the second category.

Pretty much everyone in New Orleans has heard of Stein’s, and since we moved here, it had been one of those places Blake and I kept saying we needed to try. We finally made it over on a Friday for lunch.

Apparently, so did everyone else.

The Stein’s Experience

Stein’s is small, crowded, busy and a little chaotic. The narrow space is packed with tables, deli cases and drink coolers, with just enough room for everyone to maneuver around one another.

People were eating lunch, visiting with friends and working on laptops. At the larger tables, strangers simply shared the available seats. There was a constant flow of people ordering, picking up food and squeezing through the narrow spaces.

It is definitely an experience.

And if it's your first visit, there is something you should know about the ordering process.

A Tip for Your First Visit

If you want chips and a drink with your sandwich, grab them before you get in line to order.

You order your sandwich at the counter and then continue through the line to pay. If you order first and then decide you want a drink or chips, you'll need to get back out of line, squeeze your way over to the coolers and chips, grab what you want, and then make your way back to the line to check out.

Ask me how I know.

Next time, we're getting everything first.

Once you have your order in, find a seat wherever you can. Don't be shy about sharing one of the larger tables. It seems to be part of the Stein's experience.

What We Ordered

Blake and I have very different opinions about what temperature a sandwich should be.

He likes his cold. I like mine hot.

This probably has something to do with the fact that he is always hot and I am always cold, but apparently even our internal thermostats influence our sandwich choices.

I ordered the Turkey Panini, with turkey, provolone, roasted red pepper and pesto pressed on focaccia.

Admittedly, I am not exactly an impartial judge when pesto is involved. You could put pesto on a shoe and I'd probably eat it.

Fortunately, there was no footwear involved here. The focaccia was fantastic, the ingredients tasted incredibly fresh, and the whole sandwich was just really, really good.

Blake went cold with the Italian Hoagie, loaded with mortadella, Genoa salami, hot coppa, aged provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion and vinaigrette.

His was every bit as good as mine. The bread was excellent, the meats and vegetables were fresh, and it was the kind of sandwich where the quality of the individual ingredients really mattered.

Add a bag of Zapp's and a pickle, and we were very happy people.

Would We Go Back?

Absolutely.

But next time, we might get our sandwiches to go.

The crowded, slightly chaotic atmosphere is part of Stein's charm, and I'm glad we ate there for our first visit because you really should experience it. But for us, it was a lot. The tight space, constant movement and busy Friday lunch crowd made relaxing over lunch a little difficult.

The good news is that the sandwiches don't need the atmosphere to make them worth the trip.

Now that we know the drill, our next Stein's visit may look a little different: grab the chips and drinks first, order a couple of sandwiches, and take the whole thing somewhere a little quieter.

Although I'm probably still ordering the turkey panini.

There's pesto on it, after all.

The Luggage & Ladle Lowdown

Stein’s Market & Deli
2207 Magazine Street
New Orleans, Louisiana
504-527-0771

Good for: Sandwiches, casual lunch, takeout
Our picks: Turkey Panini + Italian Hoagie
Know before you go: It gets crowded. Grab your chips and drink before getting in line to order. Closed Mondays. Street parking in the surrounding neighborhood.