Is it weird to say this place is my everything? I don’t care, I’m in love with Eatcetera Deli [1120 Smithtown Ave, Bohemia, NY 11716] and I’m not afraid to shout it from the mountaintops.
This is not a normal deli, by any means. I love the comfy vibe and the relaxed staff behind the counter. I love the street décor. I love the classic rock that is generally playing quietly in the background, or the soccer game on TV.
I am definitely in a long term relationship with this place, and I have a routine for when I come in. Grab a coconut water from the fridge, play some ping pong while I wait for my food. Or play foosball and wait for ping pong while waiting for my food. Or grab any other book or game from the table and wait for ping pong while waiting for my food.
I really love ping pong, and I have to say I’m pretty good at it. In college my friends and I would spend hours down in the basement of the SUNY Albany towers playing ping pong. I’m not saying that I’m Forest Gump good. Definitely not good enough to challenge Mike, the guy behind the counter who uses a mini paddle, no way. If you tried, and you actually won – you would win a free empanada. So let’s actually get to the food – which I love just as much as the ping pong table. I always order one thing, it was the first thing I ever ordered, and it was that good that I refuse to expand my horizons. The chicken diablo crunch is off the hook.
Think HOT, fresh off the grill, homemade taco bell, on steroids, sprinkled with love and, pressed to perfection. I kid you not. There’s chicken, cheese, some kind of tangy crack sauce, avocado, and just the perfect bit of heat from peppers, in that crunchy wrap. Yes, I really love that sandwich. There are tons of different kinds of dishes to choose from, Jeff has decided to make his way through the top menu picks list, an admirable quest.
He has loved every item, but I can tell he always secretly covets my diablo crunch. I give him a bite. Honestly, I usually give him more than a bite because it’s so filling I can never finish it. Well, that’s because I’m secretly saving room for dessert. So many secrets. Remember I mentioned empanadas? They have savory ones you can get for your meal, but I’m not interested in those because I only order my diablo crunch. I’m talking about the whole whiteboard they have devoted to writing the flavors of sweet dessert empanadas available.
Oh yes. We’ve tried a different one every time. Well, more secrets. We usually get two each. They’re so good. You can wait till after your meal to go up and order them, they whip them up fresh and super fast. All of them are truly delicious, you can’t go wrong.
Everyone has their favorites though, and if they have guava or cookie dough during your visit don’t hesitate! Get both. I love you, Eatcetera.