Today, I finally checked off The Corner Deli in Hamden, which had been on my list for a couple of years. They had a rather high reputation, so my expectations were raised accordingly.

 

 

Warm day, and no air conditioning in the store, but all the same I went for a hot, toasty chicken parm.

 

 

Old photos that I’ve seen show the usual basic white wrapping. It seems that they’ve put more effort into it since then, which is always nice to see, although you lose the old-fashioned vibe.

 

… Oh my word.

 

 

When I unwrapped this beauty, all the smells of a great chicken parm puffed out at me… and, I swear to god, I detected butter.

 

 

And look at that bread. My expectations jumped even higher upon seeing it.

 

 

I was not disappointed. The cutlet breading reminded me of the Wethersfield Pizza House – very, very good indeed, but not quite Franklin-level (honestly, that may not even be a fair comparison). The sauce stood out as being some of the freshest and tomatoiest that I’d had from a grinder shop – I’d bet everything that it’s made in-house. And the bread was every bit as good as you’d think.

 

 

My grinder was comparable in size to something from Carbone’s Market, and, like theirs, contained two stacked cutlets. I ate one half as prepared, but the other half I may separate out and use in a third sandwich. [;)]

 

The next time I’m here, I’ll try the Italian combo. It’s a safe assumption that it’s better than the somewhat lackluster ones I had from S&S and Elmwood.