One Great Sandwich: Perry’s Combo

By Amy Mikel in Food on May 22, 2008 6:30PM

Lunchtime in the Loop is a beautiful thing. Like an elaborate dance sequence, busy downtown hot spots service customers with a graceful efficiency, and businessmen rub elbows with the bike messengers for an “everyman’s meal” – fries and a dog, Italian beef, or a back-to-basics deli sandwich.

You can see this happening every weekday at Perry’s Deli downtown, where at lunchtime the line regularly stretches out the door. Any sandwich you get here will be a monstrosity of deli meat and bread, but we are partial to the Perry’s Combo. Our explanation will be as simple as the ‘wich: a heaping of turkey, ham, Russian dressing, tomatos, and a scoop of cole slaw. With a choice of side and a pickle, the sandwich will run you about $8.50, but the sandwiches are so big that Perry’s automatically wraps up half, and hands it over in a paper bag.

This no-frills approach permeates throughout the whole of the establishment, such as the signage warning that cell phone use is strictly forbidden, adding, “If you are that important that you must be using a cell phone, you should be eating in a much more upscale restaurant.” Perry’s is not kidding about the cell phones, because as soon as a patron whips out a ringing phone, an alarm sounds, causing everyone to sneer at the embarrassed offender. If the customer doesn’t make the connection, a Perry’s employee will come over to issue a scolding, if the deli's regulars don’t get there first.

Perry's Deli is located at 174 N. Franklin. Cash only except on orders of $25 or more.