Belly Delly Deli: Decadent Sandwiches in Times Square 24 hours a day, but is it better than Lenny’s?
March 6, 2008
THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED
I used my Menu Pages method (detailed in a great Midtown Mexican food article) to take a break from Lenny’s the other night and it led me to Belly Delly Deli where I found the aptly named Crazy and Turkey, grilled Boar’s Head Honey Maple Turkey, with melted Swiss, grilled red onion, chopped tomato, and Russian dressing on a grilled garlic hero. I naturally added some lettuce and well done bacon because that’s how NYC Food Guy rolls.
Next time I’ll pass on the garlic hero (merely butter and garlic powder) but this sandwich, made fresh to order, was delicious. And if that’s not enough, this place is 24 hours (delivery ends at 7pm) and the other hot sandwiches sound awesome too. Located on Broadway between 49th and 50th, Belly Delly Deli is the first “we have it all” deli to actually impress me. But is it better than NYC sandwich juggernaut Lenny’s?
Read on to find out which sandwich shop takes the Midtown crown…
The $8 Belly Delly Deli hero is smaller than Lenny’s but I can’t really complain, Belly Delly offers Boar’s Head meats, which are hard to turn down. The sandwich survived the walk from deli to office perfectly, appearing hot and melty fresh as you can see. Lenny’s hot sandwiches have had mixed results on a similar walk. At Belly Delly there’s a flat griddle, a deep fryer, and a open-flamed grill all at the sandwich maker’s disposal. I’m fairly sure Lenny’s just has the flat griddle. I’m looking forward to getting back to Belly Delly to try more.
Here’s the entire Belly Delly hot sandwiches menu from Menu Pages, each one priced at $6.99. You should specify hero, roll, or wrap…
- Ultimate Club – Turkey, ham, Swiss, bacon, tomato
- Buffalo Style Chicken Breast – Grilled Boar’s Head Sliced Buffalo Chicken, melted cheddar, bacon, romaine lettuce, with bleu cheese dressing
- American Club – Grilled Roast Beef and Turkey, melted American cheese, lettuce, tomato
- Grilled Chicken Club – Grilled Chicken Breast, melted Swiss, bacon, lettuce, tomato, honey mustard
- Turkey Club – Grilled Turkey, melted Swiss, bacon, lettuce, tomato
- Chicken Cutlet Parm
- San Francisco – Grilled Chicken Breast, avocado, roasted red pepper, romaine lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing
- Mediterranee – Lemon Grilled Chicken Breast, romaine lettuce, roasted red pepper, and feta cheese
- Crazy Turkey – Grilled turkey, Swiss, fried onion, tomato, Russian dressing, garlic hero
- Chicken Cordon Blue – Chicken Cutlet, melted Swiss, sliced ham, lettuce, tomato, Russian dressing
- California Wrap – Grilled Chicken breast, avocado, romaine lettuce, tomato, roasted red pepper, Russian dressing
- Sicilano Sub – Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, and balsamic vinegar
- Triple Decker – Tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, bacon, and lettuce
There are also some cold sandwiches and other options from the Charcoal Grill including burgers, Reubens, and Philly Cheesesteaks and although delivery ends at 7pm, everything is available 24 hours a day.
So what’s better Belly Delly or Lenny’s?
Let’s be serious here, NYC Food Guy has made some bold statements, but Belly Delly could never match the range, variety, and consistency with which Lenny’s churns out their sandwiches. Lenny’s has never disappointed and it’s not fair to give Belly Delly the edge, especially after just one try.
In the end, Lenny’s prevails and reigns as the Midtown Sandwich King.
Belly Delly Deli
1625 Broadway b/t 49th & 50th Street New York, NY 10019 (212) 333-5650Lenny’s (1 of 10)
60 W. 48th Street b/t 5th & 6th Ave. New York, NY 10036 (212) 871-6677
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March 7th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
[…] This generic Midtown deli is slightly better than other generic Midtown delis [NYC Food Guy] […]
March 11th, 2008 at 4:13 am
I like the look of the bread on that mega sammich. Not too thick so that the Bread:filling ration is too high
March 12th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
dank sandwich
March 12th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I would like the sandwich if the top picture wasn’t NYC Food Guy’s half chewed food….
April 8th, 2008 at 5:02 am
You know what I’d really like to find? A tasty, cheap breakfast sandwich. I’ve never though that Gotham was much of a breakfast town. Sure, brunch is tantamount to a religion here and there are, like, a gazillion delis (not delicatessens, a whole different breed) and diners, but I’ve found that many of them are lacking in the making of a good breakfast sandwich. I love ‘wichcraft, but I don’t want to pay $6.25 each morning.
Do you know of any delis or any other place where I could walk in, get a classic bacon (sausage or ham), egg and cheese on a roll that is under $4.00 (to go) and really, really good? Or from a cart for that matter. I had heard about one called Tony’s that was on Nassau near Wall Street at one point and I had seen some tasty pics of a sandwich like I’m looking for. It was on a long seeded roll and was lookin’ mighty good. I went for about 3 days and couldn’t find it. Any suggestions??
April 8th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Bill-
I’m up for the challenge. I don’t know the Financial District at all though, rarely venture down there unfortunately. Regardless, Midtown is miserable for egg sandwiches in my experience. As long as we’re not talking Diners and restaurants, just delis, it should be an interesting task. Be in touch if you find anything good.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
NYCFG,
It’s nice to see that you’ve finally made it to the Belly. For three years, I worked in law firm hell two blocks south of the BDD. And every day, the best part of my day was heading up to the Bells Dells for everything from Fat Free Tuna to Big Boy Cutlet Hero. As you might imagine, therefore, while your addition of crispy, well-done bacon earns you my greatest respect, I take exception with your hasty conclusion of Lenny’s superiority and urge you withhold final judgment until such time as you’ve had the opportunity to visit the Billy Dilly a few more times. I further urge you to have Wonderboy Jr. prepare your sandwich – he is a true magician.
Best Regards,
Chad
April 15th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Chad,
Wonderboy Jr? Wow, who the hell is that? Is he from the movie “The Natural?” Does he have a lightning bolt burned into his hand? I jest.
What’s your top sandwich at Belly Delly? I haven’t been back since the first sandwich, despite it’s deliciousness. What should I get next time?
Good to hear from you.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
NYCFG,
Wonderboy Jr. is one of the guys behind the counter. There used to be a guy called Wonderboy, who made great sandwiches, but he left and another guy came in who looked a lot like him. So the name choice was easy. The second best sandwich maker who ever worked at the BDD was called #1, or Yassir, depending on how well you knew him. I have been back a few times recently (I no longer work in the neighborhood), so I can verify that WB Jr. is still making delicious lunch, but not much of the old staff remains.
There used to be a cashier there who gave us a lot of pickles. Her name was Stinky Pickles. Then she left and was replaced by Stingy Pickles, who, as you might imagine, did not give us quite so many pickles. Because of the turnover, I guess I can’t insist that you take back your statement of Lenny’s superiority, as the quality may have deteriorated some. But it does still sting a little to hear anything bad about the Belly. It got me through some tough times, so just take back your statement.
While I do enjoy a wide variety of deli sandwiches, I’ve just always been a cutlet guy. I suggest cutlet on a hero, melted american, lettuce, tomato, russian. And bacon, if it’s your birthday.
Chad D.
April 15th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Chad D-
Dude, your suggestion sounds pretty money, I’ll be honest. That’s my ideal sandwich right there, particularly with the Russian. Russian is so key. I used to work at a sandwich shop in college, I created a hero called the Fat L. It was cutlet, bacon, cheddar, swiss, american, lettuce, onion, russian, all on garlic bread. It was ridiculously delicious. The garlic roll at Belly was weak, it was garlic powder and butter, not ideal. Either way, that’s an easy fix, don’t get it next time. I’ll ask around about Wonderboy for you to see if Jr is now working the sandwiches. I know when I went the guy who was working the counter was in the zone. He held it down. I’ll take back the Lenny’s statement to make you happy, but I know in my heart, Lenny’s can’t be beat. In the end, I’ll still sooner patronize the little guy.
Any other awesome sandwiches in the city? How about favorite burgers and pizza. What hood do you work in now?
April 15th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Fat L-
Chad likes Swiss. And Chad loves Cheddar more than love. But I’m a firm believer that Russian goes with American. Think Rocky IV. And I’ve never been huge on garlic bread sandwiches – I guess I sort of feel like garlic bread sandwiches are for places outside of NYC, where you can’t get great tasting bread, and where you’re forced to eat at Subway or, god forbid, Quiznos. I kind of feel like maybe garlic bread is beneath NYCFG. Chad also generally doesn’t do toasted bread, except sometimes for BLTs or tuna.
Wonderboy Jr. should be easy to spot. He’s usually second from the left, sometimes working the grill right behind him. From time to time, he may have a scruffy little goatee going. The real giveaway: look over at a woman on line as she orders…if her pants dampen noticeably as she orders, it’s Wonderboy.
Chad mostly works in Jersey at the moment, but he lives a block from the Corner Bistro. I’m sure this is not news to NYCFG, but that’s a good burger. Chad’s favorite pizza is Village Pizza, on 8th Ave below 14th. There aren’t any delis in my hood that I truly believe in (maybe NYCFG can suggest something). Back when I lived at NYU, I went to this awesome deli on Broadway (around 6th st.) called Delion. That had the best cutlets of all time. All time. I guess what Chad’s trying to say, is that if Chad can change, and you can change, everybody can change!
– C. Dumpington
April 16th, 2008 at 12:00 am
C. Dumpington,
HA!!!! I’ll keep an eye out for the dampening pants as the give away for Wonderboy. Thanks for that heads up, I hope I don’t get smacked in the face.
Yea, I hear what you’re saying about the garlic bread. I went to college upstate in the pre-NYC Food Guy days. These days, we can get some pretty awesome bread in New York, like you said, so I don’t go for garlic bread on the regular. Then again, I do like to supe up sandwiches any way I can so if I think garlic bread will enhance the experience, I’m all for it. I’m an equal opportunity employer when it comes to adding grease to anything.
Russian dressing by the way is permissable on EVERYTHING. It’s delicious and I have no qualms putting it on and cold cut sandwiches (sometimes with some spicy mustard), chicken cutlet sandwiches, and burgers (not to mention dipping fries into it). American, Cheddar, Swiss… Russian is fair game.
Ah, corner bistro, the most overrated burger spot in the city. A sub par burger that gets by on it’s time-attained laurels. Its been around forever and its one of the only places open till 4am where you can get $2 beers and a bacon cheeseburger. Believe me, they get points for that, but you have to be drunk to appreciate it. If you’re going for a meal, F that. I hear Tavern on Jane has a much better burger though they only serve till 1am.
Have you been to the taco truck on 8th and 14th? That’s a serious truck, it’s open from 930pm till 530am. Serious al pastor pork taco. How about Donut Pub over on 7th and 14th, great chocolate glaze coconut, and 24 hours. Money.
Hm, delis near there I’m stumped. There’s a great sandwich shop in the way back of Chelsea Market, in the back of this kitchen appliance store, but obviously they’re not open late. Also there’s a pizza place on the block after the Maritime hotel, a little hole in the wall, Stella’s maybe, that I hear is good. I had Village Pizza a few years ago, can’t speak for the abilities of the joint though your word seems strong.
Delion, is it just a bodega with the usual deli fare or is it a quality spot? You get the cutlet sandwich we talked about earlier?
NYC Food Guy
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Dude,
Sorry it’s taken me so long:
1. Delion is basically a bodega type place – no seating. Fucking amazing cutlets…at least back in the day.
2. I’ve lived a block from Tavern on Jane for 8 years. I went once and the food was awful. Never went back, but maybe it was an off night. I should give it another chance.
3. The real reason I’m writing…I need a gyro…lamb and delicious…and i need it asap. Where to go in the reasonable vicinity? Great gyros where I grew up on Long Island, but I don’t know of any around. If you could get back to me in the next five minutes, that would be great.
CD
May 6th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Chadwick,
My bad not getting back to you sooner, I think I’ve missed that “next five minutes gyro fix”.
Gonna have to check out the cutlets at Delion one of these days and let you know, sad to hear that about Tavern on Jane, burger looks good from what I’ve seen.
I’m not a huge gyro guy but the one from the Halal Cart on 53rd and 6th has been pretty tasty when I’m starving. I’ll ask around and see where the best gyros are, see what I can come up with.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Hey guys, a coupla things…
I went to the Belly Deli recently to check out the Crazy Turkey. I was there around 10 or 11 pm. I should have known something was wrong when the counter guy had to look at the item on the menu about 3-4 times to see what was in it as he was making it. It became clear he really didn’t know how to make this sandwich. He asked if I wanted onion and I said yes, at which he started to out raw onions on it, to which I said no. He put it in a panini press and it was ok, but the center was still cold. NYCFoodGuy, how was yours made? On the flattop or in the press? Do they use 2nd string quarterbacks behind the counter later at night? Gotta say, I was disappointed. Yours looks amazing though!
Gotta respiond to Chadwick re: Delion. I will never give them another cent of my money. I used to work on Broadway near there and sometimes would get breakfast/lunch from there. They would get confused if I ordered more than two things at a time and the orders would be wrong. I can live with that, but what did it for me is when I went in one day and picked up a candy bar, opened it back at work and found bugs were embedded in it and some were still crawling. I took it back, said I wanted my money back. they asked if I wanted anything else, so I loudly suggested that they learn how to rotate their stock so that they don’t have bugs in their food anymore. I’m done with them!!
Want a good sandwich, walk about 3-4 blocks south to the corner of West 4th and Broadway to Le Basket. They have a really good chicken cutlet on a roll with swiss and a slightly hot honey mustard. Really good sandwiches and decent cheap breakfast options. Not gonna “wow” ya, but good for what it is.
May 14th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Bill,
You are absolutely right, they definitely have the B-team behind the counter at Belly Delly. I was there recently and was telling the guy what the ingredients are as he was making my sandwich. I get the cheese melted on the grill and the onions cooked on there too but if you don’t watch them and prompt them for that, they’ll try to slip it all in the microwave. F THAT. Stay on them and make sure they give you what you asked for or at least what the menu describes. Gonna check out Le Basket. Keep an eye out.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
[…] Delly Deli: Guide the Counter Guys to a Great Sandwich Belly Delly Deli’s sandwich menu is great in concept but the counter guys seem to be lost when it comes to preparing them as […]
July 1st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Lawrence,
I just stumbled upon a good breakfast sandwich about 2-3 weeks ago, but haven’t been posting lately. It’s called Rockwells and it’s at 105 Broad St.(at Water St.). Ph #212-363-3030. I was working the midnight to 8 am shift on Broad St. and walked by one morning and decided to stop in as I saw a sign that advertised a breakfast sandwich of eggs, cheese and potatoes for $2.75(?). Not entirely sure on price.
This was a rockin’ sandwich! They put their home fries in a scrambled eggs to cook on the griddle. The HFs have onions and red & green peppers in them too. Served up on the classic round deli roll, I put some ketchup and pepper on it and walked home very satisfied. No messing around with a plastic container and fork, my whole breakfast was able to fit into one hand so I could use my free hand to smack down those who might try to wrest that tasty treat from my grip. I didn’t see that sandwich on the sign the last time I walked by, but I’ll bet if you ask, they’ll make it for you. Not sure what time they open or hoe late they do breakfast items. Best to call ahead.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
[…] This just came in to the ML inbox: “Just went by my go-to sandwich place, Belly Delly Deli on Broadway bet. 49+50th and see that it has been seized by the NYS Tax Dept for unpaid taxes.” Poor Superman. That totally generic Midtown deli was one of his favorites. […]