George's Delicatessen
1224 Gorham St.
Lowell, MA
I know its been abit of time sense I sat down and wrote a review here, something i hope to change because I do love to do these, and I love the feedback I get from all of you who read what i write here, all the thank yous and suggestions. So with that said, I figured my first review of 2015 would be something special, not just a rare hidden jewel that most might just look past with no second thought, but a place that is special to me personally, and when I think of such a place, there is only one answer that comes to mind, a small out of the way place by the name of George's Deli, a place thats as much a part of my family as it is a part of the city from where we originate, you see, as we recently figured out in preparation for this review, my family has been going to George's for 46 of their 48 years in business. Its the first place most of us ever had take out from, and probably the one place you can get us all to go too in large groups now.
Don't mind my mother and my uncle jeff in the shot, this was the closest i could get of a clear shot at the counter
all day, they were pretty busy when we went.
all day, they were pretty busy when we went.
At first glance George's might seem like just your average small run down local neighborhood submarine sandwich shop with a slant toward Italian food, and to some degree that is exactly what it is, but yet, its also alot more, you see unlike most sub shops they make all of their subs to order, and put them together with the care that only comes from being in business for almost 50 years time. To put it as someone I took there once said after their first time "This ain't no Subway, thats for damn sure.". Though they do bring in some things, stuff like french fries and small things like that, they make the stuff that matters in house, as any place that wants to stay around as long as George's has should. For George's their key in house made product is their tomato sauce, and judging by the things they put it on, they are well aware of just how good it is.
You would think that like most places in the same field as George's that they would have one signature thing on the menu, you know, a draw, a thing you can't get anywhere else and people will drive for miles to get, but if you ask my family, and others who know of this little gem of a place to eat, you'll get a different answer from each person to what that is. To me personally, its what i got on our recent visit there, and what i get most of the time, the veal cutlet sub, or to some veal parmigiana, I like it served with extra sauce and provolone cheese, and a large plate of fries to stuff in the sub for extra yum factor, and because making food touch grosses out my aunt laurie, who just made a crinkly nose face when she read that, there is just something perfect about the way they make the sub, nicely fried breaded veal, just swimming in cheese and sauce, its honestly the only way I've ever had veal and truly enjoyed it. I also love their steak and cheese sub, but we'll get to that in a minute. If you ask my mom what she feels is their signature, she'll tell you either what she ordered when we went, the meatball sub, in house made meatballs cooked on a big flat grittle, then dropped into a sub roll and stuffed with cheese of your choice, and as you can guess, swimming in their home made tomato sauce, like i told you, they know what brings the people in and keeps them coming back, though my mother will also tell you her truest love on their menu is their traditional torpedo. Though some regions call it a ham and cheese, or some call it an Italian, in truth the torpedo is a hybrid of the two, made with ham, salami, cheese, tomatoes, shredded lettuce and normally abit of Italian dressing, my mother will tell you, she can not find anywhere that makes one the way George's does, I've seen her ask at other places, they really have clue how to get it right, much to her sadness. My uncle got what we around here call a Steak Bomb, I'm not sure if the term is universal or just a regional thing, but its a steak and cheese sub, which is a definitively east coast american classic, with peppers and onions, which yes, smelled as good as it sounds, even though i personally am not a peppers and onion person, well to be fair, its more that they don't like me more then i don't like them.
So you must be wondering, why would I review a place that by all accounts just seems like a little hole in the wall place that isn't really all that high end or stand out to the average food lover out there (for realz, i hate the term "foodie" btw), and the answer is very simple, to me, this is where it all began, most people's first non-homemade food is a place like Burger King or McDonald's, mine was here at George's, and sure, you could dismiss it as just some little out of the way sub shop, but to me, and more so, to my family, it'll never be that, its so much more then that, and sure as we all have grown older and spread out as we have, found other places we love to eat, if you mention to one that you're going to George's, and ask if they wanna go with you, you'll more then likely get a yes as an answer. So if you're ever down in Lowell, and you wanna get a feel of what the city's food scene is really all about, head up by George's, sure its across the street from a graveyard, and its small, but you won't be let down, i promise you won't. Plus, chances are atleast one person in the dinning room will be related to me, which, for some is kind of a bonus.
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Chris
