Ranelli’s Deli is a time capsule. It hasn’t changed much, if at all, since I first visited in 1990.
Ranelli’s is still slinging Italian-American fare and boasts a proper selection of sandwiches and salads.
For me, Ranelli’s Deli is a lunch time sandwich and a beer joint. The meatball sub, specifically. Do they make the meatballs in house? I haven’t asked and I don’t care. This is the no-frills food that I grew up eating. Where else can you still find an iceberg lettuce salad with 3 carrot slices and a tomato? I occasionally suffer from crippling nostalgia. Ranelli’s is good medicine.
The Richman’s Po-boy is their flagship sandwich. It’s a concoction of ham, corned beef, peppered beef, hard salami,
and pastrami, with swiss and provolone cheese, topped off with an olive salad. It has a muffuletta vibe, but it’s served on a sub roll.
Tuesday is Spaghetti Day and Thursday is Lasagna Day. It’s a direct throwback to childhood dinners at my Italian-American friend’s houses. Straight-ahead, standard, served with an iceberg lettuce salad and garlic bread. It’s a familiar and comforting plate of food.
Sadly, just like Billy’s, these kinds of places are getting harder and harder to find.
The interior is plastered from floor to ceiling with a mix of music memorabilia, found objects, and other dusty treasures. Ranelli’s has been a live music venue in the past. The stage is small and intimate. I remember one standing-room-only show I attended where the crowd and the artists were all crammed together, sweaty and beer-spilling and playing away into the night. It’s a great place to catch a show.
I’m not sure how often they host shows these days.
Ranelli’s web site is just as dated as the restaurant, which is right on brand and right on time. I hope they never change it.