Best Thing We Ate This Week: The Deli Experience at Stacked Deli

I'm a big fan of grabbing lunch at Birmingham's many restaurants — a big fan of the working lunch, actually — but I have to admit: sometimes I tire of sandwiches. I eat a lot of them, so I need something different every now and then to shake up my taste buds and haul me out of my rut.

Stacked Deli managed to do just that. Relatively new to Birmingham's downtown scene at 233 N. Old Woodward, Stacked Deli prides itself on its hot beef sandwiches and its Sy Ginsberg-style corned beef. They have quite the array of sandwiches and now an extensive breakfast menu, as well as a case full of specialty drinks.

I had the No. 16 sandwich, the Down South — mainly because I'll eat anything with barbeque sauce on it. I particularly like how many of the sandwiches — specialty and otherwise — come in both small and regular sizes, with a "small" containing five fewer ounces of meat. For me, a small made for the perfect lunch-sized sandwich, plus a few hot-out-of-the-fryer fries I stole from my dining partner.

The wait was a little long when I visited (mid-afternoon), but the food was delicious. It's been awhile since I've had quality deli sandwiches, and the freshness of the food made even the wait and price ($25 for two sandwiches, two fountain drinks and an order of fries) worth it.