Albany Deli Quest

The Beginning

It all began with two middle-aged white guys from Albany, New York and a passion for deli sub sandwiches. The scene: a neighborhood block party. The players: friends that had shared too many beverages. The argument: Albany’s best deli. And so, a quest was born.

The Project

We agreed to order the same type of sandwich at select non-franchise delis in Albany, record our findings, and publish them because we have a desire to share the information with our community. We believe the ranking of these delis is a community service project intended to educate the populace to never set foot in a Subway, DiBella’s, or Jersey Mike’s again; there are far too many good and better local options. The eight Albany delis that we identified as the best of the best include Fioriello’s, Andy’s, Ragonese, Cardona’s, Nino’s, Pellegrino’s, Genoa, and Sainato’s. All are exceptional, but which is the best?

Categories for Ranking

The delis are ranked on the quality of meat, bread, and fillings in the sandwich ordered, as well as the construction of the sandwich, the quality of the ancillaries, and the overall ambiance. Each category is ranked out of 5 and the overall rating of the deli is averaged from these numbers. The Crusher orders a sub with roast beef, provolone, lettuce, onion, mayo, and hot peppers and Nature Boy orders a nearly identical sub that includes oil and tomatoes, but no hot peppers. Readers should be advised that the quality of the subs are limited to the selections noted above but, as we say, “as roast beef goes, so goes the rest of the deli.”

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