Deli SA

As you head east on Clairemont Mesa Blvd, past Ranch 99, you might see this sign on your left. If you pass it, you will be near the freeway exit which means you've gone too far.

(this was taken on the way out, actually)

I was curious to pick up some of their savory pies to enjoy later...


You will see a bunch of unattractive and non-descript office/industrial buildings. Keep going until you get to the very back. Look for this building  with the big '8360'. You are now in the right place.

There's a lot of parking, some of it numbered. I parked in a spot and hoped it didn't belong to anyone, ha ha.

As TC and I left the car, a family near us had also exited their vehicle. A family of five. They too were also heading over to Deli SA, much to my selfish chagrin.

The space itself is very very small. This is the wall to your left. That is the owner, Graham Perkett that you see.

There are shelves with various canned and jarred foodstuffs as well as candy. Some of them are British. I recognized Smarties (not as good as m&m's in my opinion), Aero Bar, Cadbury Flake, and Maltesers. You can also get those at the British stores. Last time I was at Shakespeare's, a South African ex-pat was buying up a lot of British candy for her kids!  I also noticed HP sauce (bottom shelf on the very left; it's the blue and red bottle) which is kind of like a British steak sauce. It goes well with Scotch eggs!

We noticed the Vuvuzela on top of one of their fixtures. Remember that?

Well, imagine thousands and thousands of people blowing on it, like at the 2010 World Cup which was held in South Africa!

It sounds like an angry horde of buzzing bees!!!

Here's another video on how to play the vuvuzela, as well as seriously rendered versions of classical composers:

Yeahhh...I lasted about a minute and then clicked it off.

Well, remember the family of five? I know I shouldn't be thinking uncharitable thoughts, but dammit, their arrival was such bad timing!

They pretty much cleaned out the available pot pies and meat pies there, including the last Mushroom and Steak Pie. Fk!

The father saw me holding candy and thought he was being nice by saying, "We might be awhile. You can go first...". To which I replied, "Well, I actually wanted to buy some of those pies.". Then he was quiet. I could have been a total bitch and said, "Why thank you, I will go first!", then proceed to buy up the shit I wanted, but I didn't. Instead, I waited because they did arrive before us. But, admittedly, I was a bit PO'd even though it wasn't their fault.

I felt vindicated later on when the owner's wife came by AFTER the cockblocking family was rung up and filled the case with freshly made pies, which I bought! Take that.

Graham explained that since it was a Tuesday, they were serving rice and curry chicken for their hot lunch. Earlier he explained that some businessmen came in and bought up a dozen or so of their pies. Unfortunately, he wasn't in a sample giving mood as he was when Mary visited (her post linked at the end).

These are like the British version of Whoppers, but not as good. The chocolate didn't really taste like chocolate. TC liked it but Bert did not.

In addition to the meat pies I bought, I also took home a couple of Lamington squares ($2.50 each/I should have just bought one). They can either be sold frozen as a dozen, or in my case, individually.

These were pretty good - marble cake rolled in chocolate sauce and coconut. I liked how finely chopped the coconut pieces were.

Here were the meat pies and the pot pie at home ($6 each/seems like they are a dollar less than when San Diego Food blog went).

I'm glad that we got some freshly baked pies. Two looked the same on the outside, the half moon pie. The puff pastry shell was beautiful. So flaky and buttery, and with eggwash brushed decorative strips laid on the top.

One was filled with a fragrant and spicy chicken curry. This was delicious! I had the corner when we got home!

The other was the Cornish Pasty which was like a beef stew with a delicious gravy along with potatoes, onions, carrots, and peas. So good! The corner was also hijacked by yours truly. TC liked this better than the chicken curry.

This was the pot pie which was still hot!

I was so happy that we got a fresh Pepper Steak. This was quite meaty. Out of the three, this was my favorite. Bert's was the chicken curry.

The owner also told us that on Friday, he serves Fish and Chips. According to their online menu, they serve actual food on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The other days they just sell their savory pies as well as assorted desserts in their case. I'll have to go back to explore those. Here's the link for their specials.

Seeing the big painting of Nelson Mandela reminded me of this old song from the 80's, "Nelson Mandela" (sometimes referred to as "Free Nelson Mandela") which came out in March 1984. Note: The Special AKA is also known as the English two-tone ska band, The Specials (known for "Ghost Town", "A Message to You, Rudy", and "Little Bitch", to name a few).

That song was a blast from the past!

I wish they had more seating here. There is only one table with about four or five chairs. Otherwise, it's basically take out. In the video (linked from their site), they had plenty of seating, but in the back just for the employees!  I would like to go here again to try the other flavors we weren't able to try.

Deli SA
8360 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Suite 112
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 694-0212

www.deli-sa.com (this link also has local reviews and even a video spot on "Eden Eats". If you watch the video you can see the making of "Bunny Chow" and also behind the scenes of their little shop, which is quite spacious in the back but so tiny in the front).

Who else went to Deli SA?
Michael from San Diego Food went back in September last year and even got a tour of their kitchen (you can also see a comment I made that wasn't responded to. ):   )
Mary from This Tasty Life went here recently last month.

Well, that was our little food adventure that day. Three ethnic markets all on the same street. Taiwanese food for lunch. Take home Korean food for dinner (Chapchae noodles and Korean fried chicken), as well as South African food for dinner as well as lunch the next day.