Al’s Deli at 458 Seventh Avenue

It’s funny to return to a restaurant that had been part of your career twenty years earlier. In my years in the Macy’s Buying offices, Al’s Deli is entrenched in the memories of many Macy executives with early morning breakfasts before we had to be at the desk at 9:00am or in those late nights preparing for the holiday season after 8:00pm. Plus all those lunches being delivered when we were chained to our desks as the phones were ringing off the hook.

Even when I visited the restaurant recently I still see their delivery people racing across the street delivering salads and sandwiches thinking nothing has changed over the years.

Al’s Deli has been serving the Garment District crowds since 1976 and its popularity is its consistency, large portion sizes, reasonable prices and the high quality of the meals. Everything I have ever ordered from Al’s has been delicious and homey. The countless cheeseburgers, grilled cheeses and pancakes that I have ordered over the years have been wonderful.

Al’s Deli hot food section along with breakfast items

There Cheeseburgers are large, juicy and are a mouthful to eat. When you order the deluxe, the French fries have always been fresh and cooked to order and the lettuce and tomato always taste in season. The several pieces of cheese on the top always give it a gooey consistency.

The Cheeseburgers at Al’s Deli are large and very juicy

The two most recent times I have been to Al’s Deli is when I have been walking Kips Bay and NoMAD (North of Madison Square Park) for my blog, MywalkinManhattan.com. I wanted an early start and since my beginning of neighborhood destination was West 34th Street, Al’s is always the logical choice.

Al’s selection of sandwiches and salads

Plus their Bacon, Egg and Cheese and Sausage, Egg and Cheese on a roll are always so good. The recent visit I made to Al’s had me eating my bacon, egg and cheese on a protective cement block outside the store to keep socially distanced from everyone.

The combination of the smokey crisp bacon with the eggs cooked in clarified butter held together by a piece of American cheese had a nice complex flavor and was relief on the cold morning I started my walk in Koreatown on the Avenues of the neighborhood. The sausage version offers a large spicy sausage patty instead but provides the same joy into biting into that chewy roll on a cool morning.

The Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a roll here is really good

On a recent stay in New York City, I revisited Al’s for breakfast again for a third time and had the French Toast and egg platter which was really good. You got two large slices of French Toast with a scrambled egg and bacon. That was quite the bargain for all that food and everything was delicious.

The Bacon, Egg and Cheese at Al’s Deli will warm you up on a cold morning.

The French Toast platter is very generous

The French Toast is really good and a meal in itself. These large slices of Texas Toast are loaded with cinnamon and a nice buttery crust.

The French Toast at Al’s Deli is really good

I ate upstairs in the seating area that is now open and a nice place to sit. What nice views of the Garment District! I have not eaten in the dining area for twenty six years so it was strange to be back up there. I was the only one up there for most of the morning so it was quiet and relaxing while I sat and enjoyed my breakfast.

The selection of hot and cold food at Al’s Deli is tremendous with sandwiches, breakfast and lunch platters, salad, burgers and Italian and Spanish entree specials for the legions of garment workers that order their meals here. Most meals will run between $8.95 and $11.95 depending on what you order and what time of the day you order it.

Since coming back to Al’s Deli after so many years, rediscovering it again, this will not be my last trip. There is always more to try on the menu.