Shake your Deli Craving at The Bagel Baker Delicatessen

Oy vey! They got rid of the rugelach!

But over at Loehmann’s Plaza in Virginia Beach, on hallowed ground where the Route 58 Delicatessen once thrived, a new eatery easily slakes cravings for most things deli.

When Route 58 owner Jeff Goldberg died suddenly in 2022, the deli closed leaving a culinary void for legions of loyalists. But the new place’s co-owners, George Stepanovich and his brother-in-law Sam Tripodis, have been careful to mix past and present. 

True, there’s no tongue on the menu. But The Bagel Baker Delicatessen serves up knishes and  matzo ball soup, aka Jewish penicillin, made by an actual grandmother. Liver, latkes and lox? They got that too, and of course the mighty reuben: piles of corned beef and/or pastrami served as a sandwich, open-faced platter, or even atop a knish.

“We didn’t want to recreate the 58,” George said, and there are differences.

The new place is brighter with white tile floors and a floor-to-ceiling mural of big-city delis spanning one wall. A few more seats have been added, but it doesn’t seem crowded.

What you don’t see is more important. There’s the fact that the pastrami is made in house with navel pastrami, a premium tender cut of beef marbled with fat and cut to order. The soups—Russian cabbage ($9) and matzo ball ($10)—are organic and made by Anna Maria, George’s mother. The Sabrett hot dogs arrive in the New Jersey “ripper” style, finished to a delicate crunch in the fryer.

The namesake bagels get their start each morning over at the diner-deli’s sister location, The Bagel Baker on First Colonial Road, where they are properly boiled and then baked. 

Everything that’s not homemade is imported from New Jersey or New York, including rye bread and colossal cheesecakes.

“Same suppliers” as 58, George said, “more or less.”

On a recent afternoon, my friend Holly and I stopped in, famished and looking forward to a late lunch. George greeted us at the door, and without hesitation he recommended we try onion rings ($10), something called Disco fries ($13), and his favorite, a navel pastrami on rye ($19 for a half-pound, $25 for three-fourths).

Not to brag, but I’m an onion ring aficionado. They’ve got to have a thin, crispy crust covering a flavorful circle of onion that doesn’t totally surrender on the first bite. Check on all accounts.

Now Disco fries are new to me, and something I’d likely not order on my own. “They are life-changing,” George promised. “People from Jersey come in smiling from ear to ear.”

Soon a waitress placed a dinner plate piled with warm, crispy, crinkle-cut fries in front of us, topped with gravy and a tangle of stretchy provolone and mozzarella cheese that made me wish I had a hangover. Conversely, I think that kids would delight in testing that uber-stretchy cheese.

Onward! The pastrami tastes like love on rye. It’s hot and tender and 58 loyalists won’t be disappointed.

We also ordered a Pick 3 Cold Platter ($19) with its tennis ball-sized scoops of classic tuna, egg, and chicken salads. Next time I’d order it with the cranberry-walnut chicken salad instead to give this dish a little more pop.

There used to be this mantra over at the 58, that if you finished the dish, they’d made a mistake. It rings true at this deli-diner.

Holly and I were contemplating to-go containers when George insisted we try a dessert—perhaps an oversized wedge of chocolate cake ($12), lemon meringue pie ($8), or strawberry cheesecake ($11)?

Soon we were tucking into the latter, a cool, lofty, fluffy wedge of creamy goodness glistening with strawberry glaze and a topped with a trio of berries.

Somehow we managed to eat it all. 

Food Find: 

The Bagel Baker Delicatessen
thebagelbakerdeli.com
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At Loehmann’s Plaza
4000 Virginia Beach Blvd., #156
Va. Beach • 757-463-0789
Open daily, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Breakfast specialties: $10-$18
Breakfast sandwiches: $5-$15
Bagels: $4-$5
Kid’s breakfast: $6-$7
Soups: $9-$10
Knishes: $11-$18
Salads: $13
Sandwiches: $14-$19
Sides: $3
Kid’s meal of chicken tenders, grilled cheese, or hot turkey and cheese sandwich with fries: $8
Desserts: $8-$12

Lorraine Eaton, formerly with the Virginian-Pilot, is co-author of the “Food Lover’s Guide to Virginia,” and author of “Tidewater Table,” a local bestseller. She has won numerous writing awards, and her work has been included in “Best Food Writing.” Lorraine lives in Va. Beach.