La*****VT: All about the value

By Randal Smathers Herald Staff

In the somewhat-less-than-immortal words of Barenaked Ladies ™, I’m all about value, particularly in these lean economic times, when the size of the meal is almost as important as the quality.

And there’s no place in the county — possibly the state/western hemisphere/Cosmos ™* — that gives you more bang for the buck than Maxie’s Deli.

*I’m not sure if Carl Sagan has trademarked Cosmos, so if he did, thanks to his estate for letting me use it. I’m a little sensitive to that whole ™ thing these days. More on that later …

When I got to town and was sorting out the various sub shops, I heard that this place did this well and that place specialized in something else.

Maxie’s specialty is large, large portions, and man, are they ever good at it. It’s said that we always remember our first loves. Mine were what’s-her-face from the first grade and Maxie’s BBQ pork. They also offer BBQ ribs, but spring for the extra 50 cents and get the pulled pork ($4.50 for a footlong and worth every dinar). You’ll want a bib, or wear red.

One staffer who helped taste test for this column specified “light on the meat, heavy on the veggies.” When I reminded him it was a Maxie’s, he said, “I know. That’s why I’m saying light on the meat.” One of our more delicate eaters spent about three nights working through one sandwich a couple of months back. It was like watching Homer Simpson eating his 6-foot-long sub, only she’s not bald, fat or bright yellow, and she refrigerated the sandwich between meals.

Like Ted’s Pizza down the block, Maxie’s survives despite its location, not because of it. State Street has seen better days (and will hopefully rise again). Meanwhile, Maxie’s and Ted’s remain stalwarts, each with a cadre of devotees.

The décor — and I use the term very, very loosely — consists of a counter, a couple of soda coolers, racks for bags of extraneous chips and crates of pickles, cans of tomato sauce and the like.

But as with so many little places, don’t let the looks fool you. Maxie’s has a large and loyal following because they serve good food, cheap. How cheap? Sandwiches for pretty much the entire news staff came to $60.10, and they nailed the order of 16 sandwiches, down to writing the key ingredients on the bag for ease of handing out.

Evening fare — like Henry Ford’s car — is pretty much sandwiches or sandwiches, your choice. Besides the standard deli meats, there’s a handful of hot subs (meatball and sausage, mmm) and a few hard-to-finds, like Cajun turkey.

At lunches they offer a variety of home-style specials and a spectacular-looking list of salads, but only until 2 p.m., and they’d be happy to fax you the daily list.

Service is always friendly and fast, so don’t sweat the line when you walk in. Gives you an extra five minutes to soak up the atmosphere.

Maxie’s Deli; 93 State St. Rutland, VT 05701; 802-775-2007; no credit cards; handicap accessible; hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday; large subs start at $4. ? ? ? 1/2 … ? ? ? ? for value.

What’s in a name?

When I started this little experiment in — well, whatever it is — I dreamed up the name pretty much on the spur of the moment. I did however, run it through the Vermont secretary of state’s Web site, which had an expired registration for a gift and wine shop in Manchester. As I am selling neither tchotchkes nor wine, and as the listing had a big INACTIVE tag on it, I figured I was good to go.

The owner of the shop, Clarke Comollo, subsequently e-mailed, saying it was fine with him if I kept using the name. Now, however, his wife has started writing a newspaper column of her own, so he dropped me a nice note asking me if I could find a new name, along with a lovely follow-up letter from his attorney from the firm of Cease & Desist.

So rather than enrich his lawyer and our lawyer, here’s where you come in: I’m looking for a new name for the column. Snappy, fun and Vermont-centric, please, and no more references to old Fellini films. The Grand Prize Winner™ gets a meal for two at the lunch counter of his or her choice on my tab as part of a review. Offer void wherever an attorney might need to get paid, as that sort of spoils the purpose of the whole exercise.

Send your ideas to randal.smathers@rutlandherald.com and I’ll announce the winner in a few weeks.

Table scraps

# I have been remiss in not welcoming back Clem & Co., the last business casualty of the flood in downtown Rutland.

They are back and just as good as ever: http://invitevt.com/articles/clem-co-checked-shirt-optional.

I think I’ll drop by Saturday to see if the boys are still such big fans of the Turbo pancakes … but only if their mom is going to help herd ‘em afterwards. They’re not called “turbo” for nothing: chocolate, peanut butter and maple syrup really revs up those little engines.

# Speaking of Saturday … that’s when the Winter Farmers’ Market opens for its second run in the old Strand Theater. Don’t you love directions like that? Either you know where it is, so you don’t need directions, or you need a contemporary landmark.

I think it’s a New England thing. When I worked in New Hampshire, a friend needed a ride to work one morning and gave me directions to get to his house, for which “turn left at the Shell station” was the key. There was something that looked like it might have been a gas station about where I thought I should turn, but on I went for another 3 miles or so, until I got to the next town, where I doubled back. Sure enough, the Shell station had gone out of business about five years earlier.

So for the uninitiated, the market is off of Wales Street in downtown Rutland. You enter through the Co-op.

Last year was such a success that the farmers promised to plant more late-season crops to meet the demand, so it should be a veritable cornucopia in there.

# Finally, I neglected to put stars on last week’s review of Sabby’s. If that read like four stars to you, we’re in agreement.