Evansville's Old Tyme Deli and Meat Shop serves up hearty plate lunches
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — As we continue our ongoing quest for awesome plate lunches across Evansville, we headed to the near North Side to stop at the Old Tyme Deli and Meat Shop on First Avenue.
It's a little market full of big men, meat, and plates loaded with hot, good food.
Tables full of workers from nearby Berry Plastics, a few city employees from the streets department, and neighborhood guys in flannel shirts enjoyed hearty helpings of country steak with gravy, fried pork tenderloin and more. They all seemed to know each other and shop owner Mike Holder, but were happy to welcome in a strange lady who wanted to interrupt their meal, write down their names and photograph their food.
“We come here every day from Berry,” said diner Charo Schmitt. “Berry is so big it's just as close to come here as it is to walk clear across to the lunch room. That and we get to torture Mike and give him a hard way to go.”
“They say the customer's always right, but not here,” interjected Holder.
“The lasagne on Thursday is really good, but everything here is good,” said Schmitt. “Mike does a lot of our company meals; Berry has always used him, and you'll see a lot of the plant managers in here eating.”
Holder opened the shop 13 years ago after leaving the grocery store world to go into business for himself.
“This is kind of a dream,” he said. “I have my own place, we sell fresh meat, freshly cut; we do plate lunches every day and we cater. We take the cooked products from our fresh meat. We don't use anything frozen.”
When asked about special recipes, he simply shrugged. “Oh, I don't use recipes,” he said.
The friendly atmosphere extends from the dining area to behind the counters, where employees Jacob Wiant and Jared Willis man the grill, oven, register, steam table or whatever needs doing.
Wiant has worked in the shop for five years, where he started right out of high school.
“It's really good here,” he said. “I've been learning how to run a small business, and Mike is a great boss, he takes care of me and treats me like family--it's like that with a lot of the guys that come in here, there are regulars and you get to know them. It's just a really good place. And I've been here long enough we come in and get everything done like that.”
Willis agreed that he'd hit the jackpot job-wise when he started at the Old Tyme Deli.
“I've been here for going on three years now, and I absolutely love it,” he said. “It's a huge adrenaline rush when we have the big caterings going on. We do groups for Berry that are up to 2500 people. I didn't know anything when I walked in here, but Mike and Jacob have taught me so much food-wise and business-wise.”\
If you stop by Old Tyme Deli, expect to see a small but thorough selection of beef, pork and chicken cuts at very reasonable prices, and then the steam table loaded with lunch offerings from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Every day there are hamburgers and cheeseburgers, fried bologna with cheese, fried pork tenderloins and chicken breast sandwiches. The plate lunch selection rotates as follows:
- Monday - Meatloaf, Salisbury steak, or baked pork chops, mashed potatoes and green beans
- Tuesday - Fried pork chops, marinated chicken, or beef and noodles, mashed potatoes and broccoli
- Wednesday - Fried boneless chicken breast, country fried steak, baked pork chops, mashed potatoes and green beans
- Thursday – Lasagna or spaghetti with garlic bread and a side salad, bbq pork chops, potato salad and baked beans.
- Friday - BBQ pork steak, BBQ chicken, baked pork chops, macaroni and cheese and baked beans
- All dinners include 2 sides.
If you go
The Old Tyme Deli and Meat Shop is located at 307 N 1st Ave.
Phone: 812-401-1030
Hours:
Monday – Friday 7 a.m. -6 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Plate lunches available Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.