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Moody's Delicatessen and Provisions

Ridiculous. This is how I rate this place. I went in because we saw it in the Boston Mag. We ordered three sandwiches. An outstanding pastrami on crispy and buttery rye. A delicious, herbacious, spicy bahn mi and mustardy cubano with roasted pork, not sliced. All three were excellent and I am really just not a sandwich person or sandwiches just sucked growing up. They don't here.

While we waited I tried half a dozen salami's and bought a few. All made in house. I tried an excellent spicy sopresosata, a great salami with ghost peppers in it, but not very spicy, a very very salami spread, a classic french with white wine and lastly fennel and orange peel salami. We purchased the last two as my wife doesn't like that much spice, but they were all amazing.

Lastly, we bought some of the chicken liver pate which normally is too strong for me, but this was light and flavorful and amazing.

This is a great place to explore and discover. One of the things i really liked to see was that there was one guy working the counter and three chefs in the kitchen. Chef driven? I'd say so.

I almost forgot, I winced on the inside at the "truffled" potato chips, but they were so good that I nearly finished the bag before I hit the door. Made every morning.

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  1. I went today and got the Bahn Mi sandwich and the breakfast pork/egg/cheese sandwich for tomorrow morning. I got home about 1/2 hour later and the Bahn Mi was a soggy mess. Not a traditional Bahn Mi.....instead of vegetables, it was dripping with cole slaw that tasted like some fish sauce had been added to the watery mayo dressing the slaw was made with. The bottom of the bread was falling apart and I finally gave up and got a knife and fork. A big mess. Likewise, I went to rewrap the breakfast sandwich and the cheese had melted all over the foil because they weren't careful when wrapping it and the bottom 1/2 of the English muffin was also soggy from the very wet egg mixture. I rewrapped it with a paper towel under it in the wrap. I also got some pastrami for the weekend and that was very good. The best I've had in a while. Can't say I'll be making a special trip back there anytime soon.

    4 Replies
    1. re: catsmeow

      With all due respect, meow, I think it's unfair to judge their sandwiches so harshly when sampled as take out.

      1. re: newhound

        Well...it's primarily a take out place. There are only about 4 tables to eat in. Just telling my experience. I was pretty disappointed.

        1. re: catsmeow

          The definition of Bahn Mi has really spread too far. I have been disappointed with most nontraditional Bahn Mi I have had, including the one at Strip T's.

          That said I got to check out Moody's once so far and would love to have that place closer to me. Most of the offerings looked incredible.

          1. How do sopressata & sausage prices run per lb?

            5 Replies
              1. re: StriperGuy

                Yeah, it's not cheap, but it is hand made so I cut them some slack there

                1. re: StriperGuy

                  A truly great place but not for the faint of wallet. You can drop 100usd here in a heartbeat. Be prepared for 20+usd/lb for the labor intensive stuff.

                  I think its worth it but I heard my dining companion actually gasp.

                  1. re: hyde

                    Is there an option other that USD? Do they take Bitcoin?

                    1. re: black_lab

                      Possibly, maybe soon.

                      If it was a snarky reference to the way I write then stuff it.
                      It seems to be the easiest way to be precise when one often is talking to lots of people internationally.

              2. I really like this place and am thrilled it has opened up so close to me. I've definitely dropped a few bucks here, and most has been worth every penny.

                My husband says the pastrami is so good it should be illegal. We've had it both cold and quickly griddled with Swiss melted in. Both ways are fantastic. The bacon is house-cured and quite delicious. It's pretty fatty and fries up nice and crispy. There isn't as much smoke as I expected, but the flavors really come through. They've been out of the bacon a couple of times lately and Josh behind the counter (an incredibly nice guy, and extremely knowledgeable) said they can't make it fast enough. The rabbit terrine and afore-mentioned chicken liver mousse are also first-rate, as is the sopressata. The mole salami is interesting, and not overpowering, but I liked the more traditional hot salami better. We've also loved the kielbasa and are looking forward to having a bratwurst dinner soon. We also enjoyed the large (1/3lb?) hot dogs, but thought they were more sausage-like than dog-like, although I noticed last time we were there that they are selling smaller dogs now so I'll have to give them a shot.

                I'm willing to pay top-dollar for charcuterie that is crafted with such care and high-quality ingredients. I'm less willing to spend big bucks for the sides, though. They seem a little too pricey. The potato salad is tangy and a little mustardy, but the potatoes have been too crunchy for my taste both times I've tried it, and too expensive to get often. None of the other sides wve tried e've really stood out so I think I'll just stick to the meats. It would be nice to have affordable sides to round out the meal, though.

                Oh, and they sometimes sell stock in the refrigerator/freezer cases. The selection has varied every time we've been. We picked up some pork stock to use in a kielbasa soup, and the stock was really rich and gelatinous. I think it was $8/qt., and worth it. That's probably on a par with places like Formaggio, and I think the stock was even better quality. I'll definitely "stock up" (sorry) next time I'm there.

                catsmeow, I haven't tried takeout so I can't speak to that. I've just gotten meats and cheeses to make sandwiches at home on bulkie rolls or Iggy's French rolls. Those sandwiches have been awesome.

                I'm sure the market is still a work in progress and will evolve over time. I sure hope it is successful and stays around. Hopefully it is the beginning of a Moody St. revival.

                1. My bahn mi was soggy too, but I thought that it was because we had it in the car for a while. I still liked the flavors and textures though I agree crunchy bread would have been preferable.

                  In my experience with bahn mi one can really put anything on it, any assortment of meats and pates and sausages then top it with some carrots, jicima, sweetened fish sauce and cilantro. Oh and on that specific kind of roll. I have had them with cartelidge and pate and vietnamese sausages and meatballs.

                  I think in that case that these western versions are totally acceptable and can have even more layers of textures or flavors. I loved the pork belly on the one at Moody's. At Mei Mei, their amazing bahn mi has the most incredible liver mousse on it that has made it one of the best bahn mi's I have tasted.

                  My two cents. Getting ready to enjoy our salamis with a few Wasik's cheeses. Yum.