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RETRO DINING: NIELSEN’S DELICATESSEN

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Nielsen’s Delicatessen, located at 4500 Richmond, has been in operation since 1952.    The restaurant was founded by Danish immigrants Ellen Nielsen Andersen and her husband Dick Andersen.  The building sports a red roof, which makes it easy to spot:

Inside the shotgun space is a row of vinyl-covered stools for counter dining on one side, and a deli counter on the other.

The restaurant’s minimalist “decor” (if you can call it that) is Danish, with sun-faded posters of Denmark and Danish royalty, as well as a few Danish characters:

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Get in line, and peruse the menu:

If there’s one thing that characterizes Nielsen’s Delicatessen, it is its legendary mayonnaise, copious amounts of which are used in most of the restaurant’s offerings.  In fact, hanging on the wall is a 1990 letter from Gourmet magazine, advising that they received an “enthusiastic letter” from a patron who “particularly admired the potato salad,” and asked for the recipe, the key to which is the mayonnaise:

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The mayonnaise is house-made daily, and the recipe is a closely-guarded secret.  It’s snowy and silky, unrelated to the stuff in the jar.  Some have suggested it has a hint of onion or celery.  Don’t ask questions, don’t think about the calories, just experience it.  Consider taking a pint home with you.

One of the popular items featuring the famous mayonnaise is deviled eggs.  Although they make about 120 eggs daily, If you want one, you’ll need to get there fairly early, as they usually run out around 1 p.m.

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Sandwiches, especially turkey sandwiches, are another popular item.  The restaurant takes pride in the fact that it roasts its turkey breasts daily.  The sandwiches, on your choice of wheat or white, sport a generous schmear of a spread made with — you guessed it — mayonnaise and mustard on both the top and bottom slices of bread.  People go crazy over this spread.  One time, a young lady in front of me ordered her sandwich and asked for “lots of spread.”  The employee nodded his understanding of her request, but the lady went on:  “No, I mean like a LOT of spread.  Like, a TON of spread.  Like, an EMBARASSING amount of spread.”  I don’t know why she didn’t just buy a jar and get a room.

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Get a small cup of potato salad or cole slaw (which also feature the legendary mayo) to go with your sandwich, and really have yourself a party:

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Feeling especially hungry?  Order yourself a box lunch, which I refer to as the 50 Shades of White Box Lunch:

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Inside the plain white box, are a number of items neatly wrapped in white paper:

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The lunch consists of a turkey sandwich on white, a half a cheese sandwich on white, a cup of potato salad, two pickle spears, and two brownies, and makes a perfect picnic lunch for sharing:

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So what’s the secret to Nielsen’s Delicatessen’s longevity?  The answer is obvious — freshly-made sandwiches and salads, and mayonnaise.  Lots of mayonnaise.  A ton of mayonnaise.  An embarrassing amount of mayonnaise.  😉

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NU ICE AT NU CAFE

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Recently our friends introduced us to Nu Ice at Nu Café.  Nu Ice, also called Snowflake Ice and Ribbon Ice, is a Taiwanese frozen treat.  It’s not ice cream, although it does contain a small amount of milk (for the lactose intolerant out there).  Somewhere in the back of my brain I recall something called ice milk from my youth, which is how I might describe Nu Ice.  The website says that “Nu Snowflake Ice has the consistency of ice cream, the deep rich taste of gelato, and melts in your mouth like snow. There are no preservatives and just 100% natural taste.”

Nu Café has two locations — one in Chinatown at 9889 Bellaire Blvd, and the one we visited near the Galleria at 5901 Westheimer.  Between the karaoke bar and the Mongolian Hot Pot restaurant in the same shopping center, the Galleria location is hopping at night.

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 Note the fancy chandeliers — classy!

Although Nu Cafe also offers smoothies, slushies, cream-topped ice coffees, “Marco Polos” and other specialty drinks, it’s the Nu Ice that makes this place worth a visit.

Here’s the drill.  Start with an order form: IMG_5925

First decide if you want a Mountain or Hill of Nu Ice.  The Mountain, which comes with 2 toppings and a drizzle, is easily enough for two people (so is the Hill, for that matter, although it only comes with 1 topping).  Next pick your flavor.  We’ve tried the coffee, strawberry, and coconut, all of which I can recommend, although I really loved the coconut.  Perhaps the hardest decision you’ll have to make is which toppings to pick.  In addition to Oreos, M&Ms, and the usual suspects, there’s a variety of jellies, poppers (tapioca pearls), and fresh fruits that go particularly well with the Nu Ice.  I especially like the coffee jelly.  Last but not least, pick a drizzle — chocolate and condensed milk are popular.

IMG_5905Hand your order form to the young man behind the counter and watch the fun.  The Nu Ice is shaved from a large cylinder of frozen ice, which they will tell you takes 10 hours to prepare.  (The ice shaving machine comes from Taiwan, in case you were wondering):

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In just a minute, you’ll be handed a mound of delicate ribbons of shaved ice:

Seriously, isn’t this amazing?  It looks like a Dresden lace figurine:

Dresden lace figurines

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Nu Ice (coffee with chocolate drizzle)

As an added bonus, you don’t really need to wear your stretchy pants to enjoy Nu Ice, as it’s lighter and less filling than ice cream or frozen yogurt (which also have a special place in my heart).  Nu Ice is sweet and cold and fun and delicious, and I expect as the weather warms we’ll be making more than one trip to Nu Cafe.

 

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