Pure Gold

Goldie's Deli
4501 Murphy Road
Nashville, TN
615-292-3589

I used to live in a mixed ethnic, religious and socio-economic area of Boston. What we had a lot of was good, cheap, ethnic food places. I never thought of the my local Jewish Deli as anything special, until I moved to the middle of no where Missouri for a couple years, and there was not one real pastrami slice to be had. I missed my Boston Sunday morning (or shall I say early afternoon after being out all Saturday night) deli run for bagels, lox and juice, corned beef hash and latkes (potato pancakes), or a heart felt real pastrami sandwich. The place I used to frequent in Boston is a bit cramped, has a full deli case, it isn't pristine clean, the waitresses have a bit of an attitude, and the decor is a bit hipster-kitchy.

When I finally emerged out of Missouri to Nashville, I went grocery shopping at the Belle Meade Kroger. On the back of the register tape was a coupon for Goldie's Deli, so I went and tried them out. What I found was real pastrami, homemade corned beef hash, and really good latkes. This place also had Carnegie Deli Cheesecake for sale by the slice. I was in heaven! There was not one good slice of cheesecake in Missouri either. The original Goldie's was a bit cramped, but it reminded me of my Bostonian Jewish Deli haunt. Goldie's is the only Jewish owned deli in Nashville, isn't pristine clean, and the decor is its own, kind of like my hometown deli. The only think lacking is the surly Jewish waitress.

This year Goldie's moved from the Belle Meade shopping center to Murphy Road next to Cafe Nona, and there are no more coupons from the Kroger register tape. There is plenty of parking in the rear of Goldie's in a restaurant parking lot. The new place is crowded, but it is just as crowded as my Boston Deli. In my traditional Sunday morning (ok, really afternoon) breakfast, we got some corned beef hash, eggs, bagel and cream cheese, and a latke.

The potato pancake is as good as any Bostonian Jewish Deli. Potato pancakes should just be potato, or potato and onion, and either kind should be served with apple sauce and sour cream. Note, potato pancakes at the Pancake Pantry are no traditional potato pancakes, and are not good. This homemade potato pancake really feeds my nostalgic heart for the good ol' days of Boston. I don't go to Goldie's all that often, but when I do, I really enjoy my breakfast!