Kids Review: Rye Ridge Deli in Stamford
Carly Monson is our roving 10 yrs old food critic. She hopes to get Fairfield County kids excited about eating in new venues like this one...
Are you starving for some classic deli food? Then get in the car and head on down to Rye Ridge Deli in Stamford, CT. As soon as I got there I knew exactly what I was going to order, Matzo Ball Soup and half a sandwich of corn beef and half a sandwich of pastrami on white bread. Before the waiter even came to take my order we got two bowls of pickles; one bowl had half sour pickles, the other had sour pickles. Pickles are one of my favorite foods so getting two bowls of them made me so happy. My soup was at the table not even 5 minutes after we ordered. I gulped the steaming soup down. It tasted delicious. There was a huge matzo ball and tons of noodles in my bowl. I didn’t finish it because they only serve bowls, no cups. After 15 minutes my sandwich came. I first took a bite of the pastrami. The deli meat had a peppery flavor, but in a good way. When I tried the corn beef it tasted exactly like steak. The white bread was too soft to hold the meat so my sandwich collapsed. Both sandwiches were so great I could not decide which was my favorite. I was to stuffed to have dessert but they have a wonderful selection including chocolate covered pretzels and huge cupcakes. If you are in a hurry but want some good food stop by and grab a bag full of sandwiches or hotdogs to go. I say that Rye Ridge Deli is an awesome restaurant for kids and adults of all ages.
I give Rye Ridge Deli 4 ½ pickles.
Rye Ridge Deli, High Ridge Center
1087 High Ridge Road, Stamford
Tel: (203) 322-5333
Open: Monday - Wednesday: 7:30am-9pm
Thursday - Saturday : 7:30am-10pm
Sunday: 7:30am-9pm
[Photography by Natasha Montero]
Deli, Stamford, comfort food, kid friendly
Reader Comments (28)
I wish my 10 year old eat as good as you. Did you look at the bill?
As cold as it's been lately, I'm dying for some good matzo ball soup...thanks for the tip, Carly! Great post!
Welcome Ms Carly. Great idea to get 2 great meats as half sandwiches.
And you both learned and taught a great lesson for a pastrami sandwich, white bread does not work. :-))
great catch and advice.
Can't wait to read your other reviews.
This place is absurdly expensive with horrible service and no atmosphere.
If you are DESPERATE for this kind of food and don't want to drive to the city, try it. Then next time you WILL drive to the city.
CT Bites: ALL your reviews are POSITIVE. It is getting a little tiring.
Eduardo-I'd like to take this opportunity to respond to your "all positive" comment as this is deliberate, not an accident. Please see below excerpt from our "About Us" section. This is our mission.
"We love to scout, celebrate and tease out the new and noteworthy and share it with you so you can then go forth and discover it for yourself. We aim to try each and every restaurant, diner and dive; we visit every bakery, farmer’s market, and fishmonger, and are thrilled when we can speak with fellow writers, bakers and chefs.
If we happen upon an exceptionally bad dining experience, of which there have been plenty, we'll usually opt to skip reviewing the establishment altogether.
This is probably because we can't simply separate the people from the food. There are many people behind the food we eat – from the owners, chefs, dishwashers, waitstaff – who work exceptionally hard. This doesn't give any one restaurant carte blanche, but it does make us think long and hard before putting pen to paper.
This approach to scouting and celebrating the new and noteworthy is meant to encourage readers to discover these places for themselves, not as a final word. This tends to be our point of view, and it hasn't budged much since the inception of CTbites."
Rye Ridge is just ok. I miss NY Kosher Deli - like NYC's 2nd Ave Deli. Fairfield could really use another good Kosher Deli
Eduardo,
This is a wonderful review by our newest and youngest contributor and I am proud of her work and having her as a colleague.
If you would like to discuss a list of places that did not make the cut for inclusion in a site dedicated to what Stephanie set forth above, I have tons of them. Just email me at jfoodctbites@gmail.com and I can accomodate your desire to hear about less than CTBites recommended places.
Ciao
Carly,
The soup sounds mouth watering and I love how you described the meat as peppery. I can just picture you gulping down the soup. Great writing!
I think this review, by this wonderfully eager 10 year old, is inspiring and very informative. What could be better than a food review through the eyes (and taste buds) of a child? Thank you, Carly, for your charming descriptions and your well written prose. I would definitely bring my kids to eat at this diner after reading this. Keep up the great work and I look forward to reading many more of your reviews. Watch out Ruth Reichl!
Thanks for sharing so many details about your meal. I hope other young diners are reading your review and thinking about their dining experiences. You are a consumer, just like any adult. Your opinion matters because you can make the choices of what to eat and where to eat. keep up the good work!!
Carly, you had me at "pickles" -- thank you for the tip ! Since I'm a Stamford resident, I'll be sure to pass by and grab a sandwich (and pickle). thanks ~ !
Okay, I've now learned that CT Bites will post positive comments about every establishment other those that are "exceptionally bad". That's a pretty low bar, and means you aren't "reviewing" in any sense of the word, just giving PR to the businesses. That's a reasonable service--I've learned about many a spot by reading this blog--but it's inappropriate to pretend that there are actual reviews here. The subtitle to the blog states that it's a "guide to good eating". Maybe it should be called a "guide to not exceptionally bad eating".
Janvll
I think you are missing a major nuance from the way i read it. It does not state every restaurant they try will get a positive review, it states that only restaurants that could receive some positive review would be included in the site. Good Housekeeping does not list every item that does not receive it's seal of approval, does it?
And a quick review of the NY Times reviews for Connecticut for 2010 break down to:
Don't Miss - 1
Worth It - 22
OK - 3
Don't Bother - 0
Kudos to Carly for her review and I am happy that her meal at Rye Ridge Deli satisfied her palate. However, I basically feel compelled to share my RRD experiences with CTBites readers. Every time I have placed an order at RRD, I have had to cross my fingers. The results are usually stale bagels, mishandled orders, and dried out meat. On the positive side, their smoked fishes are always fresh tasting and servings are ample. But those of us who want bagels similar to the NYC gold standard (Ess-a-Bagel) or even the silver standard (H&H), will be disappointed. Heck, I can go to Fairway and get a decent, fresh bagel now with a crusty exterior and dense, chewy interior. And please don't think that the Hebrew National and Boar's Head in the cold case at RRD can ever compare to the house-cured/smoked meats at Second Avenue Deli. Bottom line is that the quality/price-value ratio at RRD just isn't worth it.
funny thing in response to the last comment, i eat at rye ridge all the time, their bagels are h and h and the dont sell boars head!
I think it's great to have young people do reviews! However, I take exception with this deli...it is way overpriced, and the service is notoriously poor. Unfortunately Carly doesn't pay the bill, nor does she have the experience in eating at other much bettter establishments. That being said, she wrote a nice review from a kids perspective.
I think you need to remember how WONDERFUL Golds Deli (Kosher) in Westport is. They have wonderful matzoh ball soup, and even better sandwiches than Rye Ridge. The pickles, my friend, are to die for!!
People who say that Rye Ridge Deli is overpriced just dont seem to get it. Rye Ridge is not a corner takeout deli or a supermarket. It is a restaurant, a good one, i eat there often and they have been around for a number of years now so they must be doing something right, The items they sell are a higher quality and just cost more, if you dont understand that i dont what to tell u. I noticed people say to go to 2nd ave deli, has anyone taken a look at those prices???? Go to their website, they make Rye RIdge prices look like Mc Donalds prices. and if you like 2nd ave deli so much, go there, sit in 2 hours traffic and bay 50 bucks to park!
I think when people say RR is expensive, they are speaking relatively--they charge a lot for mediocre food. There are so many better dining experiences in Stamford, I can't see why anyone would eat there unless they were craving pastrami or corned beef and didn't want to go to Westport (or to the Fairway cafe for their very nice pastrami sandwich). RR does have some great specialty products up front that can't be found elsewhere, but after several poor dining experiences in their early years, we haven't been back to actually eat there. I hear the same opinion from everyone I know--it's hard to understand how they stay in business.
oh my god, such haters, if you don't like it there then don't go please! if you cant appreciate their food and dont see the difference you are hopeless and will never get it, go to subway for a 1 slice of fake turkey sandwich for $2
Dave, not hating at all. Just speaking from experience. I don't eat there anymore. And just as a reminder to others, I did give props to the smoked fish and I didn't say it was highway robbery. I was pretty clear in saying that the VALUE isn't there. I am completely comfortable paying $16-18 for a sandwich at 2nd Avenue Deli, knowing that I am going to be met with quality and quantity. And James, I walked into the High Ridge location this morning because I was next door at Starbucks. In fact, RRD does sell Boar's Head.
they DO NOT sell Boars Head, sorrry! Wrong my friend, once again, you DO NOT know what you are talking about.
Dave/Steve/James, you (same person?) guys keep enjoying the mediocrity over on High Ridge... and I will gladly eat the real thing that Chris Preovolos reported this week will open this summer on Prospect Street...
ghost....u r such an incredible moron, how can u say that about a place that isnt even open yet?
As I stood waiting for some Matzah Ball soup this week I thought of the Boar's Head meat comments above. I peered through many of the cases and saw absolutely NO Boar's Head products. The only mass marketed deli meats I saw were Thuman's and Hebrew National.