Drewish Deli

After a slow, sun-drenched morning at The Lodge at Healdsburg, I realized – somewhat reluctantly – that I needed to find breakfast before heading into my Napa themed activities for the day. I wasn’t in a rush. But, I did want something satisfying before heading to beer tasting at Mad Fritz Tap House.

There’s something oddly comforting about grabbing a bagel when traveling.  So when I found Drewish Deli was just a short distance from my hotel, it felt like an easy decision.

Arriving, it looked cozy and cute. However, as I was getting breakfast later in the morning, I actually decided not to focus on a bagel, as they were pretty much sold out.

Instead of I ordered the HOT PASTRAMI & SWISS on HOUSE-MADE RYE (house made pastrami, Swiss cheese, grilled onion, pickles red beet cabbage, tomato aioli).

When the sandwich arrived, I was excited – until I opened my to-go box.

What greeted me was, frankly, was some bullshit. It was a disappointingly small sandwich – noticeably undersized for the $17 I had just paid. I don’t typically feel a certain way about portion sizes. However, the size of my sandwich felt that I’d received end pieces of the loaf. Which was amusing – especially when I glanced over and saw someone else enjoying a much more reasonably sized slice of bread for the same thing.

So, I walked back to the counter, showed the sandwich to the cashier, and asked if he thought it looked normal.  looked… normal. To his credit, he didn’t deflect too badly. He explained that the rye dough hadn’t risen properly that morning, which led to the size issue.

I appreciated the honesty. However – no.

So, I strongly and directly asked if they would graciously remake the sandwich on challah bread, instead.

When the new sandwich came out, it was exactly what I had envisioned from the start – at least two inches larger and better proportioned. Immediately, my internal voice felt that this was “right” and was silenced.”

I’m at a point in life where I trust my intuition without apology. If something feels off, I speak up. If the energy’s wrong – or the sandwich is weirdly small in comparison to someone else’s that I can clearly compare it to – I ask questions that get results.

I ate the sandwich in the car while driving the back roads into Napa Valley. Was it delicious? Yes. And – I learned a lesson: If I return to Drewish Deli, I’ll be sure to stop in earlier – when the full spread of bagels and breads is still fresh and abundant and not just the last picks of the morning.

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