I love the Italian Food Center at 186 Grand Street in Little Italy. They make excellent Italian Subs! All the meats, mozzarella, and sausages are imported from Italy. I feel like going there now!

I know that Katz' is crowded; I said that I had never had trouble getting a table and asked at what times you had had difficulty. I should add that I have never had waiter service there so maybe that section is more crowded.

Italian Food Center is a good place for sandwiches and Italian goods but I do not consider it a deli in the same sense as the others we discussed here.

I like the Roxy in Times Square. I never hear anyone else say they like it and I am starting to question my own taste!

I'm trying to remember the actual times I've been to Katz' -- three times in all. All were at lunch, and possibly fairly early -- about noon. But I've never had a problem getting a table (with counter service). My only problem was that when I enter I want to study the menu on the wall a bit, and they are immediately hounding me for my order. It's always been busy, but I have yet to see people who can't get a table. Although I have seen people hanging around waiting for the "When Harry Met Sally" table.

The Roxy? Ouch. That's the place where I politely asked the waitress for a clean water glass without lipstick all over it. She snottily said, "that's a permanent mark in the glass, not lipstick" to which I wiped it off with my finger and said "funny, it tasted like lipstick when I drank out of the glass and it sure looks like lipstick". To that she walked away and refused to wait on us. We had to get the manager who found someone else to take our table, but I saw our first waitress talking to her. I'm sure they spit in our food or worse.

All right next time I am going to New York I am going to look at this thread - the Roxy is not looking so good any more. We used to stay and the Crowne Plaza a lot and I always thought it was great that such a good deli nearby - looks like the Courtyard Marriot next time anyhow!