Eating Maize & Blue

Maize & Blue Delicatessen is neither a true Jewish deli nor a marketing arm of University of Michigan sports. Both traditions are honored, however–or perhaps leveraged, if you want to see it that way. The deep roster of sandwiches features Sy Ginsberg pastrami and brisket (Boar’s Head for poultry and other meats), and some have sporty names like Coach’s Reuben, Power Play (with Canadian cheddar, ha ha ha), Halftime Snack, Where’s Bo, and–funniest–Mo’s Mess, on white bread with tomato, mayo, mustard, and some meat and cheese slip-sliding in the mix.

There’s rice pudding in the cooler, good pickles with each order, sports on the TV behind the counter, and lots of Wolverine memorabilia in the decor. Best of all, a cute little kid sometimes runs around behind the counter and through the dining area at off hours, giving the whole enterprise a family feel.

The new Liberty location has the same menu as the South U original, but it’s a spiffier space in the shadow of Shinola, with a big window in front that opens to sidewalk tables when weather permits. A staircase winds down to three little tables and an open kitchen in the basement, whence your sandwich rises on an electric dumbwaiter in a reasonable amount of time, maybe eight to twelve minutes depending on what you ordered and how busy they are. Curly fries come in the usual reddish-orange coating, but otherwise the menu skews less fast food than real food.

Shaved meats are piled high on good breads from challah to rye. The slaw has flavor and not too much mayo-esque dressing. Several of the sandwiches feature a fried egg atop the roast beef or pastrami; a nod to weight lifters among customers and staff and any other protein hounds, it was added to the South U menu decades ago and stuck. It also allows for breakfast and lunch in one credit card swipe, perhaps? (Maize & Blue opens at 10 a.m. every day, when many college kids are still hours from their first meal.)

Zingerman’s it’s not, but in most towns it could easily be top deli, with many sandwiches out the door for a ten-spot and change. If you have more change and a big appetite, top it off with passable cheesecake, a brownie, or that deli staple, rice pudding.

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maizeandbluedeli.com

Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Soup and sides $2.75-$6.95; sandwiches and salads $8.45-$11.95; dessert $2.25-$4.25.

Wheelchair accessible