Neillio's Lexington

I have driven by Neillio's Gourmet Deli Lexington countless times and always was aware of their stellar reputation. Since I never did takeout for my lunches before Covid-19 happening, they didn't really interest me.

One good thing about Covid-19 is that I found a lot of really excellent takeout-only places.

Around Thanksgiving/Christmas, when people are asking where to get the best turkey/turkey dinners, Neillios is the most frequently recommended place. They roast their own turkeys, but unfortunately, only the crowns, so no dark meat available.

There is off-street parking in front of the well-maintained storefront.

Hot food in the back, and lots of cold items to the left. Everything is labeled and priced. Obviously, takeout only. The staff is exceedingly nice and friendly. The frozen section is to my right. It's a big section!

This is my first Pastrami sandwich ever, so the Thursday special at Neillio's "Pastrami Rachel with Swiss Cheese, Russian Dressing & Cole Slaw on Thick Cut Rye $10.95" was an obvious choice. I changed the slaw to sauerkraut and was changed a dollar more at the checkout and didn't notice. I thought the pastrami was good but have no previous experience, so more research is needed. The promised thick-cut rye was replaced with marble rye, which had no rye taste at all. It was plenty of pastrami and sauerkraut, and I ordered some dressing on the side since you never get enough. It was nicely heated in the panini press, and even the cheese was properly melted. A Reuben might be next. Update. Turns out that the prices online are off by a dollar.

The TooGoodToGo app was created to avoid food waste. This allows restaurants to sell leftover food at the end of the day for a reduced price. No more wasted food, and the buyer gets a good deal. Niellio's are participating, but their bags get snapped up quickly. You have no idea what will be in your bag!

Chicken Marsala with two sides was in my surprise bag reserved via the app. The app promised $15 worth of food for $4.99, and the dinners normally sell for $14.95, so this is a really excellent deal. The tender and tasty chicken was cooked as well as it could be and was almost pink inside. The mushrooms were super fresh. Could have used some more sauce. The rice and corn that I got as the two sides were a very generous amount.

Today's bounty consisted of four BIG Tandoori Drumies that were cooked nicely and properly seasoned. As for my sides, I got a tub of coleslaw which was excellent and wet, and also a Gourmet Penne Pasta Salad. I'm not much of a salad guy, but the pasta salad was excellent.

I really like this. Reserve a bag on Friday and then pick it up on Saturday for a surprise Saturday dinner. Not sure what the sandwich is called, but it was crispy chicken, lettuce, cheese, and tomato with a smear of BBQ sauce. I really don't get the sandwich concept. Dry bread, cold cheese, and dry chicken. Where's the attraction? The Southwest salad was wonderful and really delicious. The Mediterranean salad had a very nice texture but completely lacked seasoning. The chicken salad was tasty, but isn't a chicken salad supposed to be creamy? This one wasn't, so I added some mayo mixed with a little Grey Poupon mustard. I also got a whole Cranberry Orange Loaf. Turns out it wasn't really a loaf but a cake. That makes sense because it's made by Concord Teacakes. Guess it could be called a loaf if it's baked in a loaf pan. The loaf was excellent. I sliced it up and put the slices in the freezer.

The BBQ Baby Back Ribs are $9.99/lbs. You can also order them as a dinner for $15.95 with two sides. Not sure how many ribs you get with the dinner order. For 5 ribs, cut from the smaller end, I was charged $9.05. They also have Chinese ribs for the same price. The ribs looked good, but a dab of bbq sauce doesn't make them bbq. They were completely unseasoned. They also lacked smoke and were incredibly tough and chewy. I only managed to chow down two, and the others were thrown in the bin.

Corned Beef Reuben Panini (10.50). "Sauerkraut, Swiss & Russian". The corned beef was tasty and very tender, but it was pink instead of red. They were not very generous with the amount. The corned beef was sliced very thinly, so there was no texture left. The cheese was two very thinly cut slices, so the cheese taste was overwhelmed by the rest of the sandwich. It was a good amount of delicious sauerkraut. The Reuben was nicely heated up in the panini press. If you look at the right one, you can see some charcoaled bits left on top. I scraped most of it off before taking the picture. Of course I got extra dressing on the side since you never get enough.

Seems that the only things I have had good luck with here are the deals from TooGoodToGo. I'll try another one. And here it is.

The Friday Special is the Orange Chicken with two (generous) sides. Butternut Squash and mashed potatoes. The mashed is the real deal, even if it has the skins left in. I really don't like any orange vegetables, but that not their fault. The (white meat) orange chicken was a generous serving, but it was so dry that it was hard to cut. The butternut squash was actually quite pleasant after seasoning was added. This retails for $15, and they also threw in an (I think) greek salad, so it's a really excellent deal for $5. I'm not sure what the salad was, it wasn't greek, but it was nice and fresh. They do sell out quickly, but you still have at least a minute to finalize the deal. Start at 6:44.

Address: 53 Bedford St, Lexington, MA 02420 Phone: (781) 861-8466

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