Review: Hubba Hubba Subs in St. Matthews

My lament since moving to Louisville from NYC has been for just one thing, an authentic old style high end deli. Despite Louisville being a foodie town we have a number of big holes in our dining line up (Im available for PAID consultation should anyone be looking for a new concept). One of these has always been our lack of a great deli, not a sandwich shop but a full blown deli.
The type of place you can get a pastrami (made in house) piled high with kraut (made in house or sourced locally) on daily fresh baked bread. Or a gigantic new york style sub with fresh sliced meats, cheeses, loaded with fresh herbs and dripping with oil and vinegar. The real deal. The closest I have seen since moving to this area is Smoking Goose meats in Indianapolis.
So when I saw Hubba Hubba had opened in St. Matthews I thought "maybe this is it!" And so today while out running errands I stopped in for lunch. Thats where my hopes ran smack dab into reality.

Long story short. This is like a bad knock off of Subway and Jimmy Johns combined. Additionally the layout was done poorly, and when the girl making my sandwich leaned over the chiller containers to the third back row, to grab the onions I had requested for my sandwich, her t-shirt ended up dragging through my still open sandwich. Pretty sure thats not allowed.
Another young lady who rang me up had 1inch+ long acrylic fake nails, which I know is a health code violation, but not sure if that pertains to people who might only work the register.

They might do well with the lunch and after school crowd from Trinity across the street, but I won't be back.

Someone in this town please open a deli!

Or a gigantic new york style sub with fresh sliced meats, cheeses, loaded with fresh herbs and dripping with oil and vinegar. The real deal.

The real deal would be a Hero.

Or a gigantic new york style sub with fresh sliced meats, cheeses, loaded with fresh herbs and dripping with oil and vinegar. The real deal.

The real deal would be a Hero.

Or some might say, a grinder!

Ha ha! I know - pizza and sandwiches - some serious business!

[Robin Garr]

Doug, have you checked out either Stevens & Stevens in the back of Ditto's on Bardstown or Morris Deli on Taylorsville just past its beginning at Bardstown (Doup's Point, for old-timers)? They may not be quite NYC-style, but they are definitely deli-style, and in my opinion both worthy.

Doug, have you checked out either Stevens & Stevens in the back of Ditto's on Bardstown or Morris Deli on Taylorsville just past its beginning at Bardstown (Doup's Point, for old-timers)? They may not be quite NYC-style, but they are definitely deli-style, and in my opinion both worthy.

Yeah Ive been to Steven's and Steven's, and they are okay. Definitely a step up from the normal mass chain stuff and the service is always friendly and nice.

But its not what Im talking about.
This is what I mean....such as the Godfather from Othello's Deli in Astoria. Or the Hero from Mama Louisa's in Brooklyn. I dont miss much about New York, but I do miss their sandwiches.

[Robin Garr]

Dang, we lived in Astoria for four years, and never saw that deli! Tons of great Greek food, though, and Italian (okay, Italian-American) too. The Neptune Diner was supposedly the one "where all the Greek diner owners go when they're dining out."

My lament since moving to Louisville from NYC has been for just one thing, an authentic old style high end deli. Despite Louisville being a foodie town we have a number of big holes in our dining line up (Im available for PAID consultation should anyone be looking for a new concept). One of these has always been our lack of a great deli, not a sandwich shop but a full blown deli.
The type of place you can get a pastrami (made in house) piled high with kraut (made in house or sourced locally) on daily fresh baked bread. Or a gigantic new york style sub with fresh sliced meats, cheeses, loaded with fresh herbs and dripping with oil and vinegar. The real deal. The closest I have seen since moving to this area is Smoking Goose meats in Indianapolis.
So when I saw Hubba Hubba had opened in St. Matthews I thought "maybe this is it!" And so today while out running errands I stopped in for lunch. Thats where my hopes ran smack dab into reality.

Long story short. This is like a bad knock off of Subway and Jimmy Johns combined. Additionally the layout was done poorly, and when the girl making my sandwich leaned over the chiller containers to the third back row, to grab the onions I had requested for my sandwich, her t-shirt ended up dragging through my still open sandwich. Pretty sure thats not allowed.
Another young lady who rang me up had 1inch+ long acrylic fake nails, which I know is a health code violation, but not sure if that pertains to people who might only work the register.

They might do well with the lunch and after school crowd from Trinity across the street, but I won't be back.

Someone in this town please open a deli!

Did you ask about the girl and her t-shirt? That's disgusting!!!! I would have asked for a new sandwich!

And, what's the address for this place? Near Tarasco's?

Doug, have you checked out either Stevens & Stevens in the back of Ditto's on Bardstown or Morris Deli on Taylorsville just past its beginning at Bardstown (Doup's Point, for old-timers)? They may not be quite NYC-style, but they are definitely deli-style, and in my opinion both worthy.

What do you recommend for Morris'? I live less than a few minutes' walk from there. I've never been super impressed with the sandwiches, but then again, I order the same boring sandwich (it's so boring I refuse to say what it is) every time I go.

I mainly go back because it's not expensive, it's close, and the people are always incredibly nice/helpful.

Closest thing we have to us that will fill your deli void is either Shapiro's in Indianapolis or Izzy's(where I had lunch today) in Cincinatti... Both are about an hour and a half away. If you were wiling to make the drive I would put Shapiro's a notch above Izzy's, but both are good. I like the chopped liver a lot better at Shapiro's, but the potato pancakes at Izzy's are far superior.

http://izzys.com

http://www.shapiros.com

Andrew Zimmern went to Morris' Deli a few months ago, but I missed the feature. Always been curious about that place; never been inside, but go past it everyday.

While not a true deli sandwich, my favorite thing at Morris' is there smoked tuna salad. Yum yum!

[Robin Garr]

This is old - July 2006 - but it's my last review of Morris Deli. On the other hand, it doesn't change much.

More deli belly

When I compared and contrasted the new Herman’s Delicatessen and Stevens & Stevens in a recent Eat ‘N’ Blog, I declared the latter my preference in the small but competitive field of local deli by at least a bagel’s-width margin, taking the prize for quality, quantity and service alike.

Several of you gently reminded me that Louisville boasts another fine deli of long local standing, the eponymous Karem Deeb’s.

Fair enough, said I. I’m always willing to try a quick meal in the pursuit of food knowledge, so I headed out to Doup’s Point, the not-so-euphonious local name for the Highlands intersection of Bardstown and Taylorsville Roads, where I found that the former Deeb’s has boasted new management and a new moniker for the past couple of years. With John and Julie Morris at the helm, it’s now Morris Deli (“formerly Karem Deeb’s”), sharing space in a ’50s-style building with Mr. Deeb’s small but well-stocked bottle shop.

A small, crowded spot, it’s not what I’d call a traditional deli, lacking display cases for meats and cheeses and offering a broad but idiosyncratic selection of goodies that include some deli favorites (but no pastrami that I could see) along with less traditional options such as pork barbecue and country ham. Dine-in space is severely limited to a couple of tables and two bar stools, prompting most customers to go the take-out route. We brought home a fine corned-beef sandwich on thick, serious rye; saucy shredded pork barbecue on an eggy sesame bun; tasty side orders of creamy potato salad and perfect, tangy-sweet barbecue beans; and a hefty slice of moist pound cake with thick caramel icing, all for a modest $12.70 plus a couple of bucks for the tip jar.

If I’m nursing a serious jones for pastrami, lox and bagels or other real deli fare, I might not start my quest at Morris Deli. But this place shines where it counts, and that’s food quality and value. It’s a keeper. (Note: Morris Deli has an auxiliary site inside the YMCA downtown, which is a boon for the downtown business crowd.)

Morris Deli
(Formerly Karem Deeb’s)
2228 Taylorsville Road
458-1668

Growing up in the cafeteria business in St. Louis, my dad and uncle (John and Bob Natsis--Fountain and Mediterranean Cafeterias) and others (Pete Tsevis--Palms Cafeteria) offered carved meats on the line. We had roast beef, roast pork, and ham daily, corned beef 3 times, and turkey twice per week. People came from far and wide for decades for, what seemed to be at the time, such normal food. The meats were all sourced locally, and roasted or boiled (corned beef) in the morning. The morning chef came in at 5:00 am to be ready for our opening for lunch at 11:00. Each sandwich and plate was hand carved on the spot--busy or not!

I'm not sure how this fit with NY, delis, or whatever. But I can tell you that it was the real deal.

And then came Ryan's, Old Country Buffet, etc. ........

I will stop by Morris' tomorrow for lunch and report back.

Of course, I think Shady Lane has one of the best sub sandwiches in town. Thick and loaded with meat, half grilled and half cold and yes, dripping with homemade vinaigrette. That being said, we are always excited about new places, and especially near our house. So we were uber excited about Hubba Hubba Subs and were among the first to try it out. It was literally one of the most disappointing subs I've ever had, small, limp, several thin pieces of meat and cheese, (less than subway if that is hunmanly possible) and smeared with bland tomato paste. The staff had very little knowledge of what was what, and the Mexican side, because this is a dual concept, was equally as bad. My bride had the burrito minus the tortilla, a gluten thing, and what she got was a small cup of maybe 4 pieces of beef, shredded lettuce, a dollop of salsa and about literally one inch of jalapenos on top with a little shredded cheese. I wanted so desperately to tell them to close and learn how to do this right. The future is not bright for them, and someone needs to tell the truth before they fold like a cheap tent in a rainstorm. It is never late enough that changes cannot be made. I'm just amazed that someone thought or thinks this is a good concept, and thinks they will have a chance to make it with Panera across the street, Maria's behind them, Mexican on one corner, and the new sparkling White Castle on the other. What a shame.