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Chutzpah Deli, Owner Eric Roller still open in Fairfax Town Center - Tysons Location is Closed


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Wellll... I went to the Fairfax branch once for lunch with my husband. The place looked as if it has been in a tornado, it was really dirty/messy inside... but we just assumed we had walked in at the end of a rush.

The food? It tasted great going down (one of us had a simple omelet, and the other had a chicken finger sandwich), but, we were both ill afterwards. Was it bad grease? Who knows. I just know that I was in and out of the loo for two days afterwards. And we have never gone back.

On a positive note, a friend of mine loves their bagels!

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Any interest I had in them was crushed by that godawful TV ad they ran a few years back. The poorly produced one with all the people yelling "Chutzpah!" a la the famous "Whazzzzuuupppp!!!" Budweiser ads? Yeah, that's the one. When bad advertising goes worse.

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Anyone been here before? How is it?

I've been to the Fairfax branch, had a decent rueben. I'm probably the only person in the known universe who will state this as a complaint, but: too much meat. I think there's an ideal proportion of the components in a sandwhich, so I dislike it when there's too much meat. But other than that I remember it was a very good reuben.

Then again, it's been something like three years since I was there. Never been back. But it has to be damn fine food to pull me all the way out there.

[another in a series of largely useless opinions]

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Wow! I didn't know that they had a Vienna location. We used to go to the Fairfax location every once-in-awhile when we lived 5 minutes from there (Apparently, we now live 5 minutes from the Vienna location. They must be following us...or we are following them). I enjoyed going there for dinner, as it was fairly quiet and the servers were very friendly. We were always fairly happy with what we ordered. I can get a nice, big pastrami sandwich on good rye bread with a Dr. Brown's black cherry soda and a very tasty potato knish. Breakfast is also pretty good there as well. I was not a fan of their Matzo ball soup, though. One of my favorite sandwiches is the Bucko 46, which is roast beef, grilled onions, and mozzarella chees on toasted garlic bread. They also make a very respectable Weiner Schnitzel. Deli meats can be purchased by the pound, but I have never ordered them. However, they do sell Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup, which always puts a smile on my face. :)

It is not a kosher deli by any stretch, but it is a very good deli in an area where Subway and Quiznos are considered the standard.

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We haven't tried the Tysons outpost yet, but at the Fairfax location for brunch I always order "The Oops," which is lox eggs and onions mixed with matzo brei. Get the fries instead of the homefries. It also comes with a bagel -- a ton of food.

For lunch I usually get a reuben. The sandwiches come with fries, which are surprisingly good. Avoid the chopped liver -- take it from one who used to help Aunt Pearl make chopped liver in her wooden bowl.

Among the side dishes, I much prefer the kasha varnishkes (AKA bowties, bowknots (what we used to call them), and of course farfalle) to the kishka. My guess is it's impossible to get good kishka any more. :)

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Been there once, I would go back. The sandwich I had (Pastrami) was wonderful, my only complaint was that the layer of chopped liver included on this particular iteration of a pastrami sandwich was cold, and the rest of the sandwich was toasted. I wish the liver had been allowed to warm just a bit. The onion rings are fantastic!

And the service is friendly.

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I'm probably the only person in the known universe who will state this as a complaint, but: too much meat. I think there's an ideal proportion of the components in a sandwhich, so I dislike it when there's too much meat.

Have you ever had a corned beef sandwich at a deli in NY? It may be $15-$20 for the sandwich, but, without exaggeration, there's a pound of beef on that bread. I'm not arguing with you that it's too much, but if you trumpet yourself as a "NY Style Deli", you'd better have a ginormous amount of CB on that rye...

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I made my first trip to Chutzpah's Tyson's location on Saturday. The deli is right across from Morton's Steakhouse (which is right off of Rt 7 on Boone street). The storefront is non descript, the inside tastefully done (and very clean) with painted pictures of NYC icons. I sat down and the cheerful waitress handed me a menu. I selected the Chicken Noodle with Matzo Ball and a Regular over stuffed sandwich of pastrami and corn beef.

The soup was homemade and home style with lots of shredded chicken, fresh vegetables, thick noodles, a rich broth and a large matzo ball. The soup was perfect for the cold rainy day and I enjoyed it immensely. The matzo ball was a bit hard (as opposed to fluffy). A thinly sliced bagel chip accompanied the soup.

Along with the soup a bowl of homemade Cole slaw, half sour and dill pickles was served. The pickles would amazing (not homemade, but really good) likewise the in-house slaw was also very very good. I finished off the entire bowl before my sandwich came, and wish I had saved some to pu on the sandwich. I also had asked for a sample of the tongue, which was very good, I will order that the next time I come here.

The sandwich came out fairly naked, just corn beef, pastrami on good New York rye. There is a good deli mustard on the table. Chutzpah makes their corn beef, pastrami and brisket in house. The corn beef had just the right amount of fat on it, very tender, but just a little bit salty (IMHO). The pastrami was very lean, right amount of pepper. I ended up taking 1/2 the sandwich home with me. I washed it down with a Dr. Brown's Cream soda. The entire meal was $15 dollars including tip.

The menu (http://www.chutzpahdeli.com) is quite extensive. They are only opened for lunch and breakfast.

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Along with the soup a bowl of homemade Cole slaw, half sour and dill pickles was served. The pickles would amazing (not homemade, but really good) likewise the in-house slaw was also very very good. I finished off the entire bowl before my sandwich came, and wish I had saved some to pu on the sandwich.
They will bring you more if you ask for it, and it's always free. At least, this is what they do at the Fairfax/Fair Lakes location.

This is something they serve to all customers, regardless of what they order, typically they put it on the table at the same time they bring the menus, as other restaurants do with bread baskets.

Also, with the pickles, if you only like one of the varieties, they will bring just what you ask for.

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I'm not sure I went to the same Chutzpah in Tyson's that everyone else did.

Matzoh Ball Soup: There are two schools of thought on matzoh balls. Each camp thinks the other is wrong. Since I'm a "fluffy" matzoh ball fan, the "dense" balls are wrong. The matzoh balls at Chutzpah aren't dense - they're cannonballs. Soup was tasty with lots of chicken and vegetables; matzoh ball inedible.

The rye bread didn't taste strongly of rye, and the crust wasn't crusty. The corned beef had a proper amount of fat, but had little taste. The pastrami was very peppery, but there wasn't any "meat" flavor shining through. A knish may have had a flaky crust after they cooked it, but the MICROWAVE that warmed it up right before they served it destroyed any thoughts of that.

My son's chicken nugget portion was smaller than he'd have gotten at McDonald's. And my daughter's grilled cheese came out with cold, unmelted cheese in the center. After repair, the same microwave that destroyed my knish did it's work on the now inedible sandwich.

Service was friendly but distracted. Took too long for everything, and they weren't that busy.

A takeout black and white cookie and apricot hamantashen sealed the deal. The cookie was lemony to the point of sour, and the icing had no taste. The hamantashen was passable.

I should have gone to Shamshiry...

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I have been to Chutzpah on several occasions within the past 3 months. While I agree that there is a huge hole for a good deli within this area, Chutzpah is not that bad. I have enjoyed all the sandwiches that I have had from there, and their picles are top notch, both the new pickles and the full sours. The corned beef is tasty and the bread is passable. As for the Matzoh soup, I do agree that one could literally go bowling with it and/or use it as a projectile. The service can be quite frustrating even when there are only 3 tables that have customers. Overall, much better than most in the area, but I believe that Morty's in Tenlytown, offers the best of everything in this area.

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I have been to Chutzpah on several occasions within the past 3 months. While I agree that there is a huge hole for a good deli within this area, Chutzpah is not that bad. I have enjoyed all the sandwiches that I have had from there, and their picles are top notch, both the new pickles and the full sours. The corned beef is tasty and the bread is passable. As for the Matzoh soup, I do agree that one could literally go bowling with it and/or use it as a projectile. The service can be quite frustrating even when there are only 3 tables that have customers. Overall, much better than most in the area, but I believe that Morty's in Tenlytown, offers the best of everything in this area.

The CB I had at Chutzpah just didn't rate as "tasty". It was decently fatty, but very bland.

If Morty's is back to their mid-late-90s self, I might agree. The incarnation as of a year ago was nuke-the-block awful.

I had an excellent sandwich and bowl of soup at Celebrity Delly in Potomac last week. Tasty, reasonably fatty meat, good if not great bread, and soup that tasted like chicken (with a fluffy matzoh ball).

I want to get back to Brookyln's in Gaithersburg. The CB last time was good, if not great, but the bread was fantastic.

Actually, the best matzoh ball soup and CB sandwich I had in the last six months was at Parkway in Silver Spring.

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The reason I logged in is because I just listened to the NPR show, The Splendid Table. The Sterns sung the praises of Chutzpah and made it sound incredible. Real boiled chicken dinner like a good Jewish grandmother makes. Borscht to sing for, hot or cold. You all suggest otherwise.

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I think the criticisms here have only focused on pastrami (machine sliced and industrial) and matzoh ball soup (engh).

Dude, other than pastrami, corned beef, and matzoh ball soup, what else WOULD you judge a NY-style deli by? I might throw bread products in there - rye, bagels, knishes. And my post from a couple of weeks ago dissed the rye and knishes as well.

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The reason I logged in is because I just listened to the NPR show, The Splendid Table. The Sterns sung the praises of Chutzpah and made it sound incredible. Real boiled chicken dinner like a good Jewish grandmother makes. Borscht to sing for, hot or cold. You all suggest otherwise.
Had to look this place up on DR.com, as I happened to be thumbing through the latest Roadfood guide (pub. 2008) at a bookstore. Of the 10 picks for Virginia, one is still the Fairfax location of Chutzpah. Never even heard of the place before, but it sounds like it doesn't live up to the Sterns' hype.
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Had to look this place up on DR.com, as I happened to be thumbing through the latest Roadfood guide (pub. 2008) at a bookstore. Of the 10 picks for Virginia, one is still the Fairfax location of Chutzpah. Never even heard of the place before, but it sounds like it doesn't live up to the Sterns' hype.

We had lunch at the Tyson's location on Sunday. They were perhaps 1/4 full, but this did not stop the kitchen from taking an inexplicably long time to fill our simple orders. The potato knish was made with red-skinned potatoes, including skin--definitely NOT traditional. My cheese blintzes were oddly gritty, as if someone had used dried ricotta cheese. Grandma Emma's were much, much better. Not sure what was wrong with the sticky cinnamon bun, but when an 8 year-old doesn't take more than 2 bites of something sweet like that, it isn't a good sign.

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I think the criticisms here have only focused on pastrami (machine sliced and industrial) and matzoh ball soup (engh).

I tend to judge it by the chopped liver, which this place doesn't do a good job of. I think it's too sweet and not chunky enough. The slaw and chicken noodle soup was terrific though. I'll go back to try out more stuff. How's the tongue? I noticed their tongue sandwich is much more expensive than other meats (such as corned beef, pastrami, brisket, etc.). I don't recall having a tongue surcharge in NYC but I haven't been to a deli in NYC in years.

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Do not order the stuffed derma here. It's like deep-fried sawdust.

I've only been to the Fairfax Chutzpah, but I would second this. The kishka is not good. The chopped liver, also not good. The kasha varnishkes, however, is very good. The lox and eggs is also good, but make sure they cook it enough -- if not it can come out "wet." In fact, just get "the Oops," which is lox and eggs mixed with matzo brei in one huge glorious mess.

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I just moved out here from Arlington. My wife and I just had a baby and we needed a bigger place. I have done China Star and Minerva which were both good, , and Wegman's is obviously a great. Are there any gems I'm missing in Fairfax, and is there anything halfway decent in my area (near the government center and Fairfax corner)? Thanks.

Chutzpah in the shopping center at West Ox and Monument. Great sandwiches.

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Chutzpah in the shopping center at West Ox and Monument. Great sandwiches.

Last time I read about Chutzpah (Tyson's location)they failed badly on the health department lists with things such as chicken stored above other items temperatures more than 5 degrees off the norm etc... I strongly advise checking your county (or the county you are going to dine in) health department before dining at a new place. Most fail for temperature of items such as tomatoes however if they are storing things incorrectly or at temperatures outside the norm you may want to think twice before going especially if they are repeat offenders. Just a bit of advice.

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I strongly advise checking your county (or the county you are going to dine in) health department before dining at a new place.

You know, I don't normally jump in on these kinds of things, but this has to be the most ridiculously alarmist statement I've ever read on the board.

Do you never visit grocery stores? Do you never travel outside of a major metropolitan area? Heavens, in Europe they leave the butter and cheese out on the counter all day long. Close em down! Close em down!

I don't deny the need to have a health inspection department, nor the need to have the data available for public consumption. But the idea that you should check out any place that you plan to duck your head in is ridiculous. By that logic, even the corner place that you go to every week, you should definitely look them up each time before you head over. Just because a place passed once, doesn't mean it will always pass.

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No posts in 3 years?

The Fairfax location is a passable rendition of a New York deli in northern Virginia. Portions are large, service is rude and prices are not offensive. Everything from chicken livers to piled high pastrami to house-pickled pickles....you can drive north for four hours or you can eat here. Fuggedabodit.

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We've been a few times to the Fairfax or Fair Oaks area one. I've made the run to get chicken noodle soup when the wife has been sick and she felt it was as good as Parkway Deli in MD.

It was a good recommendation a few months ago and recommend it.

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I'm not sure how (or why) they do it, but I had a Chef's Salad today that was unlike any I've ever had. Imagine a handful or two of ham, turkey and Swiss cheese, all mushed together and rolled up, a good 8 oz. or so, and then sliced thick like chiffonade except with the ribbons about an inch wide, topping a salad of crisp greens, tomatoes, onions, peppers and hard boiled eggs. Hell, you could have dumped the whole thing in sub roll and fed two people.

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Ran a 5K out in Fairfax this morning and walked into Chutzpah sweaty and starving. We'd found the place by pure chance -- we go out Fairfax-ward very, very rarely.

I'm not sure if they weren't prepared for the Independence Day breakfast crowd, or if the service is always just... weird. Our server took a good 10 minutes to notice/greet us, and disappeared for very long stretches between saying hello, getting us our coffee, taking our orders, and finally delivering our food. The list of what bagels were available changed seemingly from moment to moment, and our waitress openly said she could not keep track of what was available and what wasn't. At one point, she told our neighboring table that there were no bagels available at all, and then turned to us and said they had a limited selection of poppy and onion. It was all just very strange and chaotic.

I ultimately ordered a whitefish salad platter with an everything bagel. It was quite a lot of food -- a bagel, plain and veggie cream cheese, a large serving of whitefish salad, lettuce/tomato/onion/cucumber, and what seemed like a half cup of kalamata olives (?!?). For the price, the amount was quite generous, and the whitefish salad was good, though not great -- Neopol in Union Market does it better. Normally when I am as famished as I was I "over like" otherwise mediocre food, but my wife agreed Chutzpah's was passable.

My wife, not much of a breakfast person, had a turkey sandwich. Ordinary and unexciting -- and it came out unaccompanied, no fries/chips/anything. Guess you have to get one of their specialty sandwiches to have anything come with.

I'm in no hurry to go back, but if trapped in Fairfax for lunch I wouldn't say no. But I'd bring a book, or a paper, or a good conversation companion. We were there for almost an hour, and we ate fast.

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I must have gotten lucky with what I ordered given the comments above. I tried the Kaufax which was brisket on rye, a ton of sauteed onions, and horseradish sauce. It was delicious, as was the slaw, pickles, onion rings, potato salad, and the bite of my daughter's turkey sandwich (plain, and I mean PLAIN) on challah-- the girl loves challah. Our waiter was great and took the time to kid around with my kid. She drew him a picture of a "rainbow heart" and gave it to him. Cool guy.

It's not far from my place. I can definitely see myself stopping by sometime for deli meats and sides to go.

Maybe they're under new ownership or they cleaned up their act? If I had read the comments above first, I probably wouldn't have gone.

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Kanishka's comments seem to be an aberration to me.  Chutzpah's is steady.  One of the more solid places in Fairfax.  My favorite is the Mendel.  Try their breakfast, it is good as well.

There were plenty more negatives described before Kanishka's comments. As I said, I'm glad I didn't read them before I went. I'll take a look at the Mendel next time!

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There were plenty more negatives described before Kanishka's comments. As I said, I'm glad I didn't read them before I went. I'll take a look at the Mendel next time!

Good move --- Kanishka's comment is three years old and the others even older. The recent Yelp reviews are pretty solid. We've always enjoyed Chutzpah, and often bring out-of-town MOTs.

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Good move --- Kanishka's comment is three years old and the others even older. The recent Yelp reviews are pretty solid. We've always enjoyed Chutzpah, and often bring out-of-town MOTs.

And if I recall correctly, the deli was totally slammed on my one and only visit.

Holy crap, three years ago.  I feel ancient.

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Another visit on Saturday night with my daughter. I had the delicious Fuggedaboudit-- corned beef, pastrami, on grilled rye with swiss, coleslaw, Russian dressing, and a schmear of chopped liver. My daughter had a burger. We weren't so crazy about it given that it was probably 95% lean. It definitely needed some juice.

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Had lunch here this past week and have been here several times; they have the Bucko 46 which is roast beef done inhouse and hard to find anywhere in VA, served on a toasted garlic bread with onions and cheese .  Service is fine, and much of their stuff is made onsite.  Same ownership and most of the kitchen staff, could also be why it is consistent.  Good for breakfast and lunch, have not been for dinner. Reasonable prices, overstuffed sandwiches, and bagels with plenty of cream cheese.  Local restaurant surrounded by many national chains and franchises in this shopping plaza.  Just a hunch, but if you read the menu, it is a NY Deli...not meant to be the warm friendly service we have grown to expect in NoVa. (that was a joke). 

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