Lunch at Opus Deli

Reviewed by Craig Dugas

■■■□□ 3.2 / 5 "Good food, good people"

Heads up, Bozeman, there's a new deli in town! Which is good, because Starky's is still unavailable, and aside from Wheat Montana (hmm) and Gandolfo's (mmmm!), it's slim pickins.

Once I set foot inside this family-run establishment I had an overall welcoming experience. Glancing at the menu, many of the choices sounded really good, but when it came down to it, I had to order the sandwich by which the deli was named - The Opus.

Even-sized layers of Dave's Old World Pastrami, provolone, Opus sauce, coleslaw, tomato and red onion made quite the flavor experience - and yes, it was pretty good (albeit quite messy). I'm not sure what is in Opus sauce, and I'm not sure they'd ever tell me, but it was uniquely good. The sandwich came with a miniature presentation piece of a sliced pickle speared with a sliced grape tomato, a small curd of fresh mozzarella and a tiny basil leaf - I would've loved a few of these instead of chips (hint, hint)! Matthew calls it a "Caprese-salad on a stick." The option to order a half-sandwich would be a nice way to accommodate the lighter fare.

Look for the Opus Deli just west of 7th on Oak Street. They offer indoor and patio seating and are currently open 7am to 9pm serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and gourmet coffee & soda drinks. Also, they have a Fresh Squeezed Basil Lemonade - sounds neat! Oh, one last thing I'd like to include is that the service was rather pleasant - greeting us, taking our orders, bringing us our food (and refills), and saying "goodbye" - all great!

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Reviewed by Matthew Johnson

■■■□□ 3/5 - "it's good to have another option in Bozeman"

Just as I was starting to think about how hungry I was (and how nice it was outside) Eric and Craig came in to my office to tell me they were going to the Opus Deli. It had been a while since I wrote a review for Taste of Bozeman so I thought I'd tag along. The Opus Deli is new to Bozeman, replacing La Creme at 1001 Oak St. When I say "replacing", I mean it looks like the guys at Le Creme just walked out one day the Opus crew walked in - very little inside has been changed. As someone who values establishments with a unique character I was a little disappointed. I think the last three businesses to occupy the space Opus now resides in all used the same furniture.

I choose the Montana Panini ($8.50) from among the various sandwiches, soups, and salads on the menu. As a special offer I was able to add chips and a fountain drink for $1 more. All together the service was good, but perhaps a little too "t-shirt" casual. My Panini arrived quickly and was loaded with natural roast beef, caramelized onions, horseradish cheddar, and horseradish mayo. Grilled slices of wheat bread made the Panini official. The sandwich was good, but I wouldn't say it stood out. Craig made a reasonable observation, he pointed out that my Panini was more of a "core" sandwich - a classic that you can order anywhere. Given that I'd say it's not a surprise the Panini didn't stand out, the flavor wasn't new to me. On the other hand, the sandwich Craig ordered looked much more unique.

Although the Montana Panini wont be short listed among my favorite sandwiches, I would like to go back and try something more unique to Opus and sample a hot beverage from their drink menu.

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Reviewed by Eric Barnes

■■□□□ 2 / 5 "Great cafe; so-so sandwich"

Before I get into the review, I have to mention that Opus Deli & Coffee has some of the friendliest employees I've seen in a restaurant in a long time. Not only did they provide excellent service, but they gave us a boat load of coupons.

The first sandwich listed on the menu is the Cajun turkey: premium cajun turkey breast with pesto, Jarlsburg swiss and sliced tomato. A vision of a nice spicy sandwich flashed into my mind. It sounded like just the thing for a Friday afternoon. And when the lady at the counter informed me that it is their most popular sandwich, I thought, "wow! This is going to be great!" And for a pricey $8.50, it had to be good.

That was chapter one of Great Expectations. Chapter two involved the inevitable disappointment. The sandwich was not spicy at all, without much Cajun taste worth mentioning. I described it to Matthew as not having a "hint of Cajun", but a "ghost of Cajun": you can almost detect that it exists, but as soon as you try to pin-point it, it's gone. In addition, the turkey was thickly cut, resulting in a slightly disagreeable rough texture. The sandwich was already tough because of the pressed, Panini style, which didn't help matters.

In summary, I was disappointed. But then again, maybe I shouldn't have set my expectations so high. Charles Dickens says it best: "Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule."

I'll be back Opus Deli... just for something different.

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