2040 Deli

Zero Stars. I’m writing an update to explain the horrible treatment my aunt received going to this store. I didn’t know she was going here otherwise I would have warned her on how disgusting this place is. The man at the counter cheated her by charging her an extra 50 cents for something clearly marked 99 cents. The price was PRINTED on the bag by the manufacturer. He told her it doesn’t matter what the bag says. After she told him he wasn’t allowed to do that, HE TOLD HER TO GET THE FCUK OUT. Seriously, how disgusting.

I occasionally work in the area on 127^th near Lenox, and generally just go to the bodega on the east side of Lenox for a quick deli sandwich for lunch. I decided to branch out after getting sick of sandwiches (which is hard for me to do) and looked around on Unilocal until I found this place.
The short version of this review is pretty simple: food is good, prices are really low (especially their combo specials), but jesus it took *forever* to get your food.
FOOD: I went with the $ 2.99 cheeseburger and soda special (added a bag of chips, which bounced me up to $ 3.99). They make everything fresh, and you can watch as the dude behind the counter makes your food. Burgers are cooked thoroughly, and you can personalize what condiments you want. He also toasted the bun, which is appreciated.
PRICES: pretty much awesome, even for Harlem. $ 2.99 for a cheeseburger and 12 oz. soda? Or $ 3.99 for a deli sandwich (on hero or roll) and 12 oz. soda? Very nice indeed.
SERVICE: the dude behind the counter making everything is really nice and friendly, but he is just so. slow. back. there. It seriously took me over half an hour to wait to order, order, and wait for it to be made. This is maybe a 5+ minute walk from the office I’m at, and it took me almost 50 minutes to run out for a «quick» bite to eat when I came here. If you’ve got all the time in the world and don’t mind waiting, then by all means. But if you need to get something during the lunch rush, be aware that you could be waiting a VERY long time for it.

Best burger and soda for $ 2.99 I’ve ever had! This is your basic bodega but it is clean and the cook is nice and neat. The cashier is friendly. They play merengue and you can chit chat with the other customers. As Harlem becomes gentrified, I’m glad to see such a place survive. It is also known as West Harlem Deli.