Church Street Pub and Deli

  I hope everyone had a weekend that was as awesome as mine!  We spent Saturday at the beach.  My "secret" fee-free parking area in Emerald Isle has been taken over by fat, middle-aged men who want to charge $10 for parking so we just kept driving down the island until we got to Indian Beach and I spotted a public access lot.  It ended up being way better than Emerald Isle because there are less drunk Marines, it is less crowded in general, and everyone pretty much kept to themselves.  Quiet, peaceful, relaxing, sunny and breezy!

  Other brief recap:  One of the stray cats around here adopted us; he is in love with Louis!  We saw X-Men: First Class; awesome, go see it.  We grilled fresh shrimp one night and ribeyes the other.  Because of grilling the first night, the backyard was set on fire.  Yup, sometimes 24 hours isn't enough for the charcoal to completely burn down and cool off.  Don't throw those coals into a pile of dry pine needles.  Our new cat is the one who warned us, so it was taken care of very fast.  But still.... backyard on fire.

  Alright, so before we made it over to the island, we stopped at our favorite deli, Church Street Deli.  This place is hands down my favorite sandwich shop ever.  They make simple, uncomplicated, high quality sandwiches, wraps, soups and sides.  They use all natural Pepperidge Farm breads and Boar's Head meats and cheeses which are sliced on site.  I don't mind that those are purchased.  The ingredients are fresh and the adorable building with its lovely kitschy decor is spotlessly clean. 

Everything I've had here is fantastic, but on the weekends, they make amazing shrimp salad from fresh, whole, local shrimp.  It varies week to week but it always has a very light mayo based dressing which is usually flavored with dill.  This past weekend, it was just that with lettuce and incredibly fresh tomato in a sundried tomato wrap.  (Not the cutest thing to eat on the beach though...)

Louis normally gets the same thing:  Shon's Close the Menu Turkey Sandwich.  It is thick-cut turkey, muenster, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and ranch on lightly toasted whole wheat bread.

   If you find yourself in the Swansboro, NC area I strongly urge you to get lunch here!  Pick it up on your way to the beach and then stop by on your way back to grab a beer at the attached pub with a fantastic beer selection.  (The super sweet older waitress can pour a mean Guinness.)  Obviously, this plan depends on where you live/are staying.  But whatever, make plans to eat here even if it is a little bit out of your way.



 Church Street Pub and Deli

105 West Church Street

Swansboro, NC 28584

(910) 326-7572