Chicken Croquettes, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, and Corn

One of the real treasures of Marietta is right out our front door and across the street. It's the "deli."

The deli has a ton of history in this town that goes back generations and generations in the same family, with its origins as the town's butcher shop.

The official name is "Youndt's Deli." But the locals say "Yuntzes."

The deli is not much to look at. If you didn't already know about it, it could be easy to drive by without even noticing. And even if you notice there's nothing really overly attractive about it to draw you in. There's a simple, modest, wooden sign out front.

The deli customer space is small, cramped in front of the cash register, surrounded by counters and coolers. You can buy and onion, a cheeseburger sub, a couple stuffed pork chops, a pound of American cheese, a gallon of milk, and a butterscotch krimpet. For those in the know in town, this is where you go.

And being right across the street, we visit the deli nearly every day.

There's a couple of things that are really unique about the deli. From Monday to Friday, every week, the deli owner and his wife make HUGE homemade meals and sell them in plastic snap-top containers for $4 to $5. One portion is enough for two people. And the food is good old Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine - Chicken Pot Pie, Meatloaf, Salisbury Steak, Chicken Croquettes, Swiss Steak, Stuffed Chicken Breast, Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches, Spaghetti with Meatballs, Ham and String Beans, Ham Loaf, Shepherd's Pie, and all the fixings. It's out of this world.

On most days the deli sells out. It's wise to reserve a serving of the Chicken Croquettes a day in advance. How the deli pulls off huge, delicious, homemade meals at the same price as a burger, fry and soda at Burger King boggles my mind.

But you don't question a blessing - and right across the street, what a blessing!

We do live in Marietta's business district, which is also its historic district on the National Registrar of Historic Places. But it's much more of a historic district than it is a commercial area. The only real clue that it is a business area is the parking meters that extend for a three-block range.

Unlike local towns like Lititz, which has thrived because busy Route 501 intersects town, Marietta has no well-travelled roads. There is River Road, and it sees some pretty decent traffic. But it's outside Marietta. Without traffic, Marietta's a sleepy little town, a nice place to live, but not a great place for most businesses that depend on traffic volume, like the deli.

But the deli thrives on simple principles of quality product, good pricing, friendly folks, and a long history of delivering those principles.

It's rare that someone walks into the deli that isn't recognized. The same family has been feeding the same families for a long time.

And if you're a regular customer you know that there's a keg of Coor's Light tapped behind the wall behind the one cooler. The tap sticks through the wall very modestly, really almost unnoticed to all but those who know. There's a stack of plastic cups on the nearby counter. It works on the honor system. Some locals like to have a beer while they're waiting for their lunch.

Only in Marietta . . .

When we first learned that cancer had moved to my brain the deli knew. I don't know how they knew. But they do seem to be able to keep up with everything in town.

They immediately made us up a huge tray of sandwiches. We were so thankful. We finished them all. You just can't that kind of stuff at Burger King.