Trailer Trad North Carolina: Oberlin Road's Community Deli

Located on a very hot stretch of Inside-the-Beltline Raleigh, the Community Deli is the kind of classy anachronism that the new urban planners can never get quite right. They can plant some chain that research has told them has the right demographic appeal and can patch on a few 'local' touches. But will the latest 'upscale dining' option be there with perfect collards for News Years Eve? -Not bloody likely.

It takes the 'community' part of its name pretty seriously. Oberlin Road is kind of special in that, there are both ends of the social spectrum along Oberlin near my church and both ends are catered to at this deli. Gourmet chicken salad and other must-have takes outs are offered alongside '40s' (large cans of beer) and inexpensive hot dogs. Raleigh is kind of a mecca for hot dogs it seems with Snoopys, Roast Grill, Char Grill and others but that gets kind of ignored with the ever-present attention paid to NC barbeque (which Raleigh is kind of underrepresented in, surprisingly). Anyway, check the Community Deli out. The food is good and the owner seems cool.