June 22nd- Amazing Munches at Mookie’s Deli, NC
By: Steve Goode
Edited By: Judi Goode
June 22nd: Ride to Mookies in Cary, NC
Today, I went to a deli that was not mentioned in the Nosher magazine deli recommendations that I was following. The original deli that Nosher magazine chose had to close during Covid. One of my Jewish motorcycle friends, who lives in the area, volunteered to check out delis for me and he suggested this one. We got caught in some rain during our ride to the deli, but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot the rain stopped. Grateful for a break from the rain, this allowed me to take photos and check out the place for my blog. When we pulled into the shopping center it didn’t look like much. Mookies had just opened in June, 2020 at the height of Covid. I really didn’t know what to expect but it turned out to be a wonderful meal and the owners were very welcoming.
The deli was very attractive inside. When we placed our order, we were given three sandwich sizes… petite, full and empire. I decided to order the full (normal size) sandwich. What the waitress didn’t tell me was that the full size can feed three people. I can’t even begin to imagine what the empire size looked like. We decided to split an order of potato lakes, which were outstanding. We all agreed it was one of the best meals we’ve had. The staff was wonderful and spent a lot of time explaining how they were able to make it through 2020. The deli is owned by a young couple from New York. Bruce, David and I were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food.
After leaving the restaurant we headed out with storm clouds chasing us all along our route. Motorcycling requires special rain gear. For me, my cold weather riding outfit also doubles as my rain gear. Unfortunately, when the temperatures hit 90 degrees but it’s raining, I have to wear my cold weather gear to stay dry. On days like today, the threat of rain required that we put on our rain gear only to take it off once the threat subsided, because of the 90-degree temperatures and put our warm weather gear back on. But if it threatens rain again, then we have to stop and put our rain gear (or in my case, my cold weather gear) back on again. This on and off went on all afternoon until we got to Florence, SC.
