REVIEW: H&M Deli

Topix is a website that hosts discussion groups for tens of thousands of cities and small towns all across America. They even have a forum for Belmont, North Carolina, and I check it around once a week or so just to see what’s going on there.

I recently saw a thread there praising the H&M Deli in nearby Cramerton. What really got my attention was that everyone seemed to like it, something rare at the Topix board. I decided to check the place out a couple of weeks ago.

(Apologies for the “shaky cam” pictures. I hadn’t planned to do a review of the place and so I only had my cell phone handy!)

The first thing you’ll notice when you walk in is that H&M isn’t just a deli. They’re a full-blown specialty store with wines, beer, cheeses, spices, and other food products from around the world:

The second thing you’ll notice is that these items are frightfully expensive, and not just because most of them are top-shelf quality. Allow me to use Sriracha hot sauce as an example. My local Walmart sells the 17oz. bottle for $1.99. Local Harris Teeter stores sell it for $4.99. H&M sell it for $5.99 $5.09, which is just a rip-off.  (Helpful tip: Asian Market on Wilkinson Blvd. in Belmont sells the 28oz. bottle for $3.99). Having said all that, H&M just might be the only place in Gaston County where you can buy Hawai’ian black sea salt, so if you’ve just gotta have some, it’s probably better to take the 10 minute drive to H&M and pay $15.99 than drive all the hell way over to South Park just to save $4.

H&M does have an impressive (and reasonably-priced) beer selection:

Again, we’re mostly dealing with high-end brands like Dogfish Head and Chimay, so don’t expect any major bargains here. However, compared to their prices for grocery items, I found H&M’s prices on beer to be much more reasonable, and much more in line with Common Market and other “fancy” Charlotte stores.

But groceries and beer weren’t why I was at H&M that day. I was there for a sandwich! After looking over their extensive menu, I decided on “The Wrecker”, which the menu describes as “shaved steak, Italian sausage, peppers, onions, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce and mayo on a toasted hogie bun”. Here’s what it looked like by the time I got home:

It was absolutely delicious! I was glad to see that they’d followed my “no mayo” directions, too. “The Wrecker” delighted every single one of my taste buds… but I ultimately found the sandwich a disappointment due to its diminutive stature. I get that H&M is selling “quality sandwiches” over “gut-buster specials”, but you just shouldn’t have to pay $7.25 for a sandwich and still feel hungry afterwards!

Thankfully, that hunger was abated somewhat by H&M’s delightful potato salad. I feel I should mention here that I normally despise potato salad. I’ve tried it off and on for years, and never found one that I liked… until now. The potatoes were fresh, the dressing was delectable (and not sweet in any way), and the little bits of celery just made it for me. It was far more savory than any potato salad I’ve had until this point, and I think the red potatoes H&M uses were a wise choice (as opposed to mass market potato salads, which use regular Burbank potatoes). A small container of this delicious stuff will only set you back $1.49, which is perhaps the best bargain going at H&M.

Lisa was taking a nap when I left to go to H&M, so I decided to get her a sandwich (the potato salad was initially supposed to be hers too, but I got greedy). I chose “The Marcus” for her, which the menu describes as “Salsalito turkey, avocado, salsa, greens, cheddar cheese and black beans in a flour tortilla”. Since Lisa was asleep, I didn’t want to disturb her, so I thought I’d made a pretty safe selection… but then I was asked what type of tortilla I wanted with the sandwich. I went with whole wheat, which was a safe choice. I needn’t have worried though… Lisa woke up a few minutes after my return and ate the sandwich… and was like “Ummmmm! This is so good!” And it was. I had a bite, and although it wouldn’t have been my choice for a sandwich, it was pretty damn good. Again, though, it was a bit too small for my tastes, although The Marcus was a better value at only $6.25.

One last complaint I have about H&M (aside from the high prices for groceries and the small size of the sandwiches) is that their Reuben sandwich comes with Thousand Island Dressing. As I’ve made perfectly clear in a previous post, Reuben sandwiches should come with Russian dressing, not Thousand Island. I don’t care if “everyone else does it”… that doesn’t make it right.

This last little thing is a bit of a niggle, though. Although I take my Reuben sandwiches seriously, it’s hardly the Holy War that say, barbecue is. All in all, I found H&M to be one impressive little deli, and it’s hard to believe that you could find such a great place in Cramerton (word on the street is that Sammy, owner of  Sammy’s in Belmont, owns the building and rents it out to Hans and Megan; Megan used to run the kitchen at Sammy’s). I’m doubleplus chuffed that H&M also sells Utz Crab Chips, my all-time favorite salty snack:

Overall, I give H&M an A- (make the sandwiches a little bigger and it’s an A+!)

H&M Deli and Market
119 Center Street
Cramerton, NC

Phone: 704.824.2599
Hours: 10:00 – 19:00, Monday-Saturday