Sometimes nothing else matters in your life besides an all-encompassing need for curly fries at 4:00 a.m. You can get regular french fries almost anywhere. But curly fries? Especially spicy curly fries? That’s when you go to God Bless Deli.
God Bless Deli may be your standard deli, but it’s also a neighborhood standby with an extensive menu. Instead of drunkenly gazing up at the menu for 15 minutes, indecisively lusting after both a bacon cheeseburger and a Philly cheese steak, ask them to give you a paper copy at the counter.
This deli is where my old roommate and I had our first Greenpoint resident meal, over five years ago, so I have an affection for it. Exhausted from moving into our new apartment, we shuffled to Manhattan Avenue to try to find food at 1:00 a.m. The nearest deli happened to be God Bless, and we were surprised that our sandwiches were fresh and tasty with tomatoes that weren’t fridge-mealy. I like the guys who work here too, who are usually pretty friendly.
The curly fries are crispy and deli delicious. I’ve had burgers and gyros here, and they’ve been consistently better than other nearby delis. Maybe it’s their products, or maybe it’s because they have such high traffic that the ingredients stay fresh.
If you’re going the “healthy” route, choose a turkey sandwich or a falafel on rice. The hummus is a bit runny, but if Oasis is closed, this is where I’ll be. Opt for your own hot sauce, as theirs is a terrible Chinese takeout-style sauce.
The falafel comes with salad but ask them to add jalapenos or banana peppers for extra flavor.
When getting food delivered you can also ask them to include extras from the store in the delivery bag (like the fun seaweed snacks pictured below).
God Bless Deli is located on Manhattan between Noble and Calyer. They deliver until midnight, but the deli itself is open for pickup 24 hours a day. You can call (718) 349-1828 or order online via Seamless, Grubhub or Delivery.com.
God Bless is great, but didn’t they change the name to USA Deli?
The original location yes, but there is now a God Bless Deli 2 on the corner of Clay and Manhattan.
God Bless Deli 2 has no connection to the original (former?) God Bless Deli. Googling them turns up an article about the GBD owner being upset at the time that they were obviously trying to co-opt his brand, and I don’t blame him. GBD2 is my bodega, as I live up north, and it’s nowhere near as good as the “original”. Don’t get me wrong – it gets the job done, but the staff isn’t as friendly, and the food isn’t nearly as varied or tasty. They don’t even have falafel!