Maxim European Deli

I was excited to stumble upon harder-​to-​find European foods here, and the owner seemed really nice. However, when I got home, I discovered that one of the items I had purchased had expired nine months ago. I thought it was just a fluke, but then I found two more expired packages from Maxim. What a waste of money. I’d take them back and haggle with the owner, but I have a feeling it’d just be a waste of time. They have a lot of nice little European imports and specialty foods, you just have to double-​check here, that what you buy is fresh!

Fantastic selection of european goodies! Very friendly too. I highly recommend this place this place.

I love this guy! Pretty full line of European boxed and canned foods, plus a nice meat counter with various salamis, and prosciutto at $ 7.99 a pound! Yes, that is not a typo! Plus some nice cheeses in the cooler. Go see this guy! He’s located next to Lamb’s Thriftway Grocery.

I’ve been shopping — no, my guy has been shopping — at this little spot for a long time. I don’t know it as «Maxim Deli». I know it as «The Meatbat Store».
Why «The Meatbat Store»? Well, I’ll tell you…
Last year, as we were playing a little competitive game of who could out-​expert the other (if you know me, I’m sure you’ve never played this with me), there was an assertion that there actually WAS a food more perfect than bacon. WHAT? No. I proclaimed this to be utter fantasy and worse, heresy, and willed him to produce said substance or forever hold his peace.
Since the day that gauntlet was thrown on the ground nearly a year ago, I have been receiving meat offerings on a regular basis. They come from various delis in the city, eastside, westside, it doesn’t matter (because there still is NOTHING more perfect than bacon). There are two that are my favorite, though, and one of them is the Meatbat.
So, what is a meatbat? A meatbat is a slab of smoked beef that is extremely lean and dense, and has the most ridiculously awesome smoked flavor… I’d know it anywhere. It is also HALAL. The first Meatbat to be delivered to me was literally the size of a bat. I could have left bruises on an adult this thing was so big and dense. Hence the name Meatbat. So I started singing its praises about it on a no-​longer-​active Twitter account. But then… the Meatbats started becoming more scarce at Maxim’s. And then? Smaller! «Why the smaller Meatbats»? asked my guy to which the reply was, «too many people are getting them and we kept running out, so now we sell them in smaller pieces». Really. I cried. They take 2 weeks once they are ordered from Bosnia to get to Maxim, so it is a long wait.
Today, my meat offerings included gypsy salami, some interesting sausage with mustard seed in it (win!) and a good ol’ Meatbat. But also a jar of an outrageously tasty red pepper spread. Go. Now. Before I buy it all up. It’s called «ZerGut» Peppetizer.
I’ll fill you in on the other favorite in another review…