Las Vegas offers a bevy of delis

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2002 | 8:44 a.m.

All major supermarkets and many warehouse stores such as Costco and Sam's Club have an array of deli cases stocked with sliced meats, cheeses, composed salads and hot foods prepared on the premises.

Many shoppers find it hard to walk by the alluring displays without buying something, so we decided a closer look might be worthwhile.

Vons

1075 E. Twain Ave.

The specialty hot foods are fried chicken, sold in pieces, for $2.99 a pound, and rotisserie chicken, 32-ounce birds in plastic bubbles, either savory lemon herb or barbecued. Both are pleasing to the eye. These chickens are $4.99, but for an extra dollar the Meal Deal allows a shopper to add a 1-pint side dish and four homemade biscuits.

That's a good deal, since a pint of macaroni salad, potato salad, or the creamy coleslaw, sells for $1.89 by itself. Composed salads in this large glass case start at that price, and go up to $4.99 for a colorful Chinese chicken salad.

What's more, the store has a liberal tasting policy. Just ask, and one of the folks behind the counter will be glad to fill a plastic sample cup.

Vons Primo Taglio, literally "first cut," is the name for its premium line of cold cuts, which include Black Forest ham for $6.99 a pound, on up to Italian-style prosciutto at $15.99 a pound. They make sandwiches too, 6-inchers for $4.99 and foot-longs for $8.99.

One separate island in this well-designed area features sushi in plastic packages (nine pieces for $3.99), plus heat-and-eat meals. A second island has salads, wraps, heat-and-eat soups and cut fruit.

Costco

1800 W. Sunset Road

It's amazing how many people who come to this membership store seem to load carts with one or more rotisserie chickens.

The chickens, along with baby-back ribs that sell for $6.99 a pound, are generally the only two hot food items prepared on the premises. But what a deal these gorgeous, plump, 2 3/4-pound birds are, $4.99, packaged with the house brand Kirkland label and kept at a safe temperature on a warming rack.

On any given day it's possible to sample items such as Marie Callender's chicken potpie, hot Mrs. Fields cookies, quiche, pasta and more adjacent to the deli area.

Knowledgeable demonstrators can answer questions about these products. Naturally, when one buys at Costco, one buys quantity, but the quality is often just as impressive.

One deli case specializes in fish. Alderwood smoked salmon is $5.99 per pound, a 16-ounce tin of Phillips backfin Maryland crab meat, ideal for making crab cakes, is $13.89. Fujisan sushi, 35 assorted pieces, is a steal at $10.75. That's around 30 cents per piece, a terrific bargain.

A 2-pound Hebrew National salami is $6.55, and sliced Genoa from Columbus, a leading San Francisco meat packer, is $5.44. A 5-pound assorted meat and cheese platter is $22.99. In the same deli case, which is kept spotlessly clean, it's $3.79 for a 2-pound package of ripe-looking tomatoes layered with Bufala mozzarella and packed with a balsamic vinegar dressing.

The only disadvantage to shopping here is the large quantities that, usually, must be purchased.

Albertsons

2651 N. Green Valley Parkway

This hot-food and deli section is very clean, well lit, and well organized, but the hot-food section has less variety than the competitors. There are fried chicken pieces, eight for $2.99, and potato wedges at $1.59 a pound. Roast chickens are $3.99 and the birds are 26 ounces, either lemon pepper, garlic and herb or rotisserie.

Ham, sausages and cheeses are sold in bulk in an adjacent case. Zacky Farms hickory-smoked turkey has been on sale at $3.99 a pound, and a 32-ounce Busch summer sausage was $5.99. There are also composed salads -- potato salad at a low $1.49 a pound, on up to a chicken Caesar, $4.99 a pound.

A separate island is stocked with heat-and-eat meals such as lasagna, stuffed shells and a traditional turkey dinner with gravy, mashed potatoes and dressing, all of which have good eye appeal. These meals average 1.3 pounds and are two for $6.

Smith's

1000 N. Green Valley Parkway

One of the things that distinguishes this market from the competitors is the presence of an in-house Chinese chef, who prepares a variety of dishes sold from a steam table. At lunch, this is a popular stop with locals who are in a hurry.

A 1-pint order is $2.99 and a 1-quart order is $4.99, for those ordering to go, but a combination plate is $3.49. Some of the entree choices include sweet and sour pork, beef with vegetables and spicy stewed chicken wings.

There is a rotisserie with chickens rotating constantly, but the chickens are sitting in the steam table and lose eye appeal. There is also a wide selection of hot prepared foods here, including hot sausages, egg rolls and fried chicken gizzards.

The store has another hot food island filled with packaged rotisserie chickens near the front cash registers. These 32-ounce birds sell for $5.49.

Composed salads are marked with "made fresh daily" signs, but the salad case, which is usually crowded, isn't as pretty as in many other stores. One will generally have to take a number, because business tends to be brisk. Another island is filled with a line of Boar's Head meats and cheeses, manufactured by a company in New York.

These are high quality products, and as a result, are pricier than many of their competitors. For example, their deluxe ham is $6.99 a pound, and their cheeses, frankfurters and deli meats tend to be $1 or $2 higher than a lesser brand.