Gary’s Deli

Okay, just found out Gary’s is closed. Not closed like checked out for the night but closed like donated his hotdog machine, packed up the rest of the yummy chow, and moved on. Sorry to hear it. May the road rise up to meet him, the wind always be at his back, and something decent by way of a deli with good pastrami open up in that spot.

Wow… Gary should either change the store name or train his employees how to make a sandwich. I purchased a H&C for $ 7.99 and the wife a T&C for the same price. Remember, this is a deli and sandwiches are pretty much all the do, my first bite was dry rye bread, mustard and lettuce. After looking for the ham, I did see one (1) thin slice and a ½ ounce shaved in the center. I felt like the old lady «Where’s the beef/​ham?» Knowing this now, I’ll walk over to the market for anything and not pay 8 prices for something I didn’t enjoy. Never again — total rip-​off. I bet they will be out of business soon if the don’t improve. If not, maybe enough poor unsuspecting and starving visitors will keep their head above water.

Best deli sandwiches on the hill. Dog friendly too. Sandwich meat lovers or vegetarians will find something wonderful at Gary’s.

You really wouldn’t expect it, but this place has great sandwiches. The bread is fresh, the sauces are great. Put that together with Boar’s Head deli meat and you’ve got a winner. I don’t think there’s another sandwich shop in town so I’m glad this place has tasty wiches.

Great local butchery/​deli. Everything seems locally sourced and is very tasty. The pies looked great, did have time to get one myself though. Looking forward to coming back.

Pot pie was delicious and more than enough for two. Perfect after a morning of hiking.

We loved our sandwiches. Fresh and lots of options. We also picked up a strawberry rhubarb pie that was delicious. Taking home a chicken pot pie too!

Great sandwiches, Boarshead Meats, seafood, homemade Tamales, a super Rootbeer selection and unique soups made from fresh ingredients– perfect for warming up on a cold day. BONUS: they have gluten free bread! My easy go-​to when I don’t have time to make lunch the day before. Yum!

Such a great little deli in Idyllwild! The owner is so friendly and helpful, and knows his product like the back of his hand, right down to where each of the «old fashioned» sodas are in the cooler.
Food was excellent and well priced, and the small town atmosphere is unbeatable.
Very dog friendly place. In fact the owner brought out a large sandwich bag of ham and fed it right to my dog, slobber and all.
I highly recommend this deli if you are in town!

We looked for Gary’s Deli one day to pick up a take home meal, and found it conveniently located right next to Mountain Harvest Market in Strawberry Creek Plaza. Half a block’s walk south of «The Fort» and just north of its namesake, Idyllwild’s almost U-​shaped, Californian garden variety strip mall includes a Fairway Foods grocery/​convenience store, library, post office, pizza place, video rental store, pharmacy, Mountain Harvest Market, plenty of parking — and Gary’s Deli.
We initially decided on a simple sandwich and maybe to try one or two of the cold quiche or lasagna squares casually being showcased in neat rows behind a glass counter, but after getting air seduced by a HOT TRAY of chicken pot pies, our excitement meters went from ho-​hum to WAY UP! When asked, the counter girl seemed particularly proud of her freshly baked pies, so we happily obliged her and bought one — and a brownie — to go.
Pricey, as to be expected in Idyllwild, but Gary’s three to four bite brownie warmed up nicely in the microwave, and the girl’s medium sized pot pie stayed hot, fed two, and tasted just as good as homemade!

Ho-​hum sandwich shop.
It’s unfortunate, but this place could easily be a four star, must try deli in Idyllwild. What’s holding this place back? The bread of course! Standard generic over-​processed bread just don’t cut it. At least not at these high prices. Oh what a difference artisan bread would make. Hopefully (for Gary) the owners of Honey Bunns bakery doesn’t read this review, because there’s a huge business opportunity for them in sandwiches in Idyllwild.
The Mile High (at over 10 bucks) tastes like something I would whip up as a teenager. A few slices of dry bread and some luncheon meat.
Gary’s offers other grab and go offerings like lasagna and chicken pot pie in their display cases. Ever better is the large selection of gourmet sodas.

His sandwiches are great. He makes a tomato pie that is wonderful and just had his spinach/​artichoke quiche. It was amazing!

I wandered into Gary’s absolutely starving after walking around Idyllwild’s town center for a few hours. I ordered the black bean burger with avocado, and a man behind the register (Gary, perhaps?) complimented my choice. I walked out, found a spot on a shady rock, and chowed down.
This was the most amazing black bean burger I’d ever eaten. A week later, I’m sitting here back in my house just dreaming about how delicious it was. At ~$ 9/​sandwich, it wasn’t cheap, but totally worth it.
Also, for soda buffs: they have a great selection of «craft» sodas. I’ve tried a few from a friend who works next door at the organic grocery, and they are definitely worth trying.
Friendly service? Delicious vegetarian burgers? Five stars.

There’s hand sanitizer, people. Gary’s is great – c”mon you spoilsports. Basic but sturdy sandwiches, truly amazing pot pies (!!) to take home, and deli items. Gary’s chilis are consistently good. The staff is quirky and fun.

I was looking for something quick on my way out of Idyllwild after being hungry from 5 hours of hiking & Gary’s Deli fit the bill. They have an expansive menu with lots of sandwich offerings & the store also sells all kinds of other foodstuffs. I had the #7 «Gary’s Favorite» which was a meatloaf sandwich with cheese and bacon. Considering that there aren’t any fast food restaurants in Idyllwild and the next step up is sit-​down restaurants, I was pleased with being able to find Gary’s Deli by simply driving around town. The sandwich was good, so it was a win all the way.

I love this place! I moved to Idyllwild last summer and if Gary carried milk and eggs, I wouldn’t even go to the grocery store. He makes home made pies every Saturday and they are to die for. His chicken pot pies are also amazing. He’s great with seasoning and I’ve recently gotten into a kick where I’m buying his soups. Plus, Gary is very nice and clearly cares about providing quality food to his customers.

Hi Unilocalers!
Up to Idylliwld for the day again, wanting a couple of sandwiches for lunch, we entered ‘Subway’ and «Quiznos» into the ol’ GPS. Not wanting to drive all the way back down the Mountain to to the closest of the two, an alternate hit was Gary’s Deli. So we gave it a shot.
We ordered:
#2-​The San Jacinto (Turkey Sandwich) $ 6.50.
#8-​Italian Sub. $ 7.00.
and an artichoke/​cheese side order (my wife ordered, dont know exactly what it was)
Gary’s has sandwiches the way they once were before Subway and Quiznos. Each was fair, but the sandwiches (both) were too small for what the cost is. Each sandwich had standard commercial bread.
For the price, I expect fresh baked bread, a respectable quantity of meats and veg/​toppings. Garys fell short in that aspect. But, the sandwiches were tasty! The saving grace!
We also had an artichoke side that was prepared with artichoke, cheese, tomato and I think tortilla along with some other ingredients. This was very good if you like artichokes.
Now, what held this rating to a 2 star instead of a 3 star.
Altough the service was very nice and polite, I cant accept my food being prepared by a worker who handles my food, answers the phone, rings up the order at the register, all without washing her hands PRIOR to touching food items. No food safe (plastic) gloves were used, the type we so often see at the other places. Is that even legal? COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!
Gary’s soft drink machine was also inoperable, and looked to be hal way taken apart. This probably should not be visible to customers.
There is also a referigerated food display that has raw meat along side of prepared (ready to eat) items such as ciche (did I spell that right?) and yes, that artichoke thing I loved.
I am kind of new to Idyllwild, so I am not yet aware of what is available in means of food. The exploration continues.
If you want sandwiches (subs, etc) probably best to purchase prior to your trip up to Idyllwild.

Went to Gary’s deli a few times a couple years ago and noticed they NEVER wash their hands before preparing my sandwich bare handed. Decided it’s been long enough and tried them again today. When I arrived, there was a girl outside on the phone — I heard her say she’d call back and she came inside and went behind the counter and DIDN’T WASH HER HANDS. She started making my sandwich, but had to stop and help another customer, then she went back to my sandwich. Then another girl showed up out of nowhere from outside also DID NOT WASH HER HANDS. The first girl quit making my sandwich again and served and took money from the people who came after us. In the meantime, the 2^nd girl finished making my sandwich. So, 2 people touched my food — both came from somewhere outside and DID NOT WASH THEIR HANDS. Money is known to be dirty and carry disease, they do not wash their hands after taking money either. The food was good, but I wonder if I’m going to get sick from germs.
Don’t they have to have a food-handler’s card, haven’t they taken the class and learned how important it is to wash their hands? Why do I have to pay money to possibly get sick? Or, do I throw the food uneaten into the trash?

I’m not sure what food in Idyllwild isn’t worth at least 4 stars. The sandwich I had was great and the price was decent. I did notice that Gary (or so I assume) was much friendlier to the locals and very «business» with «the others» but this didn’t affect my score because really the food is all I care about at a deli.

Gary makes good, generous deli sandwiches, excellent cookies, and even has a chili bar. You can get sandwiches from a menu, or create your own. The prices are reasonable, but the best part of the deli is Gary’s friendliness and local knowledge.