Noshing with Sandi ~ D.Z. Akin’s

Located in a strip mall abutting the Interstate 8 at the 70th Street exit, over the years, DZ’s has taken over the entire block, expanding one storefront at a time.  The decor includes funny murals, cartoons, and head shots of famous people who have eaten there.  It has a very Back-East kosher-style (but not kosher) deli feel — or at least that’s how this San Diego native imagines the old legendary delis.

A recent lunch meeting brought me back to this old favorite.  And as usual, it did not disappoint.  Known for its mile-high sandwiches and giant bowls of soup, DZ’s is not the place to come if you’re looking for a “little bite”.

The menu is HUUUUUGE and may take a day or two to read it all.  Luckily they have the options broken up by food type — so you can skim for what you’re in the mood for.

Neither of us were that hungry, so we “only” ordered soup.  In addition to regular soup staples like chicken noodle, matzah ball, sweet and sour, vegetable barley, and mish mosh (a little of everything), DZ’s also has a daily special.  I’m not sure what the special was when we were there because I was more interested in having my old favorite, 1/2 vegetable barley and 1/2 sweet and sour, with some of the noodles from the chicken noodle soup mixed in.

In case you just can’t wait for the food to get there, DZ’s has giant tubs of homemade pickles on the table and you can help yourself while you wait or throughout the meal.

Both my friend and I were hardly able to finish our soups, which came with several pieces of the bread of our choice. I chose challah, because I could.

D.Z.’s also boasts a large deli, and no trip there would be complete without taking home some rugelach, and perhaps a pint of chopped liver, and maybe even some cold cuts to go.

I’ve said before in this column how important customer service (a dying art) is to me, and how while I’m willing to allow that mistakes happen, it’s how a business fixes the mistake that really shows its worth.  Though I have been coming to D.Z. Akin’s since I was a kid, an incident a few years ago won them my unwavering loyalty and patronage.

My grandfather died in 2016, and a well-meaning friend of my parents sent a deli platter over to their house for the shiva.  On the platter were roast beef, turkey, and some other meat that was pinkish in color.   If you’ve ever wanted to confuse a room full of Jews, this was the way to do it.  We all gathered around that deli platter, heads bent, looking down at it, brows knit in confusion as we asked each other what the mystery meat could be.  “Maybe it’s smoked turkey” ventured one.  “Maybe it’s some kind of bologna” ventured another.  And finally, someone voiced what we all feared, “Do you think it’s ham?”  We asked some of the non-Jews in the room to give it a taste and tell us, but perhaps because they spend so much time around us, they no longer had a taste for ham, and they weren’t sure either.  So we placed a call to D.Z. Akin’s where the platter came from.

David Akin, current manager and son of  founders D (for Debbie) and Z (for Zvika) Akin, told me to text him a photo of the meat and he would let us know if we could eat it or not.

I did, and he called me back in seconds saying that we couldn’t eat it and to come and he would replace it with something else.  So I did, and he gave me a pound of corned beef and a pint of chopped liver for my trouble.

Here’s the thing though, it wasn’t D.Z’s mistake.  It delivered what was ordered.  The person ordering, probably a secretary, likely placed the order based on the directive “send a deli platter to the Harrisons,” and probably didn’t stop to think that a shiva platter probably shouldn’t have ham on it.  Perhaps she didn’t even know the reason for the platter and was just blindly and efficiently doing what she was told, but either way, it wasn’t the restaurant’s fault.

Nevertheless, D.Z’s took care of it, and made sure that we had enough food to feed all of the mourners. That act of unparalleled customer service won me over as a long-term customer.

So the next time you’re in the college area and hungry for a nosh, I highly recommend stopping into D.Z.’s and grabbing a sandwich and some soup, and maybe a little something from the deli to take home as well.

As for rating, I’m going to say 9 out of 10.

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Masori is the food and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.  If you would like her to review your favorite restaurant, please contact her at sandimasori@gmail.com and provide details.