After arriving to the restaurant location at 2:30 pm, famished from not eating the entire morning, I looked over the menu which had a variety of deli items including deli subs, cheesesteaks, dogs, links, and buffalo wings. Finally, after reviewing the menu, I knew exactly what kind of sandwich I wanted, the 7" Hot Pastrami Sandwich with a side of fries. When they brought me my order, I was like, "Great!"...my HUGE sandwich and fries served in a nice, full round-size pan instead of the usual boring paper tray or plastic plate." I just love the looks of a sandwich bulging at the seams with pastrami meat and squished with onions, bell peppers, cheese, and the works, with mustard and mayonnaise. So for you current residents of Elk Grove and visitors of the Sacramento Valley Region, I am here to inform you that this new location, looks, sounds, feels, and smells like the "Taste of New York."

I spoke with the owner, Bobby Brown, who had a chance to sit down and chat with me about the recent opening (October 24, 2005) of the "Taste of New York." "It's my own concept and has been my dream for the last fourteen years to open this restaurant", states Brown, after I asked him if the restaurant was a part of a franchise. The restaurant is polished, has a crisp upbeat atmosphere, jazzy color scheme and an urban hip feel. It sits at a popular intersection of Bond Road and Elk-Grove Florin Road just off Highway 99. The restaurant offers a spacious indoor seating area with countertop seating, as well as tabletop seating, and also includes flat screen TVs for your viewing entertainment. There is also a patio seating area that holds up to 25 people. Brown's hometown is Buffalo, New York, and he has been living in Elk Grove for the last 7 years. Brown relished the idea of one day opening a restaurant where he would be able to offer the type of food he grew up eating in his hometown. You definitely get the feel and taste of what the food is like in New York when you see and indulge the specialty sandwich items on his menu, for example: T.O.N.Y cheese steak, Jefferson cheese steak, Shroom cheese steak, Buffalo New York style wings influenced by The Anchor Bar in Buffalo New York, Coney Island Chili Style hot dog, NY hot link, Capicola cold sub, and of course the "yummie to my tummie" Hot Pastrami hot sub that I had for lunch.

Before Brown decided to open his restaurant, his background of employment had served him well with over 15 years of experience in sales and marketing, while working at Nextel and MCI. Brown who is 37 years old found the location of his restaurant 1 year ago and just recently brought in his 35 year-old partner, Dion Cox, to help manage the restaurant. Bobby and Dion have a total staff of 15, which includes high school and college students, as well as older adults. Brown plans to launch breakfast daily in February 2006. He also has plans to open a satellite location elsewhere in Northern California, fulfilling his vision of opening a "Taste of New York" in a college community.

In the booming town of Elk Grove, California, the "Taste of New York" serves a busy local lunch crowd starting at 11 am, so you should plan accordingly for your lunch meetings. Days and hours are: Mon-Wed-Thurs from 11 am til 9 pm, Fri-Sat from 11 am to midnight, and closed on Tuesdays. The location is 8868 Bond Road, Suite 500, Elk Grove, CA 95624. Restaurant phone and take out orders at 916.690.8278.