Marsh Brothers Deli at the Little Store

I'd heard about the Marsh Brothers Deli at the Little Store for years.  A small deli/sandwich shop, in the town I grew up in.  Actually, located in a building that used to be a tiny convenience store (The Little Store), which was right down the street from where I went to elementary school, the near houses of several friends, and somewhere I used to visit for candy fairly regularly.

Somewhere along the way, The Little Store closed, but, the Marsh Brothers (yes, real brothers), bought it, and transformed it into a deli.  People rave about their meats and sandwiches.  Known for the house smoked meats.  It has been on my radar a while.

But I haven't spent substantial time in my hometown, usually just a week at Christmas, a week in the summer, and somehow visiting there never took priority.  Until this past year, living in a COVID world, when I spent 6 months (!) in New Hampshire.

I finally got a chance to try it myself.  I wished I had visited more, but it is only open during the week, morning and lunch hours, and I was working full time remotely, and I didn't have a car to get there, so rarely did I have a chance to go.

Epic Visit: 3 Little Pigs Special Sandwich, School Street Poutine.

My mom and I did get to go for lunch one day, when she was home (with a car), and I had a break in my schedule.

Yes, on the same visit, I ordered two specials, both, uh, heavy in their decadence.  And both insanely delicious.  The sandwich features 3 of the Marsh Bros Deli smoked meats (and cheese, slaw, etc), and the poutine, well, yeah.  Just look at it.

I was splitting both with my mom, so this sounded reasonable in my head, just splitting two items, right?  Until I saw them both of course, and realized we were eating a huge pile of carbs, fats, and cheese.  

But you know what? I regret nothing.  Both were insane.  And so very, very tasty.  This pretty much sum up an ideal Marsh Bros Deli experience.

A more reasonable approach would be to split one of these sandwiches OR poutine, and pair with a salad, and perhaps feel capable of doing something, anything, the rest of the day.  We both spent our afternoons wanting naps, and as dinner approached, we both groaned and couldn't imagine eating again.

My mother picked up goodies for me a few other times, so I also got to try some deli salads and baked goods during my time in NH.

Setting

The Little Store is, well, a little store.  When it was a convenience store, I remember how jam packed everything was, yet they seemed to have so much (at least in my childhood memory).  It seemed like they had soooo much candy!

Now, it is a deli.  There are a few other items you can purchase, but all are just things to go with your sandwich mostly.  They kept the name I think for history, but this is really a deli.

Inside is tiny - there is a slot at the end of the kitchen where you can place an order (once you figure out where to go), a register to pay at (once you figure out to pay rather than stand in the line that is kinda just people milling about waiting for food), and, the same place you pick up your order.  There is very little space to move around, and, its packed.

I *will* admit I was a little horrified by the lack of COVID cautions being taken.  Unlike most establishments, there was no sign saying masks were required to enter.  There were no 6' markers.  People were definitely not staying 6' apart.  There was no sanitizer.

But I was also used to San Francisco, and, well, NH really did have a very different approach to COVID, and far fewer cases.

Curb Appeal.

The place is adorable in a tiny town sort of way.

Smoker out front, tables, a clock, and the sign featuring their signature cubano.

Picnic Tables.

They only have two tables out front to dine, but are just a half block away from a popular children's playground with seating (at a site that used to be my elementary school!), and a few blocks from the town green with extensive seating options.  But the business is takeout focused for sure.

They do a *seriously* steady stream of business at lunch time, often with a significant wait.

Smoker.

The majority of the menu revolves around their smoker.  I think it is their pride and joy, and I know see why after tasting the smoked meats.  These guys seriously know their meats.

The smoker is usually going during service, and the aroma is just incredible. I loved how my hair smelt like smoke all afternoon, and dining with that smoky air ... loved it.

The Kitchen.

Once inside, you can see the kitchen.  It, like the store, is small, but, it does occupy half the space.  It needs to.  It is where *all* the action is.

There is a frying station, with 4 baskets, used to make the appetizer items (fries, motz sticks, etc), and I assume the fried fish and chicken when on special.

The flat top is where most of the action is, cooking up eggs in the morning, and all the meats at lunchtime, including burgers.  A few pots on the stovetop have items like chili, gravy, etc.  

The salamander is standing by to really do the flourishes that make their sandwiches unbelievable, melt cheeses, toast buns, etc.

A chef's counter is the assembly station and mise en place.  

This area is run by only 3 people, one of whom is taking orders.  They are *busy*.  Very very busy.  Constant activity.

Deli Case.

Depending on when you get there, you might find goodies in the deli case, ranging from deli salads like potato salad, slaw, macaroni salads, to grab and go fresh salads, to house smoked meats.

It was pretty wiped out at this point, just with macaroni salad remaining, and their own cold storage for tuna salad, pickles, tomatoes, etc for sandwiches.

Drinks.

At the end of the store, one cooler case is devoted to beer.  I think when they were open different hours (past 3pm, and on weekends), this was likely a big draw.  Do that many people stop in in the morning or lunchtime for beer?

There is also a case with basic soft drinks, bottle water, iced coffee, and some local smoked cheeses and pepperoni.  Not much else.

I wouldn't really call this a convenience store, as the offerings are basically just what you need to go with your deli items, no more.

Snacks.

The rest of the store has pretty limited products, but what they have is well curated: a slew of flavors of Deep River chips (classic sandwich pairing), a couple sweet sugary things (giant pixie sticks!), granola bars, and a handful of local items (bbq sauce, maple syrup, cutting boards, fudge).

Baked Goods

You know how much I loved baked goods, and donuts in particular.  Marsh Brothers posts photos of their donuts many times a week, and they always look so glorious, the variety changing out as they please (sometime with lemon zest, sometimes fritters, etc), always classic New England style fried cake donuts.  Made fresh there in the morning.

Donuts also are known to sell out early, as in, get there by 8am early, and on my visits to town I was always dealing with jetlag, and that was just ... uh, prohibitive.  But one morning I sent my mother, who arrived before 8am, and scored the bounty.  She was home with fresh donuts, just as I was staggering down the stairs to make coffee.  Perfect timing.

I saw the greasy bag in her hands, and I knew exactly what I was in for.  *Very* oily donuts.  The style of the area, no question.

Plain Donut.

Well ... this was a very classic New England style fried cake donut.  Exactly what is in line with what folks in the area want.

It was very very oily.  Very very fried.  Crispy exterior.

The flavor was good, but it was so so fried.  I didn't really enjoy just eating it plain.  It was kinda nice dunked in coffee, but, for me, just, too fried, much like the town cult favorite, Muriel's Donuts.

I would not get again. **.

Sugar Coated Donut.

The sugar coated donut was the same, just, coated in sugar.

Again, very very oily, crispy, and good for this style of donut, but, not what I was after.

The sugar, combined with the extreme crispness, made it almost like a churro to me.  With cinnamon added, it really would be churro-esque.  I wonder if they ever made churro donuts?

Again, a good donut for this style, but I wouldn't get again. ***.

Sugar Donut Holes.

The donut holes were, well, the same, except due to the increased surface area and the small size, it was even more extreme in the just fried, and just crispy nature taking over.  It was like a cinnamon-less churro bite.

I would not get again, my least favorite of the donuts. **.

Deli Items

Signature Sandwich Menu.

The deli offers made to order sandwiches, both breakfast style and lunch, along with some appetizers, burgers, hot dogs, and daily specials that sound amazing.  They also clearly proclaim that if they have it, they will make it, so, you can go totally crazy making up your dream dish.  I had so many ideas, but, hard to stray from a menu that is great already, and constantly changing specials!

The signature sandwiches are all raved about by, well, everyone.

The cubano, with their woodfired pork, salami, and ham is the most well known, but the "Brother's Rueben" with their house brined brisket and house made made "999 Island Sauce" also gets many accolades.  As does the pulled pork, with their woodfired pulled pork, and housemade carolina bbq (or Bullseye BBQ if you prefer).  Oh, and the pastrami, again, housemade, wood fired, etc.

Can you tell, they are serious about the meat?  You can build your own sandwich too, which can be a deli basic.  Want egg salad with lettuce on a bulkie bun?  You can get that too of course.

Oh, and the daily specials?  Generally, insane.

Smashed Potato Salad & Hawaiian Macaroni Salad.

Every day, the deli makes fresh potato and pasta salad, rotating through all styles, particularly for the pasta - sometimes creamy, sometimes corkscrews, sometimes featuring things like bacon and ranch ...  

The first time I had them, was a classic smashed potato salad and Hawaiian inspired macaroni salad.  Both were fabulous.

Smashed Potato Salad.

The potato salad is a unique style, half-smashed.  It was really creamy as a result, without being heavy from tons of mayo.  It also had small chunks of potato, skin on.  No egg or other real additions in here, just some herbs and basic seasoning.

Fairly simple, but, clearly made with care, and it was one of the better store / deli bought potato salads I've ever had.

It was very good potato salad, and I'd get it again when I want potato salad.  My father liked it too. ***+.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad.

The macaroni was Hawaiian style, which usually means it has visible chunks of pineapple in it, and is a sweeter style, but theirs deviated from the "normal" Hawaiian mac.

Like the potato salad, it was very clearly made with care, the mac cooked really well, not too mushy but not super al dente.  It had a slight heat from serrano (?) chiles, which I loved, and was unexpected.  It was also quite herb forward, which I also loved. And again, very perfectly dressed, no dominant mayo flavors.

The Hawaiian element though was a bit too sweet for me.  There were no visible chunks of pineapple, but, it was a sweet style.  When I mixed it with other things that was fine, but to just eat the mac, that sweetness was a touch too much.  

So again, for mac salad, this is very very good, top notch, and I'd love to try non-hawaiian.  My father loved it.  ****.

Cole Slaw.

I loved the looks of the slaw - nice big chunks of cabbage and carrot.  Not overdressed.  Possibly under-seasoned.

I was surprised when I took my first bite though - it was a sweeter style?  I'd call it "Hawaiian" too.  I wonder if this style is just the Marsh Bros way, and can imagine the sweeter style going well with some of their meats in particular.

I gave it a second try, but, it was not the slaw for me for me to eat on its own, sadly.

When I had it later though, in a sando with pulled pork? And buttery oil soaked brioche bun?   It was perfect.  ***.

Clam Chowder (Special).

Every day features a soup, chowder, or chili, and although not a soup girl in general, I eye the soup special all the time, as it often is far more exciting that "soup", e.g. burnt ends chili with cornbread.  Oh yes.  And on this day?  Clam chowder.  I had just run out of my Yankee Lobster clam chowder (review), seriously so good, and I wanted more clam chowder on hand.

Sadly, it really let me down.  It was not rich and creamy and decadent.  Which is ok, I don't need chowder to be *the* most unhealthy thing ever, and do often thin out other chowders to make them less decadent, or pair them with greens or steamed fresh veggies, but, it had a blandness to it as well that I couldn't overlook.  Definitely under-seasoned, and lacking depth of flavor.  Sadness.  The potatoes in it were also softer than I like.

Clam Chowder: Clams!

The clams inside were fantastic though.  Plenty of clams.  All different pieces and parts.  Chewy in the right way.  I loved the clams.  But didn't like the chowder.  

I ate all the clam bits I could possibly extract, used a little chowder sorta as a sauce with some greens, and gave up, added potatoes and bacon, and gave it to my dad.  "Hey dad, I got you potato bacon chowder!".  Sssh.  He'll never know.

**.

Wood Fired Bologna.

Bologna.  Oh bologna.  Such an underrated meat!

Yes, I love bologna.  I remember coming home from school, and making little rolls of bologna, slices of cheese, TONS of mayo.  And, once I got a bit older, some mustard or pickles or relish too.

My love of good quality bologna continued into adulthood, although I often went more for mortadella as my tastes "matured".  I also discovered frying slices of deli meat, or broiling them with cheese, and, well, yeah.  The love continued!

When I heard they had a special one day with their own house made wood fired bologna ... I needed it.  Stat.  But, alas, I was stuck in meetings and really couldn't make it there.  My parents were both working too, so I couldn't beg anyone to go on a "mission" for me.

And then, the next day, my mom got an unexpected day off.  I had one thought: wood fired bologna!  I called the store to find out if they had any left, and indeed, they did.  Very little, and only for those who knew it seemed, since no longer in a special, nor on a menu.

I sent my mom to score me some (thank you mommy!).

She came home with my prize, and when she handed it over, and I opened it up ... oh, wow.  The smoky aroma was insane.  It was sooooo smoky.

One bite and I was in heaven.  It was seriously quality bologna, no strange texture or bits, and the smokiness was just unbelievable.  I loved it, I loved it so much.

The slices were all cut to different thicknesses, which worked out great.  Medium thick ones I could roll up, sometimes with cheese, or mayo, or pickles, or mustard, or relish, or onion jam ... sometimes just alone, and devour, just as I had as a kid.  I loved it this way.  Thin ones I used in little sandwiches, but that was my least favorite, as the incredible bologna wasn't quite as fully featured.  I also slathered one with fancy mustard and a slice of swiss and broiled it like I used to do too, and it got crispy and greasy and was good, but again, the roll ups still the best.  And then there were super thick "steaks", just full of bologna goodness, best to just chop up and throw into a great salad, with plenty of remoulade and pickles and juicy tomatoes to compliment it.  I imagined heating these up too, like ham steaks.

Basically, delicious in all ways, yes, it is still bologna, but it is seriously, seriously good bologna.  The best I've ever had.  I'd get it again, obviously.

****+.

Friday Special: School Street Poutine. $6.99.

"Handcut fries, house gravy, + cheddar." 

Ok.  I'll start with the obvious: no, this is not authentic Canadian style poutine.  There are no cheese curds in sight.  But you know what?  I don't care.  Because this was DELICIOUS.

The base, french fries.  Handcut fries, always on the menu at Marsh Bros Deli.  They had some skin on, were average thickness, and nicely fried, a style that was both soft and crispy at the same time, not too greasy.  You could actually taste the potato.  I think the fries would be fairly good, as just fries, dunked in ketchup, bbq sauce, hot sauce, etc normally, if you are a fries person.

And then ... the house gravy.  Swoon.  Zomg.  It was excellent.  Seriously, gravy perfection.  Beef base, likely with their own drippings from their roast beef, pastrami, or brisket.  Solid roux.  Lovely spicing.  Honestly, the best gravy I've had in ... years, in any application.  Gravy perfection, and there was plenty of it, soaking into the fries in all the good ways.

The fries, smothered in the gravy, were, well, just insanely delicious.  The fries were soft of course, but they should be in poutine.  Since they actually tasted like potato, with the gravy, had the flavor profile of the best mashed potatoes and gravy you've ever had, but, in a far more fun form factor.

Ok, and now for that cheese.  No, it was not curds.  This was called "School Street Poutine", after all, giving the license to do them as they pleased (School Street is where they are located).  And in their world, that meant cheddar (white cheddar).  Perfectly melted on top.

Haters can hate on the use of not curds.  I do see the appeal of not using curds, just due to the fact that it was so melty instead, and unmelty curds are a peeve of mine.  The cheddar flavor was strong, likely sharp Cabot cheddar.  It did go well with the gravy and fries.  But ... there was a lot of it.  Now, if I was pairing this poutine with a salad, or something lighter in any way, I think I'd be all in for the cheese here.  But I was (totally unreasonably) pairing it with a pork belly / pulled pork / ham / swiss / etc, decadent sandwich special, and had my cheese and more fats needs met very well there, so the cheese here was a bit much for me.  I can't blame them for my poor decision making though!

I could not stop eating the fries and gravy, even though I had an equally delicious sandwich as well.  Seriously, that gravy.  So perfect.  I may or may not, have, in public, licked, literally, the foil they came in clean to get every last drop of that gravy.  Insanity.  I'd get it again in a heartbeat, although I think I'd likely leave off the cheese (or get minimal?).  Or maybe leave off cheese and get pulled pork on the side and call it a meal ... (not sure the pulled pork and gravy would go very well though ...).

****+.

Special: 3 Little Pigs Sammie. $9.99.

"Woodfired pork belly, woodfired pulled pork, ham, swiss, dijion mustard, + cole slaw." 

Oh, man.  Seriously, the poutine was good, and we got this the same visit, but, it was equally good.  And equally a carb and cheese and grease fest, in a glorious way.

Another special from the menu that day, even though I was planning to get the more reasonable cubano (also has pulled pork, ham, swiss, dijion mustard, but has pickles instead of slaw, salami instead of pork belly, and is just in a toasted bun, not a buttered brioche ...).  How do you resist something with pulled pork and pork belly and cheese and slaw ...

My eyes went wide when I saw it, terrified, but also, absolutely thrilled.  I mean really, look at the cheese, the meat and slaw spilling out, and the mustardy goodness dripping down the sides.

Since I was splitting with my mother I asked to have it cut in half, which was done for us, but with difficulty.  I'm glad I asked though, there is no way we could have done it.  The result was a bit messy (ok, a lot messy), and not 100% equal, but, it worked.

It was a sloppy, juicy, creamy, fatty, decadent, fairly glorious creation.  We both ended up eating our pork products/slaw/cheese/etc bits with a fork though, and just ate the bread separate, keeping it as a sandwich was impossible.

It didn't matter, it was delicious this way anyway.

Let's dive in, starting with the bread.  The specials menu didn't list what kind of bread it would come on, and, not being a sandwich girl I kinda assumed it would be a throwaway component for me, just some kind of sliced bread, but I should have known better.  I planned to try it of course, but thought I'd mostly be taking the meats out, and getting my carb fill from the poutine anyway.  This was *not* a throwaway bread component.  It was a brioche bun, already a winning item in my book, and prepared perfectly.  Slightly toasty, nicely warm, and, um, I'm pretty sure buttered, even though there was soooo much fat and richness in the 3 meats, the cheese, and the creamy mayo laden slaw.

Honestly, I adored the brioche bun, just smothered in mayo from the slaw and all the juices it soaked up.  I had no "favorite bite" at Marsh Bros Deli because sooo many things were insanely good, and I know this sounds crazy, but I found bites of the bun (and everything stuck to it/soaked in), just as glorious as the fries and gravy in the poutine, or, the fillings inside the sandwich.

So very very very good.  *****.

But let's dive in.

Special: 3 Little Pigs Sammie: Top Layer.

The top bun, as you can see here, was nicely grilled, and as I said, I think buttered.  And delicious.

Against it was creamy mustard (mustard aioli? or was there just so much mayo from the slaw ...), crunchy well dressed creamy slaw, and I think melty cheese, plus the layer of pulled pork, in all its fatty, juicy deliciousness.  Under that?  More cheese, more creamy mustard ... and many more meats ...

The slaw was literally the only vegetable we had in our meal (ok, potatoes are vegetables, but you know what I mean), and was most welcome.  The sweetness that I hadn't liked in the standalone slaw was absolutely fine here, and in fact, just paired quite nicely with the pulled pork.  As did the mustardy goodness.  Excellent components, again, so very tasty with that brioche bun.  I piled on the slaw that slid out, and truly enjoyed my open-faced bun smothered in that stuff.

And used my fork to eat the pulled pork.  It was juicy, smoky, flavorful.  Some bits pulled like you can see here, some thicker, meatier chunks.  All a bit crispy, and so very moist.

The pulled pork was my favorite of the three meats, no question.  I instantly wanted to try the pulled pork sandwich next visit (or the cubano, they both have it).  I also really wanted bbq sauce to pair with, and went back in to get some, as I knew they had it.  It was even better with some of that too.

Special 3 Little Pigs Sammie: Pork belly, ham.

Here you can see the other two pigs, the pork belly (top right) and the ham.

I went into this thinking pork belly, as in the style that is a thick juicy fatty delicious piece of belly, with a crisp crackling skin.  I was confused at first as I dug through my sandwich.  Where were the slices of pork belly?  And why was there flabby bacon in my sandwich?  Yeah, ok, n00b.  That was clearly the pork belly, just not the style I was expecting.

I'll admit that I don't really care for pork belly of that style.  I felt bad, as I had convinced my mom to split this with me, rather than the cubano that she wanted more because she doesn't like pork belly, and I proclaimed that she just hadn't had good pork belly.  Oops.  I saved mine mostly, and took it home to try grilling it up.

The ham also let me down a bit, but only because I don't really like ham that much, as in, an Easter ham has zero appeal to me.  But a thin sliced or shaved smoked deli ham I do like from time to time.  This was somewhere in-between, a much thicker, ham steak style than I was anticipating.  It did have a lovely aroma to it, and ham and swiss go so very well together, but oops, not what I was wanting exactly.

Under the final meats was ... yup, another layer of slaw, another layer of creamy mayo, and the rest of the bun, equally soaked in deliciousness.  You can bet I adored that bun just as much, if not more.

It may sound like I just liked the bun, pulled pork, and condiments, which is quasi-true, but really, when I combined it all, added some bbq or hot sauce, it really was delicious.  My *ideal* meats were a different style, but this was damn good.  Certainly the best sandwich I've had in years.

I left, inspired to return for the pulled pork sandwich, to return for the cubano, to return for ... well, anything really.  The deliciousness level this deli is capable of is quite clear.

Hot Sauce / Bbq Sauce.

I think the hot sauce and bbq sauce are both commercial brands (the bbq is Bulleye?), but they do make some sauces/spreads in house as well (like the carolina bbq).  

Both were good quality though, and great to dunk any of the smoked meats in.  Highly recommend getting them on the side (or in your sando if you prefer).  The bbq was particularly "bold", if that makes sense.