Waxy's Delicatessen

184 Locke St. S.

905-577-9299

The look: Tiny, modest

The feel: Chatty, fun

What you'll pay: Sandwiches are offered at "a buck an ounce," including $3.50 to $5.50 for egg salad. The smoked meat, corned beef, pastrami, roast beef and salami run from $4 to $6. And the oven-roasted turkey is $5 to $7. They come on a variety of rye breads and kaisers with a wide choice of condiments. Sides include potato salad and coleslaw in 75-cent to $3 sizes. Combos on top of a sandwich include pop, dill pickle and two sides for an extra $3. Waxy's Wowser includes two ounces each of smoked meat, corned beef and pastrami with pickle for $7. And the hot dog steamie is $3.

The hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Not wheelchair accessible.

OK, it's time to confess an indulgence that is scarcely haute cuisine.

I like hot dogs.

And I had a very good one last Saturday at Waxy's Delicatessen on Locke Street South.

I had actually resisted the pull of the hot dog steamie on a previous visit, trying the corned beef on a kaiser ($4) with sides of potato salad and coleslaw (75 cents each) instead.

It was good, the shavings of corned beef piled high on a kaiser that might have been a bit fresher.

The potato salad and coleslaw in little plastic tubs was very fresh and monster dill pickle ($1) nailed down a corner of the foam platter.

I sat at the only table in the tiny eatery, a wrought-iron perch for two by a large window overlooking the busy sidewalk in the trendy neighbourhood.

But that steamie called me back and this time I indulged the secret passion on a bench in front of the deli, which can't be missed with its lime green paint job.

I'm particular about my hot dogs. I prefer all-beef and no crusty barbecue treatments, thanks, with attendant stiff bun.

The steamed version, with bun heated that way, too, makes for a soft and easy-to-handle package.

Steven Waxman (Waxy) uses eggbread hot dog buns with his substantial beef cylinders, so the $3 treat was a cheap and good lunch on the run as I watched folks enjoying a glorious early-fall day.

Waxman runs a deli-meats catering business and turned some of the operation retail and takeout a few months ago.

It runs in the family. Two uncles ran delis on York Boulevard before a 1970s urban renewal project relocated them.

Waxy's joins other small informal eateries in what is becoming something of a noshing node.

Bad Dog Cafe and The Courtyard operate to the south and Le Gourmet moved from the Waxy's location to a spot closer to Main Street. It features Mexican and Italian fare.

jkernaghan@thespec.com

905-526-3422