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Restaurant Talk: Local favorite Delimart resides within a S
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Posted by lward Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:16:00 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments We've all heard the old saying, "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach." But what if our eyes were fooling our stomachs in a totally different way?

For instance, if you drive by the corner of Rosedale Highway and Calloway Drive, your eyes may only see the Shell Station and keep driving.

And your stomach will forever be deprived of that bacon cheeseburger or barbecue beef sandwich at Delimart, a special little restaurant with fast-food prices located behind the station and unbeknownst to the casual passer-by.

Not that Delimart is a secret to longtime Northwest residents -- especially the oil field and construction workers who are waiting at 3:30 a.m. for their biscuits and gravy and may come back at lunch for a steak or tri-tip sandwich with fries.

Diana Meyer and her husband, Greg, have owned and operated Delimart out of the same location for 23 years. They started the business with two partners, whom they eventually bought out.

"I went through two pregnancies and a lot of life changes here," said Diana, laughing. Her two sons, Chad and Zachary, went to school in the Norris District and grew up behind the counter and in the kitchen.

A Bakersfield native, Diana says her current career as a restaurateur is a combination of two jobs she held in high school.

"I worked at a convenience store and at the North Kern Golf Course flipping burgers," she said.

Greg, originally from Montana, had a good job but was out of town a lot. "I wanted him home. Opening a breakfast and lunch spot seemed like a good way to ensure that," said Diana, who explained that the location was chosen because one of the neighbors of the original partner owned the property.

The decor inside the mini-mart/deli isn't fancy, but it has charming local touches, like hunters' pictures from dove season. Some customers choose-take-out, and they may have to, because the six Delimart tables and the counter are usually full -- and full of familiar faces.

"We're old-fashioned Bakersfield. It's always, ‘How's so-and-so?' I've watched our customers' children grow up. Some of our former employees' children are even working for us now, and I think that's a high compliment. You don't see that in other places," said Diana.

Breakfast is served from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. daily. Favorites include the biscuits and gravy ($1.99 for small and $2.59 for large) and breakfast burrito (sausage, bacon, or ham and egg for $3.69).

Lunch items include numerous burger choices, all of which come with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions, like the buffalo burger ($5.99), cowboy burger (bacon, jack, onion ring and barbecue sauce for $3.89), garden burger ($3.49), and, for something different, the Hawaiian burger (pineapple, barbecue sauce and green onion for $3.89).

Hot-off-the-grill sandwiches, which come with "the works," include the tri-tip beef ($4.19), tuna melt with jack cheese ($4.19) and chicken-fried steak ($2.99).

Or you can choose from deli sandwiches, which vary in price depending on whether you want a roll/sourdough/rye or wheat/white bread. Deli sandwiches, like the pastrami and cheese ($4.19/$3.59), egg salad ($4.19/$3.59) and dry salami and cheese ($4.19/$3.59) also come with "the works."

Other choices include taquitos (three for $199) and corn dogs ($1.09), and there are daily lunch specials, as well.

For the past 19 years, Greg has been holding a Friday night New York steak barbecue beginning at 5 p.m. Steaks are cooked over oak wood. Customers get a steak, potato, green salad and roll for $9.69 and it's a good idea to call your order in early.

Delimart
9628 Rosedale Highway
569-5640, 589-0369
Open 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday
Open Friday to 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday deli closes 3:30 p.m.

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