Revenge is a dish best served cold—or in chef Michael Cherney’s case, a dish best served cured.The co-owner of peasants DELI & MARKET explained why he considers his Cinco Jotas Jamón sandwich—made with a rarely found, imported cured ham from Spain—such a tasty reprisal.
“When I worked for Robuchon in Las Vegas for three years, it was every new cooks’ nightmare. We could never get it ‘right,’” Michael said, referring to the intricacies of the jamón carving station. “Plus, we were on display in front of all the guests in a Michelin star restaurant. The stakes were high. We didn’t have YouTube videos to watch that taught us how to do it, where they slice an entire jamón in one 20-minute video.
“It was difficult,” Michael continued. “Each section of the jamón is different, not to mention there are bones and knuckles.”
The chef recalled an instance when his superior at the time threw his knife into a trash can “because I wasn’t slicing it correctly,” Michael said. “Having the jamón at the deli is my revenge.”
The vengeful ham is just one of several artisanal meat options available at peasants DELI & MARKET, which celebrated its grand opening to the public at the end of January. Michael co-owns the Solvang eatery with his wife, Sarah Cherney. The duo also runs peasants FEAST, which they opened in 2020 and is within walking distance of their newest venture.
“When we opened peasants FEAST, we had our eye on a couple of places in town and said to ourselves that as soon as one of those spots were vacant, we’d open a deli in it,” Sarah said. “We wanted to keep the deli close by, so that we could continue to run both businesses and be involved with both ourselves.”
The drive to open a deli specifically came from Michael, Sarah said, who described their new project as the manifestation of her husband’s connection to his father.
Most of Michael’s childhood memories of his dad, who passed away about two decades ago, revolve around food, specifically the times he’d take him out to hole-in-the-wall delis throughout Los Angeles County. Upon Googling his favorite delis from that time, Michael was saddened to find out that some have either permanently closed, or, hopefully, are still around but don’t have an internet presence.
“One of the delis I can think of, that is still around, is Brent’s Deli in the San Fernando Valley. Hot pastrami on rye is still the best I’ve ever had,” Michael said. “We did a little road trip down to LA a few months back when we were planning the deli. I ordered one, and it is just as good as I remember.”
Before opening peasants DELI & MARKET, Michael and Sarah decided to host some pop-up events in Solvang to give the community a teaser of what they had in mind for the deli.
“Pop-ups are the best. They’re so much fun. A lot of pressure, but still fun. It’s good to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. Not knowing if anyone will show up, or in these days, if your product is going to show up,” Michael said, referring to the unpredictability that comes with working in the food industry during the ongoing pandemic. “It’s scary. But totally worth it.”
Michael described public feedback to the duo’s pre-deli pop-up events with one word: unreal.
“People went crazy over these sandwiches. We couldn’t believe it. We sold out in about an hour each time,” Michael said. “For weeks after, we’d have people at the main restaurant [peasants FEAST] asking how they could get their hands on one of the pop-up sandwiches.”
Based on her experience working the counter and casually conversing with customers during these pop-up events, Sarah said she expects the deli to provide a refreshingly intimate setting for its patrons, especially when compared to the hustle and bustle of peasants FEAST.
“Working the deli gives me the opportunity to interact with every customer who walks through the door, as opposed to working peasants FEAST, where we’re all sharing duties and all over the floor,” Sarah said. “The one-on-one time and connection with each deli customer allows us to tell the story about both places, peasants DELI and peasants FEAST.”
Sarah’s personal favorite sandwich offered at peasants DELI & MARKET so far is the Godfather, an Italian sandwich with barolo salami, sopressa salami, coppa, prosciutto, smoked provolone, sweet and spicy pepper relish, and more.
Contrary to what many readers could assume, this mafia-sounding sub wasn’t named after the classic Francis Ford Coppola film.
“When I was a teenager, I started a car crew—just to be clear, it was nothing special, couple Civics, a BMW M3, it was around the time we turned 16 and The Fast and the Furious had just come out—and that car crew was named ‘Godfather Inc.,’” said Michael, who dubbed the sandwich Godfather as a loving nod to his youth.
Although Michael exclusively ate roast beef and turkey sandwiches as a kid, Italian sandwiches became his favorite as he got older.
“While I am still a huge fan of roast beef and turkey, I have fallen in love with the Italian. It’s what I use to measure how good a deli or sandwich shop is,” Michael said. “Note that I cook—and eat—as a career, so I try anything. But nothing takes me home like the Italian.”
Country roads take Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood home. Send comments to [email protected].
