Park bench and a pastrami on rye? Not now. This is the season for eating indoors. So Lunch Break headed to an office building-the East Tower of Bethesda’s Air Rights Center- and visited two carryouts within steps of one another. Both are run by Korean-born husband-and-wife teams. Both have hot and cold salad bars, serve homemade soups and do catering. And both charge reasonable prices for food that’s better than the usual office building fare.
What to expect
Jean’s Deli
Transformed in 2007 from a former travel agency, Jean’s is modern and airy, with none of that clammy cafeteria feel. A wall of windows offers a bank of light, and there are a few stools and tall tables for talking shop. Jean’s also has its own entrance on Elm Street.
Nabi’s Lunch Box
This space has housed delis since the early 1980s, so the décor is more dated than Jean’s and the location is darker. Nonetheless, Nabi’s has a large, comfortable seating area, a generously stocked lending rack of magazines and two big TVs. This is a good place to get lost in reading or talking heads. Or chess-two patrons play here a couple of times a week.
Meet the owners
Jean’s Deli
It was 1983 when Jean and Sesoon Hwang moved from Korea to the Washington, D.C., area so Sesoon could pursue a masters’ degree at Catholic University. Jean had been a high school English teacher back home. In Virginia, she would prepare Korean food or big platters of sandwiches for her sons’ school events and activities. At some point, she realized she could turn her impromptu catering into a business.
So in 1989, when Plain ‘n Fancy Donuts on Waverly Street in Bethesda went under, Jean’s Donuts was born. Before long, the Hwangs branched out to lunch and renamed the shop Jean’s Donut and Deli. Then the block was bulldozed to make way for the Hilton Garden Inn, and Jean and her husband moved into the Air Rights building. It’s Jean’s Deli now, but doughnuts are still a big draw-as is Jean, a gentle, soft-spoken woman who’s been turning out tuna melts for 20 years.
Nabi’s Lunch Box
There’s no Nabi- she was the daughter of the previous owner, and, before that, the Epicure Deli operated in the space for nearly two decades. James and Susan Hong have been running Nabi’s since 2005; James is usually at the cash register, and Susan and staffer Jose Amaya do the cooking.
The Hongs came to the United States more than 30 years ago and have been in the food business ever since-operating the cafeteria at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission when it was located in Hyattsville and, more recently, running delis across the river in Reston and Ashburn.
Who eats here
Jean has her devotees, many of whom followed her to the Air Rights Center after she moved from Waverly Street. Nabi’s has its fan base, too, including students from nearby Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. And plenty of people frequent both.
Tameko O’Neal, the building’s concierge, hits Nabi’s for the breakfast special every morning (two eggs, turkey bacon, home fries and toast or a bagel, $4.19) and then heads to Jean’s for lunch. On Wednesdays, Jean makes ribs, and O’Neal buys extra to take home to her son and boyfriend for dinner. Jared Blum, president of a trade association with offices in the building, checks out the offerings at both restaurants before deciding where he’ll buy lunch. Nearly every day, Blum and his co-workers grab a bite from one of the carryouts and eat together in the association’s conference room. Given all the higher-end choices in Bethesda, he notes, “It says something about Nabi’s and Jean’s that they’re able to keep us in the building.”
Vital statistics
Jean’s Deli
7315 Wisconsin Ave.
(Air Rights Center-East Tower), Bethesda
301-654-5436
Open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Seating: yes
Nabi’s Lunch Box
7315 Wisconsin Ave.
(Air Rights Center-East Tower), Bethesda
301-654-4515
Open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Seating: yes
Carryout picks
Jean’s Deli
With almost 100 cookbooks at home, Jean likes to experiment. So while the deli carries the usual selection of sandwiches and wraps, Jean also serves up fresh, inventive and terrific salads each day, such as shrimp with diced peppers or spinach with raspberries. Items on the cold salad bar are generally better than those on the hot, but the Wednesday ribs are tender and meaty. And if any doughnuts are left over from breakfast, grab one and diet tomorrow.
Nabi’s Lunch Box
Real turkey is hard to find in deli sandwiches these days, but Nabi’s roasts a few whole breasts each day, and the result is a welcome step up from processed meat. Unfortunately, not all the turkey sandwiches are made with the real thing, so make sure the selection denotes “hand-carved” if that’s what you’re after. Still, “Nabi’s Best” is a perfectly proportioned combo of good-quality processed turkey, crispy bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato on a warm and toasty roll.