(Shoji Kudaka)
Five Star Deli near the Sunabe Seawall in Chatan City has garnered a lot of popularity on Okinawa. I was curious about the sandwich joint, so I decided to give it a try.
You’ll find Five Star close to skateboarder hangout Sunabe Baba Koen inside a “gaijin juutaku,” or foreigner residence. Gaijin juutaku are houses that were once used as homes for Americans living off base and are now experiencing second lives as local businesses.
The spacious interior with a counter at the end allows for the constant stream of customers to enter without crowding each other. Soon, it was my turn to order from the menu listing many familiar sandwiches I’d tried before. Some of the standard deli sandwiches on the menu include a Philly cheesesteak, BLT, roast beef sandwich and Reuben.
My initial instinct was to go for the “Five Star Club.” I thought the best option would be the sandwich carrying the name of the restaurant. To my surprise, however, owner Benjamin Taku Marceau suggested the Reuben sandwich when I approached the counter.
Marceau is friendly and because he is bilingual, he can easily converse with all the customers. His helpful suggestion convinced me that perhaps a Reuben would be a good choice for my first visit to Five Star. To wash it down, I also ordered a Coca Cola (330 yen, approx. $2.20).
If you’re not in a hurry, Five Star Deli has plenty of seating to enjoy their delicious sandwiches on site, including outdoors. I took a seat by the window for lunch and a view.
The last time I had a Reuben sandwich was more than two decades ago. I was living in Miami then, and you could order the sandwich consisting of pastrami (or corned beef), Swiss cheese and sauerkraut, smothered in thousand island dressing and served on rye at just about any sandwich shop. But to be honest, Reuben sandwiches were hardly my go-to. They were just what I ordered when I was tired of Cuban sandwiches, so I wasn’t sure how Five Star Deli would change my mind.
One bite in and I knew why Marceau confidently suggested the delectable Reuben. The salty sauerkraut and greasy pastrami paired with the melted Swiss cheese was a nice balance for the aroma and texture of the baked rye. The creamy, tangy thousand island dressing added a burst of flavor to tie it all together. Soon, the sandwich was something I didn’t want to end.
Marceau explained that in New York City delis are open around the clock and that the meat for Reuben sandwiches takes hours to prepare. Unlike in New York, Five Star Deli is not open 24 hours, but the restaurant dedicates a tremendous amount of time to the preparation of their sandwich ingredients. For Five Star Deli’s Reuben alone, the pastrami is marinated for a week in 13 spices and herbs, four different sugars and three different salts.
The time and dedication are what makes the Reuben so delicious. And, though its birthplace is contested between Omaha and New York City in the States, there’s no denying that a good Reuben is hard to resist.
And for someone getting reacquainted with the Reuben like me, there is no better place to dive back into that taste of Omaha, New York (or in my case, Miami), than heading to Five Star for a delightful meal.
Five Star Deli GPS Coordinates: 26.333528, 127.746305 Hours: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Instagram
*Closed on Wed. *No on-site parking space
*Philly Cheese Steak (1,540 – 2,200 yen, approx. $10.27 – $14.76), “The BLT (990 yen)”, “Roast Beef (1,500 yen)”, and “The Ruben (1,400 yen)
*The above prices include 10% dine-in tax. To-go purchases will be 8% tax with additional 50 yen for box charge.
*Credit card payment accepted.
