Pantele's Desert Deli is an Oasis of Freshness.

Pantele's Desert Deli

98 East Center Street
Moab, Utah, 84532

(435) 259-0200
Fax: (435) 259-0050

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Panteles-Desert-Deli/260445626649

Several times I have tried to have a meal at Pantele's Desert Deli, but they've always been closed early; I have finally found out the secret why. The menu items are so good, they're sold out in mere hours; better get in there between 11am to 2pm; or place an order via phone or fax, otherwise you're out of luck.

The interior of Pantele's is simple; counter for ordering and simple tables and chairs for dining at.  The staff, however, make it special by being very friendly and welcoming; Mary is all smiles and very cheery; owner Bella is vibrant, and passionate about her food and the business itself.  Bella owns the business with her husband, Eric; but she is the tidal wave force behind it all.

Arriving at 2:30pm, there was a "Sorry, We're Closed" sign on the window and I thought we'd missed our chance to try Pantele's again.  However, there were diners inside, so I decided to try anyway; good thing I did!  Yes, they were sold out of most items, but ingredients for a Gyro were still available; yelling out to my hubby in the car, we both ordered the Gyro with a side of potato salad. 

After getting our drinks, it did not take long for our order to come to our table.  The potato salad was to die for!!!  Chunks of tender, real potatoes in a creamy, seasoned mixture of mayonnaise, salt, paprika....and I couldn't get Bella to give me her secret recipe.  I was so enjoying the potato salad, I almost forgot about the Gyro.  Again...to die for!!!  The meat is cut into sections instead of long strips, and grilled to sizzling goodness.  The tomatoes, onions and herbs are so fresh, and the Tzatziki sauce was amazing; not a drop went to waste.  My hubby inhaled his meal; I had to keep swatting his hand away as he kept reaching for mine.

Perusing the menu as we ate, we saw many items we wanted to try out at another time.  For convenience, boxed lunches are available which is great for all the hikers and adventurers we get in the area.  Bella explained that Pantele's only creates about 20 servings of the menu items per day to keep the freshness scale at 100%.  Instead of buying cheaper ingredients in bulk, these smaller amounts of servings ensures freshness and high quality.  Impressive nowadays when fast food and frozen ingredients seem to be becoming the standard in too many eateries.

So here is the gist of Pantele's Desert Deli; get there or order early; owner and staff are friendly and let you know they want and appreciate their customers; the food is made daily with fresh, high quality ingredients.  It's a win situation!!!  Unfortunately, now that you know about Pantele's, it's going to be even harder to get a meal there in the future.

Mary Cokenour