Bowie Restaurant Project: (40) One Town Center Deli

For an explanation of the Bowie Restaurant Project, look here.

For a list of all the Bowie Restaurant Project reviews, look here.

One Town Center Deli, 4201 Northview Rd.

Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 01/05/2012
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

You might think a deli in an office building is an automatic candidate for a low rating. Certain types of restaurants -- fast-food joints, places where the only "meal" is a hot dog -- don't have much of a chance going in. But one of my criteria is "how much the restaurant contributes to the Bowie restaurant landscape."

Bowie is trying to attract commercial development to go with its fairly healthy residential and retail sectors. I imagine saying, "Your employees with love the convenience of not having to leave the building/office park, and you'll love the fact that they'll be able to get right back to work," would help lure a business to Bowie.

On the other hand, the office park in question, is literally across the street from the Bowie Town Center mall, which itself has about a quarter of Bowie's restaurant options. So although I'd eat there if I worked in that building, it's a little less essential.

Sad soda selection

On my visits, while the food was acceptable, I found other aspects of the execution sub-par. They only take cash, which is not convenient. On both visits (two days apart), the soda cooler was not particularly well-stocked. And both sandwiches I ordered ended up being wrapped with an unnecessary piece of styrofoam, which is not cool from an environmental standpoint.

So if you're already in the office park, I say go for it, unless you can spare the extra five minutes to head to the mall. But everyone else has better choices in Bowie.