By Talia Dennis and Taylor Markey
Talia’s mom loves a good deli, but they are not always friendly to a college student’s wallet. Taste-T decided to find a reasonably priced deli with quality food. So’s Your Mom, on 1831 Columbia Road NW, met these two requirements.
The deli sells sandwiches, bagels, salads and soups ready to order. It is also a mini market with jam, spaghetti and other items on the shelves, along with ready-to-sliced deli meat to take home.
The only way to pay is with cash, which is important to know before going.
On the floor near the entrance are barrels of coffee beans that can be ground up and brewed at home. However, there is nowhere to sit inside due to the market items. Some people sit outside the deli and eat their food.
After we ordered, it was about a five-minute wait, which wasn’t too bad.
We sat in an open area on the corner of Columbia Road NW and 18th Street NW. It was a beautiful, cloudless day. While we ate, a musician played the trumpet on the corner with his adorable dog by his side.
The best time to go to So’s Your Mom is on a warm, sunny day because it is only about three quarters of a mile from the Columbia Heights Metro Station, and there is no indoor seating. However, going for brunch really starts the day off right.

(Taylor Markey/Bloc Reporter)
Taylor: Out of the now four places we have gone to, this is by far my favorite. I ordered a bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich on whole wheat bread ($5.65); a regular BLT is $4.65. I got the bread toasted and had mayonnaise on it, as well.
I love sandwiches, so I was obviously excited to eat at this place. I could smell the avocado even before unwrapping my sandwich. It looked amazing.
The bacon was not too salty, and it was extremely crispy. Everything mixed together very well. I am usually not a tomato person, but I actually liked having it on my sandwich.
Everything tasted extremely fresh, and I felt like I was being “healthy” for once (even though I totally was not).
I have no complaints on this sandwich. It was completely perfect in my eyes (and in my stomach). I felt very full after eating and was able to finish the entire sandwich, which is something that does not happen often with me.

Talia: Growing up, I was fortunate to be introduced to the bagel, cream cheese and lox combination. I think it’s the breakfast I would choose to have for the rest of my life. I ordered a toasted plain bagel with a lox spread and an iced coffee. My entire order was $5.87.
Several other menu items looked absolutely delicious, but I could not resist ordering my favorite breakfast. I will have to try something else the next time I go.
The bagel was toasted perfectly, and it tasted fresh. The balance of lox to cream cheese in the spread was terrific, too. Lox is fairly salty, so having it as a spread worked really well. I was not overpowered by salt and was incredibly content with my food.
I was also very happy with my iced coffee. I added cream and sweetener to it, but it maintained a fresh taste.
My breakfast just put me in a happy mood.
Final Thoughts: The word we used the most to describe So’s Your Mom is fresh. We were impressed with the price and the high-quality food. The only complaint we have is the lack of seating. But overall, this deli’s food is DELIcious!
Featured Photo Credit: The menu board at So’s Your Mom lists the items and their prices. (Talia Dennis/Bloc Reporter)