TAMMY’S DELI & BAKERY: It’s the mystery that will keep you coming back for more.

TAMMY’S DELI & BAKERY: It’s the mystery that will keep you coming back for more.

I often lament the fact that Seattle lacks a truly great New York delicatessen, a place where you can get pastrami sandwiches and knishes. But every time my friend Ben visits from Brooklyn, I’m reminded how the grass in Seattle really is greener.

My friend is obsessed with the city’s Vietnamese delis. On each trip, he works his way through not only various banh mi fillings, but also the many (often unlabeled) offerings that line the stainless-steel tables of delis across town: Styrofoam trays holding grilled meatballs; translucent, dumpling-like objects; and blocks of striped, brilliant-colored jellies—all wrapped tightly in cellophane, gleaming mysteriously under the fluorescent lights…

Angela Garbes began her food writing career as a freelancer for The Stranger in 2006, joined the staff in 2014, and is now freelancing once again amid writing books; Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through...