A whole pickle with a good snap is a fitting companion for a Nelson Cheese & Deli sandwich: direct, generous and not especially interested in being dainty. Near Snelling and Como, close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, this compact neighborhood shop has built its lunch-day reputation on fresh, generously filled sandwiches that are meant to satisfy.
The room is small and busy, with sandwich prep, a salad station, deli case, cheeses, chips, drinks and sweets all sharing the space. Regulars and takeout customers keep the counter moving, and the overall mood is informal and neighborly rather than polished or precious.
This is a takeout stop, not a place to settle in over a long lunch. There is no indoor seating, so sandwiches commonly head out to a car, an office, a nearby park or another stop around the Como area.
A menu for working through slowly
The menu is broad enough to reward repeat visits. There are familiar deli standards, hot sandwiches, club sandwiches and house-named combinations with enough options to keep a regular from falling into the same order every time.
The Town of Nelson is a natural place to start, particularly for someone who likes to make a sandwich their own. It can be customized with spicy Monterey Jack, and the shop's wide range of fixings includes sprouts along with the usual sandwich-building choices.
The St. Paul Special and Santa Fe show the more straightforward side of the menu: ingredient-focused sandwiches with the emphasis on a substantial build rather than a fussy presentation. They suit the person who wants a dependable lunch and wants it soon.
For a little more heat and heft, the New Orleans goes in a buffalo-chicken direction. Herb mayonnaise and bacon have made their way into at least one favored version, a reminder that the menu leaves room for a personal touch.
The Hot Hero comes with a house special sauce and belongs to the more filling hot-sandwich side of the board. Hot sandwiches can take a bit longer than cold or specialty orders during a rush, but the separate pickup arrangement helps keep the counter from turning into one large knot of people waiting for very different things.
Then there are the old-school deli pleasures. A Reuben on caraway rye has the right sort of sturdy, savory appeal, while the Meatball sandwich brings peppers into the mix. The Philly Beef and Cheese, Kansas City BBQ, Rachel, Hamline, California Club, Como Club, Lexington and BLT give the menu plenty of other directions to explore.
Not just a sandwich counter
The cheese in the name is not decorative. Nelson carries a cheese selection alongside its sandwich and deli offerings, and aged cheddar is a notable find for anyone stopping in to browse beyond the lunch board.
The deli case expands the visit further. Beef sticks and other grab-and-go items make it easy to pick up something for later, or to build a low-effort snack stash before heading home.
The salad bar is a fresh, varied alternative when a large sandwich is not the plan. It also gives a mixed lunch group another option without sending anyone elsewhere.
Pasta salad, soups, hot dogs and other deli-case selections round out the savory side. Whole pickles are available for people who prefer their pickle with maximum crunch rather than a few polite slices on the side.
Cookies and other small sweets cover dessert without requiring a major commitment. The drink case includes craft sodas, plus the chips and cold drinks that make a counter-order lunch feel complete.
A busy little operation that keeps moving
Lunch can bring a line, especially soon after opening, and the compact interior can feel visually busy when several people are studying the menu at once. Looking over the choices before stepping fully into the ordering flow can make the process easier.
Still, the pace is generally efficient. Specialty sandwiches and hot sandwiches use separate pickup points, a simple bit of counter choreography that helps customers collect their food without having to guess which cluster is theirs.
Cold and specialty sandwiches tend to come together quickly. Hot orders may need a little more time when the lunch rush is on, but this is a shop organized around getting substantial food out the door rather than asking customers to linger.
That efficiency has also made Nelson Cheese & Deli a recurring choice for workplace and client lunches. Sandwich-based catering orders, including potato salad, fit the same practical formula as a personal lunch: plenty of food, plenty of choice and an uncomplicated pickup routine.
A good stop around Como
Nelson sits conveniently for a food stop around the Como and fairgrounds area. A sandwich can easily become the portable portion of an afternoon that includes the nearby zoo, the fairgrounds neighborhood or a park a few blocks east.
Free parking is available behind the building, and free street parking is also reported nearby. Spaces can be harder to find during busier periods, which is one more reason the fast-moving takeout setup is useful.
A lettuce-wrap order can arrive as a substantial leafy wrap around the fillings rather than a token leaf under a pile of meat and cheese. It is a small detail, but it fits the shop's larger habit of treating lunch as something worth properly filling.