Diana Deli has a lot of goodies that are not local, not at all. They’re not made in Columbus, they’re not even made in the United States. You’d probably expect as much, given that the spot is a tidy Russian grocery on the northwest end.
Diana Deli does sell a few things, though, that are locally-made. There’s a modest little bakery in the back, and there you can score fresh, locally-baked Russian breads.
The range of bread options varies. During a recent visit, the shelves were stocked with the house seed bread. The dark loaf has a cute triangular shape, with dense (but not dry) slices, each well-populated with sunflower and sesame seeds (maybe some oats in there too). It’s a substantial bread, almost a meal in itself.
There were also smaller creations, including a nest made of white bread, that holds a mildly sweet cheese filling (“Vatrushka with cottage cheese”). It’s like a cousin to a well-known danish breakfast pastry, only with more heft to it.
You can’t make it to the section of house baked goods without a trip down one of Diana’s aisles. There, you’ll find gingerbread cookies, variations of honey, and sausages among the products. For explorers, there’s also a couple of big, refrigerated sections that offer plastic containers of unusual salads: one with colorful, undeterminable layers, one comprised of julienned beets, another comprised of diced olives. Back up front at the check out counter, there is a special tiny, glass-doored refrigerator with a prominent lock guarding the contents: baby-food sized jars filled with caviar with price tags around $80. To be sure, the breads are much more affordable: less than $5 will buy a loaf.
You can find Diana Deli at 3520 W. Dublin-Granville Rd. It’s open daily from 10 a.m. through 8 p.m.
For more information, visit their Facebook page.