Recently
The Big Adventure found ourselves at the intersection of 187th and 3rd avenue in the Bronx. It was here we stumbled across a local bodega with a truly
head scratching name: El Sammy Sosa Deli Grocery.
This
storefront was perplexing for a number of reasons. For starters, you don’t see
many NYC delis named after baseball players. Much less one who played for
Chicago for most of his career. Much much less a player who is the poster child
for the steroid controversy.
Second,
the awning and marquee on the deli (which feature Sammy in signature swing and pointer-finger-to-God-thanking-pose)
appear to be brand new. Puzzling since Sammy Sosa hasn’t hit a single home run
since 2005 and hasn’t been a star player in over a decade.
Our best guess is that since the bodega is smack dab in a Dominican neighborhood, the store might be paying homage to one
of MLB’s "Greatest Dominican players". However, pretty sure that Albert Pujols Deli
or Jose Reyes Grocery has a better ring to it.
We
didn’t actually go in and ask about the name which, a week later, is kind of
driving us nuts. Right now, our biggest mystery in the Big Apple is why the
owners chose the name El Sammy Sosa Deli.
