You'll never get anything this good in a deli. No brag, just arrogance. The reason is because the ingredients are perfect and the mayonnaise is carefully prepared with imaginative components. Did I just now say carefully? I meant to say insouciantly, but masterfully, with the certain knowledge that some things in appropriate proportions always work together well. Once you intuit the basics you can make enhancements and subtractions at will with confidence the result will always be excellent.
This dish, for instance, might look like a repeat but it never comes out the same way twice. This time I omitted garlic from the mayonnaise because I simply forgot, and added sugar. And nobody said, "Hey! This mayonnaise would be pretty good if it just had a little garlic in it" And do you know why? Because I was the only person here, that's why, and I'd be talking to myself, then wouldn't I? Used an apple in the salad because I'm long on apples right now. Used commercial pickle relish which is also sweet instead of my own relish, so the result is sweeter than usual. This dish as prepared here would appeal to children.
No nuts, no raisins, no tomato, none of the usual additions except Parmigiano Reggiano crumbled, which is a little salty. Ginger from a jar because my favorite neighborhood store was out of fresh ginger last time I visited. That caused a slight but detectable difference.
If you bought something similar from a deli, they'd have used generic mayonnaise from a #10 can and there's simply no comparison to home-made mayonnaise whipped up for the occasion. Also deli noodles would inevitably be overcooked. They'd use pre-shredded Parmigiano of poor quality, or none at all to keep down cost. They'd probably use boiled chicken. Dehydrated onion, or the kind that stings your tongue. See how all that would resemble chicken salad but totally fail in a contest with this? Of course you do. Plus this is fun to make.
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