Meet David Eisenson of Carbondale

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Eisenson.

Hi David, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up outside of Boston and went to Williams college to study political economics, pretty seriously. Out of college, I went to work for a boutique strategy consulting company in Boston, primarily doing econometric analysis around private equity transactions. When all my coworkers were going to business school, I elected instead to go to music school at Berklee. I’m a jazz pianist but I got in as a vocalist – I did that for a year before I needed to make a change. I came out here and skied and played music for a year before I started cooking. It was something I had always been passionate about, but I hadn’t considered it as a potential career until I landed in Carbondale in 2011. I learned everything I know working for Mark Fischer and Lari Goode at their restaurants six89 (Carbondale), Phat Thai (Carbondale), The Pullman (Glenwood Springs) and Town (Carbondale). It turns out having a good work ethic and just showing up can get you pretty far in this industry – Mark and Lari really gave me a shot. They made me a sous-chef in 2014 and then the chef at Town in 2016. After Town closed and Mark and Lari got out of the industry, I catered in Aspen for several years and hung out with my wife Cari (who owns the yoga studio Kula that Plosky’s shares space with) my stepsons Jack (16) and Sam (14), and my sons Ben (7) and Will (4). Plosky’s exists because of what I was missing the most from my time on the East Coast – great sandwiches and bagels. We have a sandwich called the Detention that is so-named because it’s inspired by the sandwich I used to get at my hometown deli – and I got in trouble consistently for leaving my high school campus without permission to get it. I’ve also always been enamored of Jewish cuisine and that culinary heritage. The name comes from great-grandfather, a Lithuanian Jew who was renamed Harry Ploskys at Ellis Island. He operated and lived above a deli/grocery in the Bronx called Ben’s Dairy for his whole life. We started this project in 2019 and finally opened in May of 2022 – a pandemic project that ended up late and over budget, but really did turn out beautifully.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We started the project in 2019 and opened in 2022, so like many others, the pandemic was a delightful cherry on top of the sundae of stress that is building out and opening a restaurant.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have to clarify with some frequency that we are not even close to kosher! Our best-selling item is our bacon egg and cheese on a bagel. The bagels come in boiled, seasoned, and frozen from Terrace Bagels in Freehold, New Jersey, 8000 at a time. We bake them fresh every morning. Beyond that, we sell a whole lot of Hey Mambo and Detention sandwiches (the italian and the turkey with bacon jam) and Reubens and Pastramis on rye. I really don’t think there is a better sandwich in the valley and we are constantly improving. As a rule, we make everything that we can in-house, with the caveat that if I think someone else is doing it better than we could, and I can source the item, I’ll do that. I think we’ve perfected the Matzoh Ball Soup. Roasted chicken broth, carrot, celery, onion, light fragrance of dill and thyme, matzoh balls made with duck fat — it’s pretty awesome. We rotate sandwich, salad, and soup additions, but that one is always available. And, I love that fact that in our restaurant, it’s that classic Jewish item being expertly prepared by our Salvadoran cooks! Also, I think I’ve mastered producing a high volume of potato Latkes for the restaurant setting – yukon gold potatoes and baking powder keep them fluffy.

How do you think about luck?
I’ve been immensely lucky to have a family that is enormously supportive and willing to back this project.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ploskysdeli.com
• Instagram: ploskysdeli
• Other: https://order.toasttab.com/online/ploskys-deli