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Succulent corned beef and garlicky pickles seem to derive only from surly men grunting at you amid décor from the Nixon administration--you don't really expect a brand-spanking-new deli with lots of windows, bold wall colors, and pleasant female counter staff to Do It Right. But this Mount Washington breakfast and lunch spot serves up the real deal. A Reuben ($8.25) delivered grilled, gooey perfection, and its devourer made the bold contention that its corned beef rivaled any she'd had anywhere; a shared morsel was, indeed, moist, tender, and intensely flavorful. A pastrami sandwich ($7.99) likewise proved a benchmark experience, a loose mound of spicy, smoky ne plus ultra on rye with mustard. A side order of homemade potato salad ($1.25) was ever so slightly sweet, which might have been a turnoff if it hadn't been so patently fresh, full of well-cooked redskin chunks and flecks of dill, and a pleasure to shovel down, chased by a garlic pickle (99 cents). Freda's is like some kind of rip in the fabric of reality, albeit a tasty, friendly rip.

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