>>Now there's the deli section (where they probably keep the abbreviated delicatessen), where they'll slice it for you in any amount you want, but it just takes too long to wait, and the sliced stuff doesn't hold too well in the fridge (either gets too dry or develops the same sticky film all over).
>
>Don't buy a such a large slice of it then, dumb cluck! :-)

It's not the size, it's the composition.

>A sign in a deli:
>
>"Would customers kindly refrain from sitting on the meat slicer, as we are getting a little behind in our orders"

Now that's where my wife, in her previous incarnation as a health inspector, would close the shop immediately. There's no way customers can come close to any place where food is dealt with - they are separated by a counter even here (and believe me, she's seen a few things here that simply wouldn't have passed when she was in charge).