Sylvia Raya opened her namesake deli at 17th Street and Washington in June 2004. We hit the place up for standard deli lunches like roast beef or turkey sandwiches, and Sylvia's occasional specials -- enchilada plates and, once in a while, meatloaf, green beans and mashed potatoes. Most of the time we don't worry about what we eat, though, because the sugar-free pies cancel out any indulgence. That's what we like to believe, anyway -- we're sure there are still plenty of calories in her coconut-cream pies, her chocolate-cream pies and her lemon and berry pies. The calories just don't come from sugar. Raya's husband is a diabetic, she tells us, which is why she started making the pies in the first place; now there are just as many "SF" pies in her deli case as there are regular pies, cakes and pudding cups. Hey, we could eat the sugary ones if we wanted. But we're happy to support the cause because the damned things taste so good.
