Save The Deli

[savethedeli]

A bit of a self-serving post, but I'm the curator of a website called Save the Deli which exists because the true taste of Pastrami, Corned Beef, Knishes, and other treats of the Jewish delicatessen are quickly fading from the landscape.

What I'd love is your thoughts, opinions, and memories on deli experiences throughout your lifetime. I invite you to visit the site, check out the videos, photos, and stories from delicatessens the world over, and join me in saving a cuisine that has pickled so many hearts.

Ess Gezunt

[Naftal]

A bit of a self-serving post, but I'm the curator of a website called Save the Deli which exists because the true taste of Pastrami, Corned Beef, Knishes, and other treats of the Jewish delicatessen are quickly fading from the landscape.

What I'd love is your thoughts, opinions, and memories on deli experiences throughout your lifetime.  I invite you to visit the site, check out the videos, photos, and stories from delicatessens the world over, and join me in saving a cuisine that has pickled so many hearts.

Ess Gezunt

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I agree with you. My favorite Deli foods are smoked sable and a good rye bread(not together ). A good Deli is the only place one can usually get these wonderous items.

[budrichard]

A topic near and dear to my heart.

Frozen lox, thin sliced corned beef, tasteless bagels and plastic cream cheese has taken over the Deli world. Every Deli wannabe says that thier Deli is authentic but in reality the majority of Deli owners have no idea what true authentic Deli is like.

Just got a shipment from Russ & Daughters today. One of the best Deli's around today.-Dick

[savethedeli]

A topic near and dear to my heart.

Frozen lox, thin sliced corned beef, tasteless bagels and plastic cream cheese has taken over the Deli world. Every Deli wannabe says that thier Deli is authentic but in reality the majority of Deli owners have no idea what true authentic Deli is like.

Just got a shipment from Russ & Daughters today. One of the best Deli's around today.-Dick

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Frozen, plastic, preserved and packaged are the enemies of true deli lovers. Unite and fight for the hand cut, barrel cured, and freshly smoked!

[Naftal]

A topic near and dear to my heart.

Frozen lox, thin sliced corned beef, tasteless bagels and plastic cream cheese has taken over the Deli world. Every Deli wannabe says that thier Deli is authentic but in reality the majority of Deli owners have no idea what true authentic Deli is like.

Just got a shipment from Russ & Daughters today. One of the best Deli's around today.-Dick

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Frozen, plastic, preserved and packaged are the enemies of true deli lovers. Unite and fight for the hand cut, barrel cured, and freshly smoked!

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And while we're at it: remember to stand up for pickles made without vinegar

[rlibkind]

The deli's are still around in any community with a significant Jewish population; not as many as in the past, and the quality varies, but they're still here.

What virtually has disappeared is the "appy" store, which sold dairy and paerve products, not meats.

[savethedeli]

The deli's are still around in any community with a significant Jewish population; not as many as in the past, and the quality varies, but they're still here.

What virtually has disappeared is the "appy" store, which sold dairy and paerve products, not meats.

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I wish that were the case, but you need only look to Manhattan to see the decline in strict numbers. Where once there were close to 300, now's there's but a dozen.

[Carrot Top]

There are no Jewish delis where I live. There are no Jewish delis often where I travel. I've looked, and longed, and hungered.

I went to my first Jewish deli when I was barely fourteen years old, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. My boyfriend was Jewish, and older than me, and he ate the usual deli things plus those things that might be considered arcana for the casual lightweight diner dabbling in Jewish deli food.

My God, the smell of those pickles set in the center of the table in their practical utilitarian silver bowl. I can honestly say that even thinking about those pickles, my mouth will still literally water sometimes, of its own doing. Yes, those pickles were nocturnal-salivation worthy, even ah . . . too many years to want to add up and list, later.

The first thing we ate was matzoh-ball soup. It was okay. Very different than anything I'd ever eaten before, as the daughter of a single-mother-non-cook-WASP. Then we had some sandwiches. WASPs do not know how to make a sandwich, I realized, when I saw these sandwiches. What I had thought was a sandwich while growing up (a slice of bologna on white bread with yellow mustard, hey hey) was a parody. It was a parody of how life should be.

Roast beef on rye. Good, good, very very good. We shared. And another. A combo. Corned beef, tongue, and turkey I think. With coleslaw and Russian dressing. On rye, of course. The bread was soft and warm and yielding to its fillings, as if it loved them itself. The bread curled round the meats like a mother's arms round a new baby, coddling them, offering them up, saying "Look, how beautiful!"

Yes, they were beautiful and if the nature of Divinity has a taste, it exists in a well-made Jewish Deli corned beef, tongue, and turkey sandwich with coleslaw and Russian, pickles, of course, on the side unending in the bowl before us.

We had stuffed peppers. Sigh. Comforting. We had stuffed derma. To this shiksa, interesting. Not only the taste, you know, but the idea, too. We had Dr. Brown's celery soda, of course, and cream soda too.

We waddled off into the night after that meal and I felt warmed and good, with the food, the smells, and the banter of the place.

You are right, so very right, to say the delis must be saved. I think they should not only be saved, they should be grown and made to prosper in every nook and cranny of the Universe.

................................................................

About six months after this meal, I met my father for the very first time in my life. I also discovered, at that time, that I was half-Jewish, as he is Jewish - which my mother had not ever mentioned to me as I was growing up.

Our first meal together, he took me to Gage and Tollner. For some reason I ordered Lobster Newburg. This was pre-Edna Lewis. It was dreadful.

Our relationship never prospered. And years later, it is my theory that it all could have been better if only he had taken me to a deli.

Edited May 11, 2007 by Carrot Top (log)

[savethedeli]

There are no Jewish delis where I live. There are no Jewish delis often where I travel. I've looked, and longed, and hungered.

I went to my first Jewish deli when I was barely fourteen years old, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. My boyfriend was Jewish, and older than me, and he ate the usual deli things plus those things that might be considered arcana for the casual lightweight diner dabbling in Jewish deli food.

My God, the smell of those pickles set in the center of the table in their practical utilitarian silver bowl. I can honestly say that even thinking about those pickles, my mouth will still literally water sometimes, of its own doing. Yes, those pickles were nocturnal-salivation worthy, even ah . . . too many years to want to add up and list, later.

The first thing we ate was matzoh-ball soup. It was okay. Very different than anything I'd ever eaten before, as the daughter of a single-mother-non-cook-WASP. Then we had some sandwiches. WASPs do not know how to make a sandwich, I realized, when I saw these sandwiches. What I had thought was a sandwich while growing up (a slice of bologna on white bread with yellow mustard, hey hey) was a parody. It was a parody of how life should be.

Roast beef on rye. Good, good, very very good. We shared. And another. A combo. Corned beef, tongue, and turkey I think. With coleslaw and Russian dressing. On rye, of course. The bread was soft and warm and yielding to its fillings, as if it loved them itself. The bread curled round the meats like a mother's arms round a new baby, coddling them, offering them up, saying "Look, how beautiful!"

Yes, they were beautiful and if the nature of Divinity has a taste, it exists in a well-made Jewish Deli corned beef, tongue, and turkey sandwich with coleslaw and Russian, pickles, of course, on the side unending in the bowl before us.

We had stuffed peppers. Sigh. Comforting. We had stuffed derma. To this shiksa, interesting. Not only the taste, you know, but the idea, too. We had Dr. Brown's celery soda, of course, and cream soda too.

We waddled off into the night after that meal and I felt warmed and good, with the food, the smells, and the banter of the place.

You are right, so very right, to say the delis must be saved. I think they should not only be saved, they should be grown and made to prosper in every nook and cranny of the Universe.

................................................................

About six months after this meal, I met my father for the very first time in my life. I also discovered, at that time, that I was half-Jewish, as he is Jewish - which my mother had not ever mentioned to me as I was growing up.

Our first meal together, he took me to Gage and Tollner. For some reason I ordered Lobster Newburg. This was pre-Edna Lewis. It was dreadful.

Our relationship never prospered. And years later, it is my theory that it all could have been better if only he had taken me to a deli.

←

A finer ode I have yet to hear. Truly poetic and beautiful, though to commend your WASP family, at least they put mustard on the ham sandwich and not mayo or dare I say butter.

Where is the deli-less hell where you live? I'm sure I can locate one fairly close to you...close enough at least.

[Carrot Top]

Where is the deli-less hell where you live?  I'm sure I can locate one fairly close to you...close enough at least.

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A more honorable task would be hard to find.

My personal deli-less hell is Blacksburg, Virginia.

And given some of the experiences our town has been through lately, to know that there was a good deli "close enough" would be a boon to all.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and my ears perked in case you do come up with something.

Very nice website you've got there, by the way. I liked the photo of your Mom and her remaining half-sandwich.

[savethedeli]

Where is the deli-less hell where you live?  I'm sure I can locate one fairly close to you...close enough at least.

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A more honorable task would be hard to find.

My personal deli-less hell is Blacksburg, Virginia.

And given some of the experiences our town has been through lately, to know that there was a good deli "close enough" would be a boon to all.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and my ears perked in case you do come up with something.

Very nice website you've got there, by the way. I liked the photo of your Mom and her remaining half-sandwich.

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Ok, you're definitely in the midst of deli yuchupputzville, but equal distance to several great delis within at least a day's drive.

Glieberman's is a kosher spot in Charlotte, NC, which is attached to a supermarket. The cabbage roll is velvety, the best I've had, and the brisket sandwich on a challah bun comes with a little bowl of jus, though it's so moist you'd hardly need it. Not an old school or New York style place, but worth the trip.

Parkway Deli in Silver Springs, MD is a great full service deli, with a hefty pickle bar and a whopping selection of menu items. Their sandwiches are good (not amazing), but lots of other great items like baked goods and appetizing that are worth the trip...matzo ball soup amongst them.

Baltimore is a deli town. Miller's and Attman's are reputed to be the best, though I haven't been for myself. You're also closeish to Columbus, OH and Katzinger's.

So there's options, though I admit they're few and rather far between. But tough times like you've gone through call for haymish tastes.

ess gezunt! (eat in health)

[Carrot Top]

Looks like I've got to grab my tent and pack it in the back of the SUV with the kids and start travelling.

I can use the time to practice my new-found vocabulary words you've taught me in your post above.

Thanks.

...........................................

I have a nice Abe Lebewohl story to tell you, but have to go do some other things rather than sit here in front of the computer, strangely enough. Will post it later.

[Carrot Top]

So I just noticed that there is a Second Avenue Deli Cookbook due to those bizarre double pink lines. I'm going to have to order it.

I met Abe Lebewohl one year when I was executive chef for Goldman Sachs. Somehow I'd gotten snagged into planning and organizing the menu for this large corporate/Congress mixer in DC that was titled "The New York State Festival". Featuring all the foods of New York, and my job was to decide which foods would represent the state at the party for 1200 people which was to be held in Washington, DC.

The cast of characters soon turned this charming extravaganza into something that resembled an Oscar Wilde drawing room comedy.There were the vendors of foods from New York who seemed to be like scavenging crows diving endlessly upon me, their prey, in their telephone calls, letters, and presentations of products that they wished to sell to the function to represent the state (and themselves, bien sur). There were the representatives of the representatives of Congress, each seriously intent upon making sure that their District was represented in its foods *as much* if not more than the votes it held in the larger scheme of NY. All I can say about that scene is that it reminds me of the line that one should never see how either laws or sausages are made. Never a corporate meeting had I seen (and I'd seen many) where the claws and nails of determination to *win* came out with unending vigor, regardless of any sense of the thing. All proportion went right out the window with nary a whimper within that group. I did what I do when I want to run fast, I smiled. A lot. I smiled because *we* (me, as representative of GS) supposedly liked doing this for some reason. "We" had the role of treasurer for the function, in the form of a very nice fellow who handled all the corporate dollars that were put up for this thing, who was head of the DC office at the time. His name, strangely enough, was Judah. Though we called him Judd.

So I smiled and smiled. And planned the menu so that finally, everyone was happy. I presented it to the chef of the hotel, an old-school German guy who was at least twice the size of me, who spoke in barks. I introduced myself and told him my name, told him I was exec chef of GS, told him my role in this thing. He glanced at me up and down as we stood in the large kitchen of the hotel and he smiled a long slow smile as the minions (a chef like he was always has minions) scurried around us. He smacked his cleaver down upon a slice of veal to flatten it. "So are you staying the night?" he growled out, looking at me as if I were a schokolade-kirschenroulade which he could not decide which part to take a bite out of first. Talking to him about the menu was close to impossible. He might as well have just been sitting there batting his eyes nonsensically for all the effort he put into having a conversation about the food.

But then, in the midst of this cast of characters, comes Abe Lebewohl. Nobody had given too much of an argument over including Jewish Deli food as part of the menu, and nobody had given too much of an argument that Second Avenue Deli would be a great place to source that food, rather than undertaking the idea of having Chef Attilla try to corn some beef. I telephoned Abe at the deli to talk about what would best be included for this part of the menu, and to discuss cost.

Ah. He was the voice of sanity and reason within the comedy. He made wonderful suggestions, including suggestions of quantities, which otherwise I would have had to struggle with. What a nice menu he planned. He was warm, he was helpful, he made it so easy. He made me smile for real.

We got to the part where I needed to know what he would charge. "No" he said. "This is on me. I'm happy to do this so that people can know this food." I was floored. I argued a bit but of course finally gave in. Then there was more. I brought up the subject of delivery to DC. Naturally, we wanted the food to be fresh and good, so the logistics would take some planning.

"I'll bring it myself" he said. And so he did. And he did not want compensation for plane or cab fare for either himself or for the guy he brought along to help carry the stuff, which was of course heavy, lots of food.

I'm happy to say that Abe Lebewohl's Second Avenue Deli food was one of the most-enjoyed parts of the festival that night, from people's comments as I walked through the crowd. He made a lot of people very happy, regardless of whatever agendas they were there for, fighting strong.

And it might be that not all deli owners are like Abe Lebewohl. But if they are not, please don't tell me. I don't want to know.

Abe Lebewohl. He was a mensch.

.......................................................

And now I am all out of deli stories.

Edited May 13, 2007 by Carrot Top (log)

[heidih]

Abe Lebewohl. He was a mensch.

.......................................................

Grteat story. And what an appropriate surname (live well) for a man like that!

[judiu]

We got to the part where I needed to know what he would charge. "No" he said. "This is on me. I'm happy to do this so that people can know this food." I was floored. I argued a bit but of course finally gave in. Then there was more. I brought up the subject of delivery to DC. Naturally, we wanted the food to be fresh and good, so the logistics would take some planning.

"I'll bring it myself" he said. And so he did. And he did not want compensation for plane or cab fare for either himself or for the guy he brought along to help carry the stuff, which was of course heavy, lots of food.

I believe the appropriate verb that you're looking for in this instance is "schlep"!

[Carrot Top]

Grteat story. And what an appropriate surname (live well) for a man like that!

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I didn't think of that! His last name even suited him, didn't it.

I believe the appropriate verb that you're looking for in this instance is "schlep"!

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It would be, judiu. It would be, and in any good story probably *should* be.

But I know schlepping. I've done it, believe me, and there is a sense of melodrama attached to it. When you schlep you make sure people know about it.

Eh. Abe just did it. He just took the stuff and carried it.

But who knows, his companion may have been schlepping with *his* part of the stuff. I didn't think of that.

Edited May 13, 2007 by Carrot Top (log)

[MarketStEl]

Bob: In your capacity as eG's resident Reading Terminal Market specialist, you have chronicled the progress of Herschel's East Side Deli, a newcomer on the scene and the latest addition to the RTM's stable of prepared-foods vendors, as its owner strives to Get It Right. Perhaps you might want to share your assessments with the people reading this topic, not all of whom are Pennsylvania board regulars?

[savethedeli]

Sounds as though Hershel's is of the rare new breed of young traditionalists starting up. It's a welcome backlash in an age of chains (Too Jay's or Jerry's), when people are willing to do it the old fashioned way...hand cutting and curing their own meats. I've visited a few in my travels:

-Jimmy and Drew's 28th St. Delicatessen in Boulder, CO: smoke own pastrami and salmon (2x ways), make tremendous sweet kugel

-Weiss Bakery and Deli in Las Vegas, NV: again, smokes own product, cures rest, bakes all own breads and has fantastic kasha varnishkes in a town known for premade everything

-Kenny and Ziggy's in Houston: not so new but decidedly good at doing things from scratch. Ziggy Gruber is a young incarnation of an old deli guy. A mensch.

I hope this is the future of deli, because the alternative: chains and the closing of old delis, looms dreadfully.

I'll also have to get to Philly next time I'm down in NYC.

ess gezunt!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Bravo on this new website!

For anyone who has indulged their deli cravings at the Carnegie Deli or Katz's in New York, this is essential ... we must continue to provide our support and confidence in this edible institution ...

Photographs on delis abound and a few of them can be seen here:

a few pictures of classic deli cuisine

[rlibkind]

By popular demand (well, Sandy's lone request) some thoughts about the Center City Philadelphia Jewish deli scene.

Hershel's is a welcome and much-needed addition, though Center City and immediate environs is blessed with more Jewish style delis than many other large cities. Steve and Andy, who opened it, are to be commended for the undertaking and their commitment. I've only had the pastrami, not the corned beef, and found it quite tasty, though my personal preference is for slices that don't fall apart into shreds as easily as theirs do. The knaedl in their matzoh ball soup are as light as matzoh balls get. Other than lox (Acme, both nova and "salty") and knishes (well-sourced) that's all I've consumed from Hershel's. It's an obvious success, though, with constant lines during lunch time. Steve said he's already outgrown his oven capacity and is working with Reading Terminal Market management to find additional kitchen space elsewhere in the market.

Kibbitz In The City is another business district deli (also close to the historic tourist district). I've only been there a couple of times, and not recently. Again, the pastrami was tasty and legitimate, but not to my personal taste preference: too salty. (At that time they were using pastrami supplied by Vienna Beef of Chicago.)

Pastrami 'n Things is another Center City outpost. Since I stopped working in Center City six years ago, I don't have the opportunity to eat lunch there often and therefore haven't been to this deli in quite some time, but they, too, used Vienna Beef product.

(I do find it odd that Vienna Beef pastrami is popular with Philadelphia delis; there are other quality suppliers available, but perhaps it's a wholesale price thing, though a manager at Kibbitz told me his customers prefer the saltier Vienna Beef product. My own preference is for Old World Provisions' New York State National brand, out of Albany NY.)

When I worked a block away, I was a regular at Pumpernick's Deli in Center City which I thought had the best pastrami in town at the time.

Slightly outside of Center City is The Famous, which has been around since the early part of the last century. Alas, under its previous ownership it was awful. It's been resuscitated over the past two years under a new owner who has extensive deli experience in Brooklyn and Queens and previously founded a delis in South Jersey (and later started and sold Kibbitz In The City). He does what a relative of mine used to do: create a new coffee shop or deli, get it rolling and put systems in place so he could then sell it as a turnkey operation. My guess is in another couple of years the owner of the Famous will do just that. In the meantime, they make a mean corned beef and pastrami (last fall they started brining and smoking their own product), and the countermen are the best fish cutters in town, offering paper-thin hand-sliced lox. The brisket and stuffed cabbage are aces, too. (FWIW, The Famous is the only deli where I can recall seeing salamis hanging and drying.)

I make occasional forays to other parts of Philadelphia, particularly the huge Northeast where, at the very least, some excellent Jewish style bakeries remain, though I've yet to check out the delis. Alas, Philadelphia's only remaining appetizer stores, Abe's & Son, closed last year.

There are also myriad delis in the suburbs and outlying parts of the city. Over those I tried (City Line in Overbrook, and Hymie's and Murray's in Merion), I haven't been overly impressed. Okay if you live in the neighborhood and continuing the tradition, but nothing exceptional.

Getting back to Center City: with the exception of Hershel's and The Famous, all are simply sandwich places designed to feed the lunch crowd. They are not places where you can walk in and buy meat, salads and other materials for serving at home. And even Hershel's and The Famous concentrate on the restaurant aspects rather than the deli aspects, because that's where the money is.

To me, a Jewish deli was not only about sitting at a formica table and enjoying a pastrami sandwich and a bottle of Cel-Ray Tonic. It was about saving up to buy a quarter pound of rolled beef (a product you can't even find anymore, and even in the 1960s would cost $10/pound), and serving yourself to "new" kraut and pickles out of a barrel. Even more I miss the "appy" stores specializing in smoked fish and dairy, from the days where delis sold meat (sorry ma'am, we're kosher, no cheese) and "appys" sold lox, sturgeon, sable, whitefish, smoked carp and a full variety of cream cheeses.

[rlibkind]

In my past life as a mid-level corporate manager, I frequently found myself in downtown Indianpolis. On one of my first trips I was glancing through the local entertainment ad-filled magazine placed in my hotel room and saw a small advertisement for a cafeteria boasting corned beef and pastrami.

An unlikely place to get a decent pastrami sandwich, I thought, even if the cafeteria was named "Shapiro's". But it was only a 10-minute walk from my hotel, and 20 years ago downtown Indianapolis was a ghost town as far as good food was concerned (unless you wanted some exceptional red meat at St. Elmo's).

So, with a typical East Coast attitude, I wandered down to Shapiro's expecting nothing better than what I'd find at a supermarket deli counter.

How wrong could I be!

Shapiros remains a mecca, and I've taken 100-mile detours to enjoy their corned beef and pastrami. Their matzoh ball soup is pretty good too, as is the steamtable stuffed cabbage and other standards. (The pies are incredible mile-high affairs loaded with sugar and a wonderful artificial-ness). Shapiro's reminds me very much of the Jewish style cafeterias that used to be found all over NYC and were favorites of cab drivers and garment industry workers alike. (The last one like it in Philadelphia, Bain's on South Broad Street, closed a few years after I moved to town in 1979.)

Shapiro's also has a take-away deli counter with various cold cuts and smoked fishes, as well as some bakery items, baked on-premises.

Should you find yourself in central Indiana (or just passing through en route to elsewhere on the interstate) make a point of stopping at Shapiro's. (Just make sure to go to the downtown cafeteria, not the Carmel location on the north side.

Don't let the long line (mostly populated by workers and mangers from the nearby Eli Lily corporate offices) at the height of the lunch hour dissuade you. The line moves quickly and there's plenty of seating room at the communal cafeteria tables.

[SuzySushi]

I could cry!!!

A former born-and-bred New Yorker, for the past 16 years I've lived in Hawaii, first in Honolulu and now in the suburbs. We have NO great Jewish delis on Oahu. The only real one (Bernard's New York Deli) closed about 5 years ago.

There are three other restaurants that call themselves delis:

A Taste of New York in Honolulu serves some halfway decent deli foods, such as overstuffed pastrami sandwiches and Carnegie deli-style cheesecake. The pastrami and corned beef are flown in from Vienna Beef Co. in Chicago, but its rye bread is the locally baked "fluffy" stuff -- not firm. No smoked fish other than Lasco lox, and if I remember correctly, its chopped liver is beef liver, not chicken liver. My greatest disappointment is that its tongue is boiled -- not cured!!! In the evenings, the deli turns into a steakhouse -- which just goes to show how much of a market there is for real deli foods in Hawaii.

Brent's Restaurant & Deli in Kailua is always crowded, but serves mediocre food by NY deli standards. No tongue or smoked fish, and its matzoh ball soup is some of the worst I've ever eaten, in a green-tinged broth tasting more of celery than of chicken.

I have not yet tried CJ's New York Style Delicatessen in the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. Their menu offers bagels & lox and overstuffed sandwiches, but also extends to 21 styles of omelets ( ), huevos rancheros, and grilled eggplant sandwiches. No tongue, chopped liver, smoked fish, kasha, or other standard deli items.

[savethedeli]

I could cry!!!

A former born-and-bred New Yorker, for the past 16 years I've lived in Hawaii, first in Honolulu and now in the suburbs. We have NO great Jewish delis on Oahu. The only real one (Bernard's New York Deli) closed about 5 years ago.

There are three other restaurants that call themselves delis:

A Taste of New York in Honolulu serves some halfway decent deli foods, such as overstuffed pastrami sandwiches and Carnegie deli-style cheesecake. The pastrami and corned beef are flown in from Vienna Beef Co. in Chicago, but its rye bread is the locally baked "fluffy" stuff -- not firm. No smoked fish other than Lasco lox, and if I remember correctly, its chopped liver is beef liver, not chicken liver. My greatest disappointment is that its tongue is boiled -- not cured!!! In the evenings, the deli turns into a steakhouse -- which just goes to show how much of a market there is for real deli foods in Hawaii. 

Brent's Restaurant & Deli in Kailua is always crowded, but serves mediocre food by NY deli standards. No tongue or smoked fish, and its matzoh ball soup is some of the worst I've ever eaten, in a green-tinged broth tasting more of celery than of chicken.

I have not yet tried CJ's New York Style Delicatessen in the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. Their menu offers bagels & lox and overstuffed sandwiches, but also extends to 21 styles of omelets ( ), huevos rancheros, and grilled eggplant sandwiches. No tongue, chopped liver, smoked fish, kasha, or other standard deli items.

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Beware of any place that bills itself as "New York Deli". Though I've had great deli at a few (Deli Tech in Denver being one), most are using the Big Apple moniker to cash into some nostalgic idea of what a deli should be. Funny thing is, I know of no delis in New York that resemble these places...they are like Disneylands for Woody Allen fans. A great deli should have pride in its local roots. Even though the legendary Norm Langer was from Jersey, you won't find a reference to the east coast at his temple in downtown LA...by far the finest pastrami on both coasts.

[savethedeli]

If any of you are salivating for a little deli porn, you must check out the film Chez Schwartz, which I caught last week here in Toronto.

It's a fly on the wall documentary about Schwartz's Delicatessen in Montreal, the temple of smoked meat and one of the best delis in the world.

Chez Schwartz Website

Schwartz's Delicatessen

Edited May 14, 2007 by savethedeli (log)

[MarketStEl]

Beware of any place that bills itself as "New York Deli".  Though I've had great deli at a few (Deli Tech in Denver being one), most are using the Big Apple moniker to cash into some nostalgic idea of what a deli should be.

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1. This is akin to finding a place that claims it sells "Philly Cheese Steaks" outside of Philadelphia.

2. In his warm and entertaining recollection of his father and his childhood in our mutual hometown that ran in The New Yorker about a decade or so ago, Calvin Trillin wrote that "in Kansas City, 'New York' was code for 'Jewish' much as 'Lincoln' was code for 'black'."