Famous Fourth Street Deli

[rlibkind]

All the food seen here (with the exception of the sandwich at the top right) cost $20.50 at the Famous Fourth Street Deli. I hardly made a dent in what I ordered for a late lunch Tuesday, and only somewhat reduced its volume when some of it was reheated for dinner last night. Maybe I'll finish the rest tomorrow night.

What you see above is a single order off the menu, with no extras. It's listed on the menu as Stuffed Cabbage, Potato Pancakes and Kishke (a.k.a. stuffed derma). That's what's on the main plate, left to right. It was accompanied by two vegetable choices, as well as gravy. For veggies I ordered more carbohydrates: a huge mound of tzimmes in the bowl (tzimmes is a sweet concoction meant to accompany a savory dish; the ingredients can be variable, but here they included carrots, apple, various dried fruits, and, I think, sweet potatoes), and fried kreplach (Jewish meat-filled dumplings), fried and topped with fried onions. The slaw and pickles come to every table before you even order.

It was all quite delicious, including the sweet-sour sauce over the cabbage. The tzimmes was very sweet, the kishke properly fat-drenched, though it could have had more of a peppery taste than it did. The potato pancakes (latke) were also quite oily, as is traditional, though I prefer the thinner version of this classic. They did reheat beautifully in my toaster oven last night.

We went to the Famous directly from the airport, where She Who Must Be Obeyed and I picked up a friend from Denver, who was famished after waking up at 3 a.m. local time to get his flight here via DFW. SWMBO selected the tuna salad platter, with potato salad and slaw, as well as tomatoes and cukes. We've still got enough left for at least two meals. Our friend went for the regularly sized pastrami and swiss sandwich (photo below), of which he ate half. (I cringe when I see such beautiful pastrami ruined with the addition of cheese, only mayo could be worse. Our friend, who is Jewish, can only be excused because he was born and raised in Wisconsin and spent most of his adult life in the Far East. He doesn't know any better.) We split the remainder of the meat for breakfast yesterday. The "zaftig' version of the sandwich contains about 50 percent more meat, at least.

The Famous Fourth Street Deli is not cheap, but it offers tremendous value, by quality as well as quantity.

[mattohara]

Well said Bob. I only go there for breakfast; there's obviously a lot that I'm missing.

By the way, if you order an everything bagel with lox, cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and capers, be prepared to pay 15$. I wasn't prepared on my first visit. It's a very difficult sandwich to tackle as it's about 8 inches high. You kind of have to peck at it like a bird. And just like the meal above, it's really two meals disguised as one.

[Andrew Fenton]

I used to go to Famous 4th Street for lunch, before heading on a transatlantic plane flight. Half a pastrami sandwich for lunch, then the other half, washed down with a bottle of milk, once I was on board the plane, meant that I'd fall right asleep and not wake up until I was in Europe. Best sleep aid ever!

[mattohara]

They must be competing with the Carnegie Deli...

http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/12/car...yc-mitosis.html

[Holly Moore]

This may sound weird coming from me - but I am not a fan of delis that serve vast, huge portions. I take out their soups, cheesecakes and the occasional sandwich, but have no desire to be overwhelmed with a meal I can not finish.

Service is great. Food is generally very good - except for two overcooked, dry rotisserie chickens. Famous cookies seem smaller - at least the ones they give as freebies.

Maybe I just miss David running the dining room.

[rlibkind]

Maybe I just miss David running the dining room.

David ran a fine dining room if he knew you; if he didn't your treatment by the wait staff could be numbing. Cowan has much improved both the service and quality of food. Under David the food was okay, but it was never anywhere near what you'd find at a good NY or North Jersey deli. Cowan brought the operation up to snuff.

Holly, I certainly understand where you're coming from in terms of portion size. I'd rather have a cheaper price and less food. But it seems to have become competitive sport among deli owners to have jaw-busting sandwiches. The Carnegie's, as Matt points out, are even larger. But I think the prize must go to Harold's at the Raritan industrial complex in Piscataway (housed in a Holiday Inn, iirc). The menu claims their sandwiches weigh in at either 13 or 26 ounces; I don't doubt it. And their pancakes are the size of pizzas. Don't even think of ordering an omelet!

Edited December 5, 2008 by rlibkind (log)

[Rich Pawlak]

Harold's in Edison in the Raritan Center complex and adjacent to that Holiday Inn, dwarfs both Famous Deli and Carnegie Deli in outrageous overindulgance. A simple turkey on rye with swiss is served in wretched excess, and makes at least 4 more sandwiches of large size. the stuffed cabbages are at least 1.5 times as large as Famous' and almost everything there is sized triple-X ridiculous. That being said, their matzoh ball soup and "health salad" and pickles are worth the trip, but I've always leave that place grossed out by the slobbering customers and sheer waste of food left on nearby tables. Haven't been there in years, and not planning a visit anytime soon.

Edited December 5, 2008 by Rich Pawlak (log)

[johnb102]

Harold's in Edison in the Raritan Center complex and adjacent to that Holiday Inn, dwarfs both Famous Deli and Carnegie Deli in outrageous overindulgance. A simple turkey on rye with swiss is served in wretched excess, and makes at least 4 more sandwiches of large size. the stuffed cabbages are at least 1.5 times as large as Famous' and almost everything there is sized triple-X ridiculous.  That being said, their matzoh ball soup and "health salad" and pickles are worth the trip, but I've always leave that place grossed out by the slobbering customers and sheer waste of food left on nearby tables. Haven't been there in years, and not planning a visit anytime soon.

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I agree that sitting in the dining room can be a disturbing experience, but if you ignore the sizes the food is very good on its own. I think it compares favorably to both Carnegie and Famous, so the trick is to not overorder. I get take out when heading home from Northern Jersey as it is an easy off/on from the turnpike or parkway. One large sandwhich when split between a family of four is a good dinner and you still have some left for lunch the next day. It is worth the visit just to see the dessert cases with Alice in Wonderland sized cakes. Some of the desserts aren't very good, but I really like the rugelah cheesecake. A single slice can also be split four ways and you might still have some left.