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Is Katz pastrami the best?

Is Katz pastrami the best?

Old Feb 11, 2004, 8:18 am
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Is Katz pastrami the best?

Post your recomendations for the best pastrami sandwich in Manhattan.
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Old Feb 11, 2004, 10:55 am
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I'll be at Katz this Saturday. I'll let you/the board know.
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Old Feb 11, 2004, 9:05 pm
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Remember to ask for a taste. Those folks are generous. If it's fatty, ask for something else.

You must have the fries. Ummm.

Dan
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Old Feb 12, 2004, 6:37 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie:
I'll be at Katz this Saturday. I'll let you/the board know.</font>
Don't forget to pair it with a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray Soda!

The pastrami at Carnegie, Stage, and Katz's are all tops -- choosing between them is splitting hairs, IMHO. (You can find acceptable pastrami at several other delis, but why bother?) I prefer Katz's because it's more atmospheric; the staff, to put it mildly, are characters; the pickles are better; and FWIW the pastrami is hand-cut.

Stops at Russ & Daughters (179 E. Houston) and Yonah Schimmels (137 E. Houston) are also recommended .
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Old Feb 12, 2004, 7:08 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dhammer53:
Remember to ask for a taste. Those folks are generous. If it's fatty, ask for something else.

You must have the fries. Ummm.

Dan
</font>
!

If it's fatty, *thank* 'em. It's pastrami, not a salad.
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Old Feb 17, 2004, 11:06 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dhammer53:
You must have the fries. Ummm.</font>
stopped here on our way to the airport. Saw the fries but did not order them. Next time for sure as my wife proclaimed after tasting the pastrami that this was her new favorite NY deli.

We split a pastrami sandwich with chopped chicken liver. A hot dog as well, which was also surprisingly good.

I still want to try 2nd Ave deli, but must agree w/my wife, at the moment, Katz' is our favorite pastrami in NYC.

Getting a ride to the airport is a piece of cake from Katz. There is some cabbie favorite place on the N side of Houston. We snaged a black car for a $20 ride to LaGuardia from Katz.

edited to add: there are usually 5 guys who all slice meat. Do not line up at the 1st line you see, go directly to a short one. YOU ARE NOT CUTTING IN LINE!! We waited in the long line for a few until someone yelled* to move down to one of the other 4 slicers.

*yelling in NYC!!??!! who would have guessed

[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited Feb 17, 2004).]
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Old Feb 22, 2004, 9:29 pm
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Is Katz pastrami the best?

Yes.

One reason is because, unlike most other delicatessens, Katzs cures their own pastrami and corned beef.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">We select the best cuts of beef for our corned beef, pastrami, brisket and other fine foods. Our corned beef is cured using the method which best flavors the meat, without injecting chemicals, water or other additives to speed the process. The finished product may take a full 30 days to cure, while commercially prepared corned beef is often pressure injected (or pumped) to cure in 36 hours.</font>
Whenever I am back in New York, just before my flight, I will actually make a special trip into Manhattan (by car!), park at one of the meters outside the delicatessen, and place an order for several hot pastrami sandwiches on rye bread with mustard and sour pickles. While tasting several pieces of that heavenly pastrami (which I prefer lean, not fatty), I inform the counter person that I am taking the pastrami sandwiches home to Atlanta. The guys behind the counter are usually difficult to impress, but they usually engage in a conversation with me at that point, to which customers immediately surrounding me (in the thickest New York accents) join in. It is like being home again.

Anyway, immediately upon hearing that the sandwiches will be transported, they slice up more than enough pastrami and wrap it in several layers of aluminum foil, then several layers of paper. They then put a half loaf of rye bread into a bag and seal it. They throw in a large portion of sour pickles and a couple of cups of real delicatessen spicy brown mustard and, once I arrive home in Marietta, I immediately indulge myself in a feast that temporarily puts me in gastronomic heaven. I then put the rest away in the refrigerator.

I enjoy an overstuffed hot pastrami sandwich on rye bread (usually with caraway seeds), a liberal dollop of spicy brown mustard evenly spread on both slices of bread (leaving no portion of the inner part of the bread untouched by the mustard), a side order of either a potato latke (pancake) or square potato knish, a sour pickle and a half-sour pickle, and a cold glass of Dr. Browns cream soda.

I have eaten many pastrami sandwiches over the years growing up in New York, and Katzs Delicatessen definitely and unquestionably has the best pastrami, in my opinion. In fact, it is one of my favorite places to eat in the world.

[This message has been edited by Canarsie (edited Feb 22, 2004).]
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Old Feb 22, 2004, 10:53 pm
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Canarsie:
square potato knish</font>
Square . . . . Interesting

Another classic NY argument.
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Old Feb 22, 2004, 10:53 pm
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In the late '80s I discovered the Pastrami King (on Queens Boulevard across from a court building). The best I've ever had.

I was sad when they closed, but the same owners have reopened on the Upper East Side of Manhattan - the new name is Pastrami Queen. I haven't been to the Manhattan location - has anyone else been there?

[This message has been edited by Non-NonRev (edited Feb 22, 2004).]
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Old Feb 23, 2004, 6:40 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JeremyZ:
Square . . . . Interesting

Another classic NY argument.
</font>
Correct.

The square potato knish is flatter than its round counterpart, with its golden dough shell more of a fried consistency. The round potato knish contains a thicker mashed potato filling, with its shell thinner but more soft and dough-y.

I prefer the square knish with lots of spicy brown mustard liberally slathered all over it, although I certainly would not refuse a round knish, if offered to me.

Shatzkins knishes were considered the best knishes, but they ceased to exist years ago. Even a Google search cannot revive them (using Shatzkin Knish as the search term only conjures three results) or their secret recipe.

Some people prefer kasha, meat, or spinach-and-potato knishes to the plain potato knish, which in itself is yet another quintessentially classic New York argument...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Non-NonRev:
In the late '80s I discovered the Pastrami King (on Queens Boulevard across from a court building). The best I've ever had.

I was sad when they closed, but the same owners have reopened on the Upper East Side of Manhattan - the new name is Pastrami Queen. I haven't been to the Manhattan location - has anyone else been there?
</font>
No, I have not, although I find it rather ironic that they were known as the Pastrami King in Queens and changed their name to the Pastrami Queen now that they are in Manahattan.

By the way, Non-NonRev, I notice that you are based in Fort Lauderdale. At least you can find a decent pastrami sandwich there (while not even comparable to a good New York pastrami sandwich, I know of a place on University Drive that has decent ones).

In the Atlanta area, one cannot find a decent pastrami sandwich (to my knowledge) if ones life depended on it. Some probably think pastrami is an Italian pasta dish...

[This message has been edited by Canarsie (edited Feb 23, 2004).]
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Old Mar 11, 2004, 12:14 am
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I just had my fix of pastrami from Katzs Deli.

I picked it up when they unlocked the gates and opened at 8:00 this morning. I then immediately caught a flight to Atlanta and brought it back home with me.

I now have an ample supply of pastrami, pickles (both sour and half-sour), rye bread and mustard for the next few days.

Ahhh....
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Old May 30, 2005, 9:13 pm
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Just got back from some time in NYC.

Katzs pastrami is still the best BUT 2nd Ave Delis corned beef was terrific compared to Katzs.
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Old May 31, 2005, 7:39 am
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Originally Posted by Sweet Willie
Just got back from some time in NYC.

Katzs pastrami is still the best BUT 2nd Ave Delis corned beef was terrific compared to Katzs.
2nd Ave Deli is also less chaotic than Katz.
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Old Jun 1, 2005, 1:50 pm
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Im a huge fan of the corned beed, cole slaw and russian dressing at 2nd Avenue deli as well as their mushroom barley soup. Gawd, the lunch in our cafeteria really wasnt very satisfying today
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Old Jun 3, 2005, 12:18 am
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Debating the merits of Katz's pastrami vs. that of the 2nd Ave Deli is Talmudic scholarship for the un-Orthodox.

IMHO the pastrami is better at Katz's, but 2nd Ave has better pickles.
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