I had heard a think or two about Jewish delis in New York growing up in Memphis. Whatever I had heard or learned was more than likely via a late night TV news source. I think I remember seeing something on 60 Minutes (or something like that) about a deli serving massively proportioned smoked pastrami sandwiches on lightly toasted rye bread lathered in mustard....served with an ice cold cel-ray soda which I think is a soft drink you can only purchase in New York City.
Given all that....at some point after I had moved to New York I was talking with my good friend (and attorney for that matter) Patrick Munson over the phone. Patrick has known me for the last ten years and knows I love good food. He asked me if I had been to Katz's yet and I responded by saying "No, where's that?" He sounded shocked and and gave me a brief description of it saying it's "It's a an amazing Jewish deli that serves the best pastrami and corned beef sandwiches on the Lower East Side..." he then quoted his best friend from law school (Joey Solomon) as saying that the sandwiches at Katz's are "made with transcending meat." That means their sandwiches bring you closer to God....which I actually think they do.
At any rate, I ended up making my way there shortly after our conversation as I learned it is no more than a 15-20 minute train ride from my neighborhood in Brooklyn. The trip to Katz's was as my good friend Clifton would say "a real dining experience." And I accentuate the term 'experience'. At Katz's you don't just go in, order and eat...there's a lot more to it than that.
During my Fall 2010 semester in graduate school at Hunter College School of Social Work I befriended a good guy named Bobby Anfang. Bobby and I took a class with a really great professor (who we are actually going to take to Katz's at the end of the semester) and became good buddies towards the middle of the semester. Bobby's father was a NYPD in the Lower East Side and at some point he mentioned that and something about Katz's Deli. I expressed my feelings about the establishment and he did as well....we had to go together at this point.
About two weeks ago, we decided to go during out 5 hour break from class (which is in the Upper East Side).
Bobby is stoked about this.
Now here's the deal. When you walk in to Katz's, you meet a ticket man and a security guard. You walk up to the ticket man and receive...
A ticket.
So you get your ticket...now you have to figure out what to do...
At this point there are roughly 4 lines from right to left...none of which are clearly defined and all could be described as a "cluster $#&*".
We ended up choosing about the third line in....
When we got up to the counter this is what we saw. Ever since my first visit to Katz's I have always been attracted to this pickle box. Maybe it's the green, maybe I was hugry, or maybe it just looks good.
Once you get to the front of the line at the counter, you present the deli attendant with your ticket at tell him what food you would like to order; you order drinks at the next counter down.
This is our counter attendant David with a nicely smoked portion of pastrami...
Meat ready to be sliced.
Thank you David for slicing the pastrami very nicely.
That's my sammie on top of the counter. Sooooooo good y'all.
This is on the right as you pass your way down to the drink order area.
This is how our setup looked. We both had pastrami on rye with mustard, I had cel-ray on the right, Bobby had Dr. Brown's Root Beer on the left, and we split a Knish in the middle.
Simple.
They're just dills....but so crisp and fresh and good. Perfect side for the sammie on rye.
Bobby insisted on it...and I'm glad he did. Honest to God this was my first knish. Delicious...and with the puddle of ketchup and mustard that Bobby made for dipping! It was most excellent.
Not on this occasion, but the first time I arrived at Katz's I recalled one of those late night news shows on TV that I saw when I was a kid and remembered the cel-ray accompaniment. So I got one and my opinion on the drink is the following: it is good, crisp, clean and refreshing. I would not purchase one normally, but it should be a mandatory side item with a pastrami samie as it is the perfect compliment.
All in all, Katz's is an ABSOLUTE MUST if you come to visit, live, or work in New York City. It can be a trek from the Outer Boroughs...but it's totally worth it. I REALLY enjoy this joint. So check it out if you want. The address is 205 East Houston Street and is situated near the F train (2nd Ave Stop) and the J, M, Z trains (Essex Street).
Enjoy.
- Boatner
