146715 Sat Dec 27 20:02:25 -0800 2003 13 12 Boston Area 0 786329 I'm so disappointed. But, what did I expect at a Jewish deli in Natick!? The matzoh balls were inedible. The roast turkey seemed like it had been microwaved. The pastrami was nothing like I'm used to on Long Island, or even what I get at the Butcherie. The Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray was, however, delicious. What's a guy gotta do around here to get a decent matzoh ball? Rubin's, Zaftig's, B&D, Joan & Ed's, S&S: yuck! Sat Dec 27 20:02:25 -0800 2003 0 Frederic 1 786335 your'e telling me! and theres NONE north of Newton! well grossmans in marblehead and lendys in saugus but they are all just more yuck..i grew up in natick and have been wanting to take the ride to joan and eds but i guess i wont bother now..Being a veggie, I used to like their gardenburger Reuben. There are a couple in newton, but not sure how they are these days...Is there any good smoked fish out there either? Godfrieds used to have a great sable platter but since it closed I have never even seen anywhere that serves that anymore.. Can't find a good potato pancake either..Are they hiding anywhere?For takeout, the Butcherie is good, and Larry Levines in Peabody was very good recently, i think it improved from years ago.. They had fairly decent matzo balls. Sun Dec 28 01:17:33 -0800 2003 786329 0 chompie 2 786342 Okay, I agree the best delis now are in NYC, but although we don't live close Maxie's in Canton/Stoughton is really good. It is the only reason to visit relatives in Sharon.... Forget Joan and Eddie's...and Zaftigs makes skimpy sandwiches and is way over priced... Sun Dec 28 08:03:37 -0800 2003 786335 0 Parrot MoM 3 786380 I've had some items at Hurwitz's Kosher Market in Framingham that we've liked- potato latkes, chopped liver, etc. Mon Dec 29 22:17:52 -0800 2003 786342 0 AnnieP 2 786372 "Good Jewish food in Greater Boston" is an oxymoron. I've lamented this many times before. Boston has one of the highest per capita Jewish populations in the US and the worst Jewish food. Mon Dec 29 14:16:11 -0800 2003 786335 0 enoboy 1 786343 I disagree. Joan & Ed's has some good stuff - worth the trip for me. We buy their meat knishes a dozen at a time - they're better than most. Their brisket is good, the gravy is fine - also on the kishka. The desserts aren't quite Juniors, but ok. I'm, not a big fan of their latkes, but then only one deli in NY makes latkes as good as I do anyway (out on the island, in Lake Success) - nothing else is worth buying. Ditto on the chicken soup and matzohballs - what - we're talking rocket science? Turkey? What's that? Some goyishe diet food? Do you get any schmalz on that? As for sable or sturgeon, nothing beats mail order from Russ & Daughters. You're not going to find that in most deli's anywhere (except those that get their fish from Russ & Daughters, and even then, they're not going to have the turnover). Sun Dec 28 09:21:40 -0800 2003 786329 0 applehome 1 786348 I had come to the conclusion in my visits over the last few year's that Boston had become a Deli free zone, but on my latest visit I stumbled onto Michael's on Harvard St. near Coolidge Corner. When we got there he had just taken a brisket out of the oven. It was excellent. We took a large amount with us to have with the latkes I was making that night. Everyone was very happy with it. The Corned Beef was also very good. The sandwiches are piled high with 1/3 lb of meat. We also tried the stuffed cabbage, which was good, but I've had better. The whitefish salad was found very good by the whitefish salad fans in my family, but I found it to be too sweet. I don't understand why anyone would put sugar in it. The meat knishes were very good with a nice light crust. I also thought the prices were very reasonable. The place is tiny 14 seats. BTW we were very pleased to find the COSTCO in Waltham had Rugelach. Our Costco in California stopped making them several years ago. They helped make up for the demise of our favorite bakery in Newton Center. They are surprisingly good. They come in two flavors, chocolate and raspberry. Sun Dec 28 17:22:29 -0800 2003 786329 0 jaweino 1 786359 I can't stand Joan and Ed's. It's way too expensive, and not particularly good. I swear by Barry's Deli in Waban (Newton). Mon Dec 29 08:37:10 -0800 2003 786329 0 AlanH 1 786370 Joan & Ed's serves clam chowder. Whether it is a kosher place or not, this says it all. Mon Dec 29 14:05:54 -0800 2003 786329 0 hank 1 786765 I was also incredibly disappointed by Joan and Ed's, but I recently tried Kugel's in Trolley Square in Framingham. I had the matzoh ball soup, which was very tasty and had really delicious pieces of chicken with fluffy but substantial matzoh balls and I had their signature kugel. The kugel alone is worth going there for! A huge dense block of (sweet) kugel heated was absolutely perfect, the best non-homemade I've ever tasted! Fellow diners ate a BLT and ruben and enjoyed both. Supposedly they carry H&H bagels (.60 each). Fri Jan 09 08:10:14 -0800 2004 786329 0 EmJane 2 786921 BLT at a Jewish deli? Truly authentic. Mon Jan 12 20:43:57 -0800 2004 786765 0 hank 3 786931 Not to defend Joan and Ed's, but I must here. Authentic and traditional are NOT the same thing. It's not traditional to serve BLT at a Jewish deli, but it can still be authentic. After all, they are Jewish, and it is a deli. Tue Jan 13 08:30:18 -0800 2004 786921 0 AlanH™ (formerly AlanH) 4 786950 Serving pork and shellfish at a Jewish deli is ridiculous. Maybe the patrons don't keep kosher but it shows disrespect and a need to assimilate to serve these things. And selling Judaica items next to the bacon is an insult. The Carnegie deli isn't kosher but they don't have clam chowder on the menu. Tue Jan 13 11:48:24 -0800 2004 786931 0 hank 5 786960 The debate about what makes a deli authentic is off topic for this board and we're going to have to ask that this discussion be wrapped up or moved to an appropriate board (either the Kosher board for kosher-specific issues or the General Topics board). Please help us keep this board focused on finding great chow in Boston, thanks! Tue Jan 13 13:23:14 -0800 2004 786950 2 The Chowhound Team