Jewish Deli Recommendation?

[dfoley]

Hi - we will be in town for our grandmother's memorial service in Queens next weekend. Where in Manhattan, or in any of the burroughs really, can we take a small family gathering for a pleasant Jewish Deli-style meal? Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[LDubs]

Bad news and good news. The good news is 2nd Avenue Deli is REOPENING, soon, at this location:
162 E. 33rd St., New York, NY 10016
nr. Third Ave.
212-677-0606

Yes, 2nd Avenue Deli is reopening on 3rd Avenue. Go figure. Anyway, the bad news is they won't be open by this weekend. I just called them and they said "sometime later in the Fall, call back in a couple of weeks for an update."

The Gods will be smiling that day. This deli has been sorely missed since it closed.

[Shayna Madel]

This is a charming and poignant story that just appeared in the NY Times regarding the Second Avenue Deli and Russ & Daughters.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage...

[gramercyfoodie]

I love, love, love PJ Bernstein's on 70th and 3rd.

-----
PJ Bernstein
1215 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10021

[joelm]

If your goal is a Kosher deli then Ben's and Arties are your only choices with sitdown.
However I have recently had pastrami at Sarges, Katz's and PAstrami Queen.

THe latter is Kosher but now is only takeout with just a single table. The pastrami was better, much better than at it's previous Manhattan location but not as good as the old Pastrami King.
I enjoyed Sarges a lot too. But of course Katz's is my consistent favorite.

I have not eaten at Ben's or Arties lately but my recollection is okay but nothing special - I give it a Feh++

[jackieparis]

Wow, it sounds like NYC has a shortage of Jewish delis. I keep seeing the same couple of places mentioned. Are we forgetting anything?

[Shayna Madel]

The delis here are all apparently in Manhattan (there are many others in other parts of NYC) and I am thinking that most, if not all, are kosher. Not sure. But you are right. These delis are disappearing, from all over NYC. It's almost hard to believe, but there has been no kosher or kosher-style deli in or close to downtown Flushing in at least 15 years.

[addictedtolunch]

Unless you are Pastrami-centric (Katz's the obvious oasis for that), until Second Avenue Deli re-opens, your best choices are not in Manhattan, IMHO.

[bosox]

i also vote for artie's. they have fabulous food and the atmosphere would work for a family meal. i had an amazing corned beef reuben there, as well as very good matzah ball soup.

[MizYellowRose]

I've been to both Ben's Deli and Artie's. Of the two, I prefer Artie's. The pastrami I had and the corned beef my husband had at Ben's wasn't hot or moist. At Artie's both our sandwiches came out hot and moist. Plus the meat was good quality. One disappointing thing about Artie's---they don't have the option of getting half a sandwich and a soup. Ben's has that option. It's too bad that Artie's didn't have that option. I would have liked to try their matzo ball soup but couldn't have handled it along with a full sandwich. I miss the original Second Avenue Deli and look forward to trying the new one when it opens!

[nativeNYer]

i should also add that i've tried katz's, the second ave deli, fine and shapiro in addition to ben's best in rego park. artie's pastrami is great as MizYellowrose mentioned above.

[ellenost]

I've always been a big fan of Sarge's on Third Ave. & E. 37 St.

[nativeNYer]

i really like artie's deli on broadway near W82. it's a large enough place for a small family gathering. you might want to call first. they have a huge menu of all the typical jewish specialties.

[Striver]

I recently had pastrami at Carnegie, Artie's, Sarge's, and Katz's. While Katz' is definitely the best for pastrami, I was pleasantly surprised by Artie's (which I've liked in the past primarily for its excellent franks) and mildly disappointed by Sarge's. Carnegie is what it is, good and bad; among other thing, it's not the right place for a small family gathering.

All things considered, including food quality, overall menu, and ambience, I'd also vote for Artie's.

[RGR]

We finally got around to having the pastrami at Sarge's a few days ago, and I have to say that it was near perfect. Properly fatty, juicy, and delicious! Katz's still rules, but I think Sarge's is an excellent runner-up. That said, the place is a dump.

[Striver]

Actually, I kind of liked the dumpiness, and our waitress was fine. Maybe we hit an off day - that can happen - but both my wife and myself found the pastrami to be lackluster and, if anything, on the salty side. Good derma, though.

[rolise]

If you want Queens, try asking this question also in the Outer Boroughs Board. Ben's mentioned by the poster below is okay. I personally miss the 2nd Avenue Deli and although love the pastrami at Katz's would not consider it a pleasant place to have a family meal.

In Rego Park I have heard good things about Bens Best. www.bensbest.com

[Shayna Madel]

Used to be the place to go to in the area, but beware of their recent (August, 2007) health department issues. To me, in Queens, Ben's in Bayside.

[skepner169]

Ben's Kosher Deli on West 38th Street is definitely a good choice for jewish-deli.