SEA - new york deli
there has just opened in pike place market (in the economy arcade opposite the main entrance to dilaurenti's) a small place calling itself the "i love new york deli". being as desperate for shmaltz and dr. browns' celray tonic as any displaced gothamite, i am most happy to report that these folks seem to (finally!) have broken the curse against excellent new york (read:jewish) deli in seattle. the bread (what is a deli without bread?) is baked daily in the market and is the first good crusty rye bread and crunchy kaiser rolls i have encountered in the emerald city. everything else - meats, pickles, soft drinks, salads - is brought in from a supplier in brooklyn and is of first quality; the meats kept hot (microwaves are anathema) and sliced to order, the knishes (baked on site) and chopped liver (chicken, not beef) made by the owner to his mother's recipes; the pickles the color of cucumbers and loaded with garlic. sandwiches are relatively cheap considering their gigantic size and i am really looking forward to checking out the soups. welcome to seattle!
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I'll have to agree with what a few people just said here -- I had the Pastrami yesterday -- looked more like bacon than brisket, way too much fat. Not only that, it did not have much flavor, I had it on rye with a little horseradish and some sprouts (my creation), and I couldn't really taste the meat.
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Holy crap - great matzo ball soup! I have never had good MBS in a restaurant. Katz in NYC and in Canter's in LA don't put any carrots or celery in their soups - and it's always oily. But not this! Tastes just like my mom's - down to the dill floating around in the broth. AND you get two balls! Restaurants only seem to give ya one. I also splurged on a devil dog - my favorite treat when I visited my NYC relatives as a kid.
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terrier
Jan 17, 2008 09:32 AM
Breakfast sandwiches didn't last long, apparently. I went yesterday around 10:30 & they didn't have them though the sign said "served until 11am." (Oh well, ended up with a tongue sandwich on dark rye, which was great!)
Went back today shortly after 9am & the sign for breakfast sandwiches was gone entirely.
I'm sad now; I really could have used a pastrami & egg this morning.
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re: terrier
terrier
Jan 27, 2008 03:31 PM
Breakfast sandwiches are back! And I finally had one this morning!
The pastrami, egg, and cheese sandwich is absolutely incredible. Much better, actually, than the breakfast sandwiches I regularly ate in NYC when I lived there owing to a much better quality roll and better meat. It's a total steal at $3.
(They'll make them with whatever meat you ask for, even though pastrami's the only one advertised.)
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Gotta say I was a bit disappointed after all of the glowing reviews. Had the pastrami on dark rye and it was more than a touch too fatty for my tastes. I'll give it another go but has anyone else found the pastrami to be fatty?
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Has anyone on this site been to Kenny & Zuke's new deli in Portland yet?
They cure, smoke and steam their own brisket on-site. I think I like their pastrami better than Katz.Was wondering how this compared. Will check it out in a few months.
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re: hhlodesign
Disagree. The smoking for a pastrami is much more for the preservative factor than for the taste factor (unlike in BBQ or something). In fact, isn't most of the smoke flavor (purposely) removed once they stick those things in water?
I will try your Kenny & Zuke's, but I'm pretty sure I will still hold Katz's Deli as the exemplar pastrami.
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re: dagrassroots
both corned beef (usually made from the brisket) and pastrami (usually made from the plate [or deckle]) are brined to cure and preserve them. both are then boiled (or steamed) to fully cook them . at that point, pastrami is rubbed with additional spices and smoked for both to add flavor and to encourage some melting of fat. eating lean pastrami is like kissing your aunt through a napkin....
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re: howard 1st
extramsg
Jul 21, 2008 05:20 PM
I think this is partially incorrect. I've personally never seen a recipe for pastrami, old or new, that included steaming or boiling the meat before smoking it. I'd love to see a reference if I'm wrong. I think the traditional and common manner is to cure (preferably by dry curing, but probably more commonly by brining) the meat, then smoking, then steaming until tender. The steaming process should play little part in its flavoring. It's there just to finish tenderizing the meat, melt some fat, and lubricate the sinews.
The issue, I think, arises because nearly all delis have their pastrami made for them nowadays. Even Katz's. Even Langer's. It's part of a commercial process.
Having considered this for K&Z, I know that the process usually includes chemicals (beyond curing salt) that speed up the process, resulting in a diminished cure flavor. Also, because of modern technology, the amount of smoke is much reduced since the wood or coals do not have to be used as a heat source. They are merely there to flavor the meat.
In my experience, pastrami and Montreal smoked meat have a pretty light smoke flavor in general. K&Z's pastrami has a much stronger smoke flavor than any commercial pastrami I've tasted and also a stronger cure flavor. I assume that 100 years ago, this was more common, since 100 years ago every little Jewish delicatessen would be making their own meats or having a wider variety of producers make it for them using the technology at the time: ie, true hot or cold smoking without the use of modern heat sources. I can't imagine this didn't produce a more substantial smoke flavor than is common today. But I haven't been able to find any descriptions of the flavor of pastrami from that long ago.
Personally, I don't think it's about which is "better". It seems there is room for both styles and people will like whichever they like. It's like the fat issue. Traditionally, pastrami is from a very fatty part of the cow, essentially the eye-piece of the belly, like the meatiest part of where bacon would come from on a pig. Sometimes you see rivers of fat in pastrami, sometimes it's pretty lean, even at wonderful places like Katz's. The trend is definitely towards the latter, but I've had people complain about both.
I would love to see more places making pastrami from scratch. I think it would be an easy fit for Texas BBQ joints.
PS: In case you don't know, I'm the Zuke part of Kenny & Zuke's.
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landguy
Jan 10, 2008 10:31 AM
The corned beef and pastrami sandwiches are fantastic, all ingredients are imported from Brooklyn, NYC. Have to admit I'm not crazy about the knishes aside from the fried potato knish which is very authentic. I thought the crust on the other knishes was too gummy and not to my liking. Overall this is definitely a gem though IMO, I hope he expands to a real restaurant.
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re: landguy
say,would somebody be so kind as to give directions,like if one was to drive there to pick-up before work.so where would one park,off of 1st or would you better to come up from down below?being from nyc and pastrami is hard to find.the only 2 places i would eat pastrami in wa would be barneys and roxys, so im dieing to try this place out potatoe knishes,hum. thanks mic
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re: equinoise
my understanding from talking with him was that there was some sort of non-compete agreement among the merchants in the Market...so if there is already somebody else there selling gravlax, they discourage other vendors from doing so...I guess the Sanitary Market is not a Free Market
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re: barleywino
Thanks for the input. Such an agreement raises alot of interesting questions, for food fanatics and others. One wonders how a competing product would be defined under the agreement, e.g. does gravlax compete with lox? smoked salmon? I have to say, it does seem the Market niches have been carefully culled to avoid duplication. I'm sitting here trying to think of other poentially competing vendors and its not easy.
P.s. like terrier I miss made to order breakfast sandwiches on the cheap. I had a pre-made egg sandwich at Mel's market one day that was pretty nasty.
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natalie.warner
Jan 10, 2008 08:41 AM
On yelp this deli only has 2 stars. There are only two reviews so far both both gave that rating... what is the real deal?
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re: natalie.warner
You should try it yourself. I personally liked my pastrami sandwich I had there recently; not as good as Katz's in new york or Langers in LA but still the best in Seattle I.M.O. Really its unfair for me to make comparisons to the best of the best, it would be like comparing Lark to French Laundry. Take it for what its worth, a more than decent pastrami sandwich.
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re: natalie.warner
Yelp is a terrible place for reviews. It's full of "drive by" reviews--people that went once, had one thing, then diss or rave about the place based only on that. This kind of message board, where there's a running conversation, is a much better venue to judge.
My husband is loving everything this place has--he'd never had things like a tongue sandwich or chopped liver and pastrami but based on the guy's recommendations, he's had them, loved them, and would recommend them to anyone.
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re: stevedgrossman
seattledebs
Jan 9, 2008 10:19 PM
Yes, and it's good. My only complaint is that I like heavily seeded rye best, and it's lightly seeded. But lightly seeded is more common for sandwiches anyway, I think.
By the way, I finally had the pastrami and corned beef (I like them layered together) at this place and it really was very good. Half a sandwich filled me right up, and I saved the other half for the next day's lunch.
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re: stevedgrossman
knowspicker
Jan 10, 2008 09:03 AM
If you want to find German rye the place to go is a Russian deli. From Russia with Love[bellevue], Bravo[aurora] or a little place by Grocery Outlet in Kirkland all buy German dough and bake the rye here. It's the closest thing in Seattle to bread we ate everyday in Prague. It's worth a little bit of a detour for the dark rye.
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seattledebs
Nov 28, 2007 12:43 PM
I'm sick today, so didn't feel up to pastrami, but I had a mushroom/potato knish. Delicious! Moist, good flavor; I inhaled it. Best knish I've had in Seattle. I also had a look at his rye bread, which he'll sell you an enormous loaf of for $6. That rye bread looks like the real deal.
Real deli food in Seattle, how about that. Someone keep an eye on Rachel the bronze pig; she may start to fly.
Oh, a tip: I've never had one, but the hot dog place across the way from this deli place sells egg creams.
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bbqer
Nov 27, 2007 09:25 AM
Howard, yesterday I had their special Reuben sandwich. Aside from the excellent corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and caraway rye bread. The proprietor has added a generous dash of horseradish which made a very good sandwich into a great one. Two kosher pickle slices and potato salad came with it for $10.95. Great dining!
I'm also aware that they can do combo sandwiches, so I'm looking forward to a pastrami and chopped liver soon. Also a variety of knishes. Best deli food I've had outside NY.
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I'm no knish expert, but I liked the one I got for lunch. I had a half sour pickle (they bring them in from Brooklyn), too.
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re: krb
Had the matzoh ball soup today for lunch. It was ok, the balls were sinkers and a little too dense for my tastes, the broth was pretty good. The pastrami looked good but I am a little disappointed they don't hand slice it. In any case, this looks like the best option for jewish syle deli food in seattle.
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re: landguy
extramsg
Nov 27, 2007 08:53 PM
Allegedly. I believe Carnegie has their pastrami made by Kirkland for these purposes. You can get it at Costco and while it's better than most pastrami in supermarkets, it isn't as good as Carnegie's stuff at their store and I don't think Carnegie's stuff is as good as many of their competitors' stuff.
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seattledebs
Nov 19, 2007 09:36 AM
I walked by this place on Sunday, while taking my boyfriend around Pike Place Market. I didn't get anything, being already full and with dinner plans, but work downtown and will check it out very soon. The knishes looked very good and the menu looked promising. I also asked if they make their mushroom knishes with fresh or canned (even Yonah Schimmel's in New York uses canned, which is very disappointing), and they use fresh. I can't wait to try it!
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terrier
Nov 18, 2007 10:48 PM
I'm also a NYC expat, and agree this place does a really decent pastrami sandwich. I look forward to returning for the beef tongue, corned beef, and chopped liver.
I tried their potato knish, but I'm not wild about it. I like mine smaller, with a bit more texture to the potato - but this is purely subjective. I'll still have to check out the mushroom and kasha versions.
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