What New York food could you not live without? A Q from CHOW

[alexvb]

Hello, lovely fellow hounds. Just a curious Q from the CHOW HQ, which we'll repost in Manhattan (stay tuned for a post about this on Digest):

If you were suddenly banned from New York City and all your favorite local foods, what classic New York food would miss most? The bagel? Cha siu bao? The slice? It could be of ethnic origin, of course, but it'd have to be something you've not found anything like elsewhere.

Let us know-- and thanks for playing!

xo, CHOW

[donovt]

No doubt about it, pizza. Everytime my wife and I are out of town for even a few days, our first meal at home is a pie.

[lollytrolley]

There is nothing like NY pizza, hands down. Since I no longer live in NYC, I miss Chinese and deli also.

[cgchow]

The black and white cookie. Although the classic b&w of yore in NYC is getting harder and harder to find.

[Stuartmc910]

"Dirty water franks" with mustard and lots of (spicy hot) onions.

[phantomdoc]

When in grad school in Dallas, I would bring 100 bagels back to share and freeze.

[LeahBaila]

Second that. Bagels, without a doubt! No one else makes 'em the way we do.

www.thelunchbelle.com

[GoodGravy]

Chicken parm heros.

[fara]

having lived away for 4 years now, I most miss the Chinese food: dim sum, Sichuanese, Cantonese, Beijing duck, etc etc. Also Dominican, Greek, and Brazilian. Let's face it, not many places can compare. One thing that is better in the Triangle: Indian. Sorry but NY Indian food is not very good.

[E Eto]

I suppose if I were leaving NYC, it'd be to LA, so I know I can find better versions of many foods found in NYC. But I would miss Bosnian cevapi, pljeskavica (sp?) and bureks; Egyptian food and especially Kabab Cafe and Ali's cooking (an "only in NY" experience); Halal cart food; I would miss easy access to good, simple Argentine/Uruguayan steaks and a chivito; bagels and bialys; NY style pizza, especially grandma slices; even though the Xi'an stuff available in NYC fills a hankering, I still miss my favorite Xi'an food from the stand in the former Flushing Food Court (closed from 2006?)... but I would miss that food; Jewish deli and appetizing food; Indian Chinese food; central Asian kosher kababs; Polish meat markets; Colombian bandeja plates, arepas con queso, arepas de chocolo, and almojabanas; Turkish kababs and mezze; Ecuadorian stews/soups and hornado ... there's probably more, but this is from the top of my head.

-----
Kabab Cafe
25-12 Steinway St, Queens, NY 11103

[newport5]

There is good food in LA area but not compared with NY. I miss the bagels, bialy's, good Chinese food, pizza, any Italian food, the 2nd avenue deli, good corned beef. We do have really good sushi but the first thing I do when I go to NYC is go for Chinese food.

[E Eto]

Well, it sounds like you probably need to do a little more exploring in LA because while the Chinese food in NY is good, the Chinese food in LA can be great. Unless you're talking about NY style American Chinese. Then that has more to do with your palate than the quality of food in either city. And I guess I've had plenty of really good Italian food in LA as well, perhaps not the regional Italian you might find in NYC though, or the red-sauce Italian American places. And now that you mention corned beef, I find it odd that you can find good corned beef in NY, but not corned beef hash. The only notable one I've had is at Sarge's Deli, but I prefer the ones I can find in several places in LA (and I'm dying to try the one at Pann's that Servorg discovered a little while ago). I agree with you about bagels and bialys.

[newport5]

I have explored many places in the LA and especially Orange County areas and it is just not good. It may be regional and cater to the population here but doesn't compare to NY. I would appreciate suggestions. My father's corned beef (in NJ) was actually the best ever but in NY you can get it on the fatty side so it is juicy rather than the lean stuff we find in LA and enviorns. By the way, the best Chinese food we had in LA was at WP24. It was good ( still not as good as Shun Lee.

[mom22tots]

A good, fresh hot pretzel. With mustard, of course!!

[thew]

i had a totally on topic post removed in this thread - the mods are overly touchy again.
just because i said all food is of ethnic origin. now i've said it again - how long will this post last?
so again:
NY pizza would be my first choice. bagels less so, jewish deli food seems better in NYC than elsewhere, and the egg cream is clearly up there on my list as it is non-existant outside NYC (barely exists here anymore either)

[jen kalb]

I dont care much about what people consider NY food per se (its like talking about the Brooklyn Dodgers, really the stereotypical NY of memory) but I would really miss the staggering diversity of all of the NY ethnic options from people that are still close to their home country traditions,, fresh tofu from chinatown, fresh mozzarella and other great italian products from the Brooklyn Italian stores, turkish and lebanese baklava, and above all the BREADS. as well as the number of people in this town that care deeply about what they put in their mough and how it tastes - the active food culture, the availability of quality products from around the world, etc..

[bob96]

Jen, speaking for Brooklyn boys and girls of a certain age, I'll overlook your pass at the Dodgers, but, as usual, you're on target. It's true it's the density, immediacy, and diversity of stuff that makes this city so unforgettable--and how so much of it is tied deeply to communities and families. Yes, the breads, everywhere; the crowds gaggling over special holiday foods at ethnic markets. And how we take all this for granted, too.

[The Chowhound Team]

We haven't removed any posts from this thread.

[thew]

well - then my post never posted even though i remember posting it. it went poof into the internet ether i suppose

[The Chowhound Team]

No way to tell what happened, but it never showed up on our end.

[thew]

it's ok, i view my brilliance as akin to tibetan sand paintings anyway ;)

[alexvb]

Ah, what that should have said was ANY ethnic origin, but thank you for the catch! --Alex

[daffyduck]

the diverse amounts of ethnic food! I could just stumble into a hole in the wall in flushing and explore a random region of china's food. Greek in astoria, Indian in Jackson heights, Latin in Corona, etc. Chances are I could just stumble into a hole in a wall joint and have my mind blown.
haha but one thing I love about NY is at 3am if I'm too zooted or tired to know what's what and I want something. Often times there's a 24hr bodega on every block!

[Mister Meatball]

The Nathan's hot dog -- but at the original Coney Island Nathan's, not any of the other locations.

Why it's so much better there I don't know. But it is.

And so it cannot be had anywhere else on this earth.

-----
Nathan's Famous
1310 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224

[bigjeff]

I'm not sure if these are found everywhere, but I think those korean-owned salad bar places are unique, the ones with hot and cold food for $7/lb, let's say. most are crap, but some of them have interesting items and you could really make yourself a crazy lunchbox of soft-shell crab, fried maki, maybe a hunk of avocado, a single rib, croutons, cheesy seafood bake and sunflower seeds. I know, sounds gross, but those are just a few of the endless possibilities!

all the other stuff doesn't feel exclusively "NY" to me or at least, can be found elsewhere, more or less. And I can surely live without them of course. in fact, I hardly ever eat that stuff anymore, I just think they are unique.

[alexvb]

These are all so great. Thanks everyone & keep 'em coming! I think I'd most miss the slice, our bagels and our tonkotsu ramen-- unless I was banished to Tokyo.

[El Tigre]

without question the bialy, particularly from Kossar's. After that would be Jewish appetizing: sturgeon, smoked salmon, chopped liver etc.
i would also miss many of the NYC's unique places that aren't necessarily NYC-centric but happen to be here: Doughnut Plant, Xi'an, Shake Shack, etc

-----
Shake Shack
Roosevelt Ave 126th St, Queens, NY 11368

[Mister Meatball]

I second the bialy!

Most def.

[gfood]

I third the bialy!!

Bagels are made everywhere now, and arguably better in other places (i.e. Montreal).

Bialys are unique to NYC, people from other parts of the country haven't even heard of them, and Kossar's, imo, are the best.

[glutton08]

Impossible question. There's a reasonable version of pretty much any food you can get in the city at least one other place in the world. What I couldn't live without is the variety of great foods in such a small geographic area.

[secondbecky]

Am I the only one who misses a good pastrami sandwich when I'm gone for a while? When I lived in North Carolina, it was the ONLY food I truly missed...

[JungMann]

As someone whose work may move him away from the city for extended periods I've found myself missing foods I wouldn't have thought would be so impossible to find outside the Five Boroughs:
* Crisp and crunchy buffalo wings, served extra spicy
* Perfectly balanced and intriguing cocktails
* Jamaican patties and pizza slices on every corner
* Whitefish salad and appetizing in general
* And more than anything else, variety: the spice of NYC dining

[Glendale is hungry]

Hi alexvb,

What I would miss most of all is the experience of simply strolling around my very humble Queens neighborhood and being able to find (in the local stores) food/snacks/candy from Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania, Costa Rica, Korea, Japan, Macedonia, Italy, Mexico, the Ukraine, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Australia, the UK, Switzerland, Turkey, Portugal, Brazil, Peru, Jamaica, Vietnam (and the list goes on....). And I can do this with almost no effort whatsover—it's all a 5 to 10 minute walk from my house.

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...(for good restaurants but NOT ethnic groceries—we've got plenty of those!)

[bigbull123]

dirty water dogs, gyros, halal chicken and rice, pizza, bagels, lox, cannolis, vannesa's dumplings sesame pankcake roast pork sandwich, banh mi, hero from jimmy's in brooklyn

-----
Jimmy's Famous Heros
1786 Sheepshead Bay Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11235

[soupçon]

Everything I can get at Xi'an Famous Foods. Cemitas. Arepas de choclo. I don't live in New York, but those are the things I make a beeline to when I get there.

-----
Xi'an Famous Foods
41-28 Main St, Queens, NY 11355

[johnnyb510]

I'm in Gerona Spain now....and would really love a hot dog or a pastrami sandwich....but the food here is so good that I'm doing fine....even the liter box of wine for under a Euro is good. JB

[pavloosh]

I'd miss the Ukrainian food down in the Lower East Side [Second Avenue / 7th Street area]. The delicious borshch, holubtsi, varenyky, etc., etc. - out of this world!

[jraphi]

Pizza, Bagels and bialys. My husband and I were in NYC last wek. He was all ready to take me to a upscale restaurant. I refused,. I went home to my old pizza palor and had Fabulous, Delicious PIZZA and the next day we went for BAGELS! Heaven!!!! and of course Katz's corned beef sandwiches and their half sour pickles.

[jackm2]

I would miss new york cheesecake from s & s in the bronx

-----
S&S Cheesecake
222 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463

[flipchica]

Pizza first and foremost. Then anything from a Greek diner. Then bagels. Then a Nathan's hotdog. Then a knish from a cart.

[selenster]

i've been thinking about this, and as a native new yorker, i'm going to have to say real knishes (knish nosh/yonah shimel variety, not that crappy square junk), pizza (especially the A&J's i grew up on in forest hills) and my mother's cooking. what, my mom lives here and i think that counts. i live in another borough and i still find myself longing for her home-cooked meals. OK, fine, if that doesn't count, eggplant parmesan from your local, NYC italian joint that's served with your choice of pasta. when i was in LA, i was thoroughly chuffed to find something similar where i could actually get an eggplant parm platter and not just a sandwich.

[emmerlee]

Chopped Liver and Street Meat!!! Once when I was back down South for several months, I came to visit and had the taxi driver take me straight from LaGuardia to what was then my favorite Halal cart on 21st and 5th, so I could get the greasy, delicious Gyro I'd been craving for weeks!

[bigjeff]

ya I been to that vendor before, good stuff; don't think they are still around. what other cities have street meat?

[BakersMark]

Soup dumplings from Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown or in Flushing (not the midtown location). Without a doubt.

-----
Joe's Shanghai
136-21 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11354

[pds8232]

Joe's? Went last week with 5 family members. We used to love it years ago but this time, the only thing we ate that we all enjoyed were the soup dumplings. No sooner had they been unceremoniously plopped onto the somewhat dirty table, the rest of the food all arrived at the same time. What genius came up with that one? Sesame chicken, orange beef, moo shu pork, and crispy prawns (no shell) were all BLAH! Chef's night off? Very weak showing. Final insult? The bus boys stood over the table as we finished off the orange sections waiting to clear the table. I've never felt so rushed in a space where total cacophony was the rule. After many years, I've crossed Joe's off my list permanently.

[emanangan]

Are you guys nuts? I would and I AM definitely missing the RAINBOW COOKIE aka tre colore aka venetian cookie from the best italian bakeries/delis (and some jewish ones too like 2nd ave deli). Three or more pressed layers of italian sponge cake "glued" together with jam, coated in chocolate and sometimes finished with sprinkles. They do not exist in the San Francisco Bay Area (no those things at Pi on Valencia are NOT rainbow cookies). My go to SF Italian deli--Lucca Ravioli--sells packs of Italian cookies right as you walk in but there isn't one rainbow cookie in sight!

[Mister Meatball]

No rainbow cookies?

Madonna!!!!!

[guilty]

If you're feeling creative (or you have an accommodating bakery nearby), this recipe gets some glowing reviews from NYCers: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/rainbow...

[sjgleah]

I miss the quintessential NY cheese danish. When I left NY 23 years ago I never thought it would be hard to find a good cheese danish, but nothing compares to those I used to buy from the Jewish bakeries in Queens or from Zaro's or Hot n Crusty in Manhattan.

[Debbi64]

Other than NYC "water" 24/7 ~ anything and everything from the menus at El Rio Grande, 160 East 38th Street OR Docks, 633 Third Avenue; And their STAFFS from the late 80s early 90s! The Staff enhances the food ~ they were all more than wonderful!

[starvinmarvinpb]

1st and foremost: ANY form of bread. Bialys, bagels, pizza, that dark and crusty sourdough, kaiser rolls - none of which are any good in many other places. Chinese food that gets to your door perfectly cooked to order before you hang up the phone. Luger's. Pumpernickel bagel w/lox and a smear from Russ & Daughters. Curry Hill. Wo Hop. Cuban Sammies from UWS delis (they have good ones here in FL, but that's where I learned to eat em). Fabulous neighborhood Italian restaurants where you sat on the sidewalk. Burn 'em and bag 'em fries (Especially Pearl St Diner's). Pea soup with cinnamon raisin croutons made from the prior day's bagels (Also from Pearl St Diner). Well done pizza from My Daddy's. Veselka. Smith&Wolly's cheeseburger. PJ Clarke's burger. JG Melon burger. Tomato&Feta omelet from Viand Diner. Veal shank from Kleine Konditorei on 86th. Beer and egg breakfast at Ideal Restaurant (also on 86th). Cuban Chinese food from La Caridad on the UWS on Broadway. Takeout from the old Harry's on Hanover (in the 80's, they would bring a white tablecloth and silverware and set it up at your desk). Rotisserie chicken from any of those bird places in midtown who pioneered the product. Mystery fig cookies from the Korean deli. Pastrami and corned beef from Carnegie. Or 2nd Ave Deli. RB, egg, and cheese from Elsa Deli. Full house ham on whiskey down from Essex Deli.

...to name a few.

-----
Peter Luger Steak House
178 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211

[joetom]

being a musician and spending a lot of time away from NYC, we, as new yorkers, are quite spoiled with the endless options of authentic cuisines we have at our disposal. Sure, it's nice to be in France one day, Austria the next and Israel the day after, but i can get some pretty legit CHOW within 1 mile of my doorstep here in Brooklyn. i definitely miss my neighborhood restos in Williamsburg (Lorimer & Metropolitan) such as M Noodle, Sals Pizza, Motorino, & Mesa Coyoacan to name a few. Marlow and Sons' chocolate caramel tart is one gem hard to imagine life without.

-----
Marlow & Sons
81 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Sal's Pizzeria
544 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Motorino
319 Graham Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Mesa Coyoacan
372 Graham Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

M Noodle Shop
549 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

[permit3]

bialys from kossars---hard crusted kaiser rolls-the rest of america eats soft mushy ones and i wonder why??==and of course peter lugers-no steak compares!!!!!!

[roux58]

Pastrami from Katz's, Bagels from Hot Bagels on Montague Street, Indian food in the East Village, Per Se (but I could go to French Laundry instead) Joe's Shanghai noodles and soup dumplings, pizza, pizza, pizza, Convivium Osteria and Al di La(but I could go to Venice), Tagine on 9th Avenue for Moroccan (but I could go to Marakesh), Il Mulino (I guess I could go to Atlantic City) Le Bernadin, Bouley's, Dim Sum (but I could go to San Francisco). Fairway for everything, Murray's...

-----
Convivium Osteria
68 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Joe's Shanghai
136-21 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11354

Al Di La
248 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Mulino
133 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Hot Bagels
79-05 Metropolitan Ave, Queens, NY 11379

[happens]

I've been in northern VA for nine years. Of course I miss the ability to find really good food in so many local places in NY and usually at fairly reasonable prices.
The two items I miss most are a really good Italian bread and seedless rye bread
Bread is Va is close to hopeless and has me baking my own ciabatta and baguettes more often than I would like. The bread here is either very squishy - looks like a baguette but has the consistency or hamburger buns or so dense as to be almost unchewable.

[newport5]

I don't live in NY and I really miss good Chinese food, Pizza, and bagels. Southern California only has bagel like food but not real bagels. We would kill for decent NY style Chinese food and Pizza is marginal.

[Fritzikay]

I must mention crumb cake; cannot find that here in California, always get some when I am in NYC. Yes, NYC pizza is the best, and so are the bagels. Fresh mozzerella, hot pastrami on rye and so many ethnic cuisines makes NYC a foodie paradise.

[lennytone]

I left NYC 40 years ago for the west coast. On my four decade search for edible pizza have found it only once in Berkeley. Pastrami, bialys, cheesecake, knishes, forget it. Closest thing to a real deli is Cantor's in L.A. & L.V., but I don't live there. What I really miss: spicy calimari in tomato sauce from Sheepshead Bay, Brennan & Carr roast beef, Shatzkin's greasy knishes (I know you all miss those too), and Rocco's pizza (can any pizza in NYC today even compare?).

-----
Brennan & Carr
3432 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11229

[bklynsausage]

Shatzkins is gone my friend... Have you tried Phillipe's in LA for what I call Roast Beef I think they have another name for it. It is very good.
Ciao-

[Motosport]

I miss Shatzkins!! There was a knish place on the boardwalk in Far Rockaway called Jerry's Knishs that I loved. Also long gone!

[irvingk]

I also remember Shatzkins, the best knishes ever. Now you have Yonah Shimmel and Knish Knosh, both poor excuses for a knish.

-----
Knish Nosh
100-30 Queens Blvd, Queens, NY 11375

[Motosport]

Katz's pastrami on rye
Nathan's hot dog
Brennan and Carr roast beef sammich
All of the fabulous pizza NYC has to offer
Kossar's Bialy
All of the fabulous bagels NYC has to offer

-----
Brennan & Carr
3432 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11229

Nathan's Famous
1310 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224

[roadster]

wo hops, papaya king, manhattan special, burnt chesnuts from street vendors,real italian delis,

[bflobear]

jing fong's dim sum. buffalo needs to get on that.

[nycisBEST]

RESTAURANTS I MISS...............GARFIELD's in Brooklyn, (out of business for years........BRING IT BACK!), and MAZUR'S MARKETPLACE & RESTAURANT, (a GEM in Queens.....given 4 stars by Zigat's....in business for over 50 years, and STILL going strong! Delightful!)

I moved to Denver, (sometimes called "The New York of the West", a few years ago. Worst mistake I ever made. Many other ex-NYers live here too, and most of them, I've heard, also think they never should have moved from NY. I miss Waldbaum's supermarkets, (and their wonderful, unpackaged "lox", (smoked salmon). All the lox in Denver is TOO SALTY!) Those wonderful, "Please Mr. D'Agastino -- Move Closer Me!" radio ads! Just KNOWING that luxury grocer, "Gristedes" was somewhere nearby, (Manhattan -- though I lived in Queens. Never ordered from them....but at least they were There!) Peapod, FreshDirect, and YourGrocer online stores. I miss Farmland Milk. I miss Black & White cookies, (they have some in Denver -- little tiny ones, sold in a box -- that DON"T taste like NY B&Ws at all, and DON'T allow one to create indentations on the back of the cookie. I used to call these "craters on the moon". Not in Denver, sadly.) I miss NY bagels...nothing has the taste of a NY bagel, I'll agree. No other kosher tongue-meat sandwiches taste likeNew York kosher tongue tastes! When I was in the hospital in NY, I had chicken parmigana -- and even this Hospital food tasted better than the chicken parm. they have here! I REALLY miss New York MEAT....especially chop-meat, (ground)! Kosher or not, New York meat is available FRESH! Cut by butchers ON PREMISES! Here -- and in most of the rest of the country, (believe it or not!), meat is either frozen, or "gassed", (kept fresh by manufacturers putting a gas in the package!) The chop-meat packages look weird -- meat surrounded by air! I called up my old kosher butcher in NY....and he informed me there are NO BUTCHERS IN DENVER! I looked in the phone book -- and he was right! NO butchers! Only "Butcher Equipment" is listed! Totally unbelievable to me! And -- knishes! NY knishes are fried -- the ones in Denver are baked. But they are wrapped with BREAD....and have less stuffing, (and, because of the bread), probably more calories, than the fried ones in NY! Unfair to knish lovers!!!!! : (
There's even a restaurant in Denver called "The New York Deli" -- nice people, good atmosphere -- even a miniature Statue of Liberty at the door! Only -- the food is NOT N.Y. food! What a disapointment!

Guess I AM lucky, though in that I always had Domino's, (or Frachetta or DiGorno) pizza in NY -- & I can get the same taste in Denver : ) By the way..doesn't anyone know.there's a FORTUNE to be made for anyone who brings back the Brooklyn Dodgers? (To separate the team from the (boo!) LA. Dodgers, the ORIGINAL name of the team, "The Brooklyn Trolley-Dodgers" should be used!)......Bring it back, somebody.....and quick! Oh, if I only had enough money to start that team now............ Well, that's my "gift" to those lucky enough to still be in NY. (Please remember me if you decide to start the team again!) I hope one day to be able to return to NY.....I think every ex-NYer dreams this! : )

[jackm2]

I would miss the cheesecake from S & S in the Bronx. Not available in South Jersey.

-----
S&S Cheesecake
222 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463

[DeadlyDragonSound]

Hmmm...As someone who once lived outside of New York for 8 years -- there is a simple answer. Bagels, Bialys and pizza or more specifically a classic slice pizza. The more complex answer is that i missed the restaurant culture of New York -- the fact that people feel comfortable in restaurants here, that they like eating out and from the fanciest spots to the most basic coffee shop, people treat their dining out experience as an extension of their personal life. It might seem like something basic, but in other US cities people treat going to a restaurant as something seperate from their day-to-day experience which, to me, makes all restaurants seem "off" somehow.

[MARISKANY]

Having relocated to Michigan and living here for the last 2 years, I miss the pizza most. There's nothing to compare to a slice of Grandma's pizza.

[Scott_eyw]

I could not live with out a slice of hot pizza at 2:00 AM from Nino's or Stromboli after a night out in the village. Life would not be the same.

[mistercarguy]

I tell my non-NYC friends that you can get just about any food in New York and (with the exception of BBQ) will be as good as or better than any where in the world. But in NYC, there is a pastry that I have not found to be as good anywhere else - the sfogliatella. Flaky pastry. Semi-sweet cheese filling and, of course powdered sugar. Try the ones they sell on Grand Street at Ferrara's. Wash it down with an espresso and you will know what I mean.

Great topic! Thanks

[bklynsausage]

There is pretty good BBQ in NY now... All types too

[Motosport]

How's about the fact that you CAN easily get a decent meal in NYC at 2 AM?
Real restaurants serving real food into the wee hours. That's not counting the fabulous diners we have in NYC.

[bklynsausage]

Pizza,Bagels,Good Bread of all types, Home Made sausage, every kind of cheese, Any kind of food at any time.Who are we kiddin I aint going no where..

Ciao-

[lennytone]

Just got home from Las Vegas; had a delicious Pastrami on rye with coleslaw at Cantor's (but it's no Katz's). They have their own spin on the knish there ($6.50); different & good. Matzoh ball soup is great. And the only decent music I heard on the whole trip (50's doo-wop) from their sound system.

[bklynsausage]

I have been to Cantors.. It is the Disney of Deli... The smell in Katz's and the water fountain cannot be duplicated. I remember when every neiborhood had their own version of Katz's. what a time it was... And 6.50 for a Knish OyVey... Even Yonah Schimmels is only about 3 bucks..

Ciao-