It looks good!
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There is a new "hipster" old fashion deli in Greenpoint not too far from here called Frankel's. It is excellent and I have been to my share of Jewish delis.
The only problem is that it is in a shoe box store and have almost no chairs or tables.
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Great shout out for Brown's Cel-Ray Tonic. thanks!
Cuts thru the fatty meat like nothing else and really sings with pastrami.
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I am always amazed at the adjective "Jewish" added to New York "food", "deli", "restaurant", etc. The press calls "Jewish" the Neworkized versions of food of the Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe, mostly in former Russia. The spectrum of Judeo-Semitic food in Food Section would be greatly enriched by inclusion of the food of Sephardic and Yemenite communities, of the questionably Jewish communities of Ethyopia, Cochin, and Kaifeng, China. And not to forget, to try and restore the cuisine of the extinct Phoenicians and Nabataeans.
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As far as I'm concerned, you can never have enough good pastrami sandwich 's in this world.
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Why are you reviewing a DELI in a NYTimes restaurant review , that does not even produce anything on SITE... It is not interesting, not professional , not even hipsterish....JUST FOOLISH and LAME editorial direction. NYC is a AMAZING food capitol and SO SHOULD its FOOD WRITERS...
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@gourmade So, should they also refrain from reviewing sushi-yas or restaurants that serve steak tartare? Skill is involved in assembling the sandwiches, and the chopped steak is most definitely cooked. I don't agree with him reviewing this particularly deli, but delis in general are worthy of review.
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@gourmade What's it like to be an elitist snob; most of us who also deserve good food haven't the faintest idea. Good food is good food regardless of where it's found.
You're post reeks like milk way past its date of expiration and anything having to do with objective concern about good food as well as a dash of insensitive ignorance.
NYC is indeed an amazing food capital of the world; one among many and it will continue to be once the present crisis subsides and we all able to partake once again. The major reason for this is not the largely over priced media magnets of the of the so called gourmands rather the unknown hole in the walls scattered throughout the 5 broughs revered by true trenchermen who revel in genuine food prepared honestly with care and with love which more often then not are created and manned by hard working cooks passing along their tried and true ancestral dishes, usually at a fair price. A price that doesn't prohibit anyone other then those in the most desperate situations from partaking in a beautiful square meal.
Even before this crisis that will leave many restaurants of all descriptions in the ashes; these "heroes" of minuscule kitchens and often huge homegrown and perfected talent of which I speak found the economic road a hard one to travel and along with the "us" you are obviously unfamiliar with suffering in their demise. With this current tragedy which we are all in the midst of; I fear the lose will be astronomical in number.
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I tried it a few weeks ago. It was good, not great. The atmosphere does not encourage dining in and pastrami sandwich to go it’s not quite my thing. The upper east side Pastrami Queen in it’s old location was better. But now it’s also somewhat mediocre. I think Canters in LA will now give just about any NY delicatessen a run for its money.
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The mixing of the old restaurant with the new in this story reminds me of my favorite Norwegian restaurants merging with the new Chinese owners in Sunset Park many years ago. They had the best pancakes and Norwegian dishes made by the Norwegian cook who cooked on the same line as the Chinese cook. It lasted for over a year but now both places are long gone.
Peggy Herron
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I am not sure if it reopened yet after a fire, but Hobby's in Newark is the best Jewish deli I have been to in the last ten years. It's excellent and authentic.
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@Lane it's reopened!
I thought pastrami was made from the naval and corned beef from the brisket. That's why I always preferred corned beef, not as rich and salty as pastrami.
In the 70's the Jewish deli in the Bay Terrace shopping center was our go to place.
Make mine a corned beef on rye with mustard, side of Cole slaw, sour and half sour pickles if you please.
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I now make better pastrami than can be found at any NY deli, courtesy of the Mark Bittman David Bowen recipe. That’s not to say that my pastrami is great; it’s because there is no great pastrami in NY any more. Sigh.
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@Marc Kagan There's no great pastrami anywhere anymore.
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Feels like this should have been reviewed in Hungry City or something. A delicatessen with some hummus and other Middle Eastern food.
Hummus pairs exceptionally well with most meats though. Corned beef, pastrami, and brisket should be no exception to steak, shawarma, and schnitzel.
As far as Muslims taking over a "Jewish delicatessen" no shrieks of cultural appropriation. That street only runs one way.
Speaking of which, authentic Yemenite food is simply incredible. Malawach rolls off the tongue like Newman jubilantly shouting Jambalaya in "The Soup Nazi" episode of Seinfeld.
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@Ignatius J. Reilly
I think it's weird that you're taking issue with the religion of the people making the food.
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@Jess I think it's weird that you failed to appreciate that the issue was addressed initially in the article itself.
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david's is no frills, but it is legit. you owe it to yourself to check it out. the spot on nostrand is 1.5 blocks from the a/c stop. not too bad at all for tourists and other urban adventurers!
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I have a respect for New York when it comes to food. It is leagues ahead of other American cities..save for New Orleans. But when it comes to Jewish food copying, it does not hold a candle to Montreal. What NYT is trying to deal with here is what Quebecois, regardless of ethnic heritage, call Le Smoked Meat, originally a Jewish recipe that enthralls everyone who tries it since introduced 140 years ago! What the NYT is suggesting in the article falls as short as New York bagels do compared to Montreal's.
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@Aleck Inglis Good to know! I never would have thought to look for, or try, "Le Smoked Meat" while visiting Montreal.
Thank you.
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@Aleck Inglis
Aleck, some people really rate S.F.
East Williamsburg? Really? Not when I was growing up.
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@Brooklyn Born Still not. That area is super dangerous. Definitely not worth it for pastrami either, unless you’re taking a car there and back.
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made my mouth water from beginning to end. Too bad Brooklyn is so far away now.
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*Cheese* on a pastrami sandwich!?!?
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@Moishe Pipik
really shocking. definitely not kosher
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@ Chesa
No need to be shocked: there are no food prohibitions in the Ten Commandments, and all such are a later superstructure, erected by the theologians and theocrats.
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NOW your talking! Perhaps Pete felt a little guilt dissing on the OTHER Williamsburg meat palace...Perhaps this'll light a fire under Harry n Ida's to reopen? Nevertheless, if Katz' line is too long, have your Lyft continue past, onto the Bridge and grab a Pastrami Master, hey , what could be bad...don't forget the Cel Ray!!
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It's hard to find a good rye bread. The best is a midwestern double baked rye with an extraordinary crunch to the crust. Having grown up in Milwaukee I miss it. I'm told the best is from Detroit and I've had Zingerman's version and it's excellent. The cost of their rye bread is reasonable but the postage is a killer. Great bread is hard to find; few people are willing to put up with a 12 hour workday.
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@Golem18 Eli's rye bread is the BOMB!! good as it gets, again, not cheap but hits all the right notes!
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@Golem18 I own a bread machine and make my own bread. By altering the recipe a little, I can make a rye bread loaf I prefer over any I can buy. Takes me about 10 minutes (if that) and the bread machine 2 to four hours depending on the yeast I use (which changes the dough raising time). Wonderful.
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In the vein of friendly rivalry. NY pastrami is certainly good.
But compared to Montreal Smoked Meat, meh, it's a sub-genre. No contest. Just import the stuff if Customs will allow it.
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@Tara Montreal smoked meat? My wife and I had some last summer (in Montreal, naturally). We both very much felt the same way - highly overrated, and can't hold a candle to great pastrami.
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@Jim
I think that @Tara was saying that Montreal smoked meat was superior.
In reality, viande fumée (smoked meat) as one can have at Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen is somewhat different from pastrami. If I'm in Montreal, I'll stop into Schwartz's at least once on my trip for lunch. When I'm next in NYC, I'll look to go to Pastrami Masters and give their pastrami a go. In fact, I had a pastrami sandwich for lunch today up here in Albany.
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@Tara Montrealers love their food as much as New Yorkers do and boast about their wonders. And while viande fumée is a treat in Montreal, it's not as good as a great NY/NJ pastrami. Likewise with those Montreal bagels. I just got 4 dozen from St. Viateur and am mildly disappointed. They came overnight and were fresh, but they're a touch sweet (kettled in honey-sweetened water) and lack flavor, including the everything. Blackseed bagels in NYC are superior Montreal-style bagels. But I'll take a good real NY/NJ any day.
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For one thing, they could use better pickles.
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@ David Johnson Nevis
To me, the best pickles are "Russian slightly-salted cucumbers" = malossol'nyye ogurtsy.
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The map shows Grand St in New Jersey, whereas this restaurant is in Brooklyn.
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@Snoopy, Now the map shows Brooklyn.
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Oh how I could eat myself silly on this yummy food!
Do ask that your rye bread be toasted. The crunchy texture and added toast flavor will save it from its innate mediocrity.
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Does anyone else find the juxtaposition of this review with the Front Burner piece about a meat-free version of corned beef funny? The New Yorker used to have a newsbreak category called something like "Which Page [of The NY Times] Do You Read?" for this.
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Usually enjoy it when Pete covers an everyman's restaurant, but prefer that he pick one that's, like, actually good. Why bother reviewing a deli few have heard of and then tell us we're not missing much?
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I miss the Pastrami Queens at the corner of Graham and Ainslie.
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The only Pastrami joint with a reproduction of the Temptation of St. Anthony over the cash register.
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The old Pastrami King on Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens.
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Moderately happy East Williamsburg resident that I am, I don't see what about this place merited coverage, considering the tepid review (and having eaten at Wafa's, which was just all right to begin with). Pete usually does a more selective job of throwing a bone to the second borough. As an aside, I would have loved to learn how Fuad & Co. came to own David's, and their thoughts on the Jewish-Yemenite-Lebanese "fusion." Maybe we're meant to assume that there's nothing eventful about that in we-all-love-each-other New York, but the real story is always more interesting than that. AI do love Photo #3 of the local army in uniform.
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