I wanted pastrami. I’d just been in New York City for a week and did not get my taste of pastrami. Or great pastrami, at least. It wasn’t New York’s fault. A friend told me that Barney Greengrass, a heralded delicatessen on the Upper West Side, sold pastrami as well as their famous lox, whitefish, sturgeon and other cured fish. I’d known about Barney Greengrass for years, but never knew it sold pastrami.
Every once in awhile, my NJ roots show up and I crave for liverwurst. Not politically correct in the vegan or vegetarian inn world of today, but it is soooo good. Here's to our evils!
Growing up in Wichita, KS in the 1960s, I encountered kosher pastrami when my older brother worked weekends and summer nights at a kosher deli. The owner's first name was Leonard, and he arranged with Lindy's in New York for him to use that name too. Lindy's in Wichita had a meat counter, a scattering of tables for dining in, and a tiny kitchen in back in which bread, bagels and cheese cake were prepared. The meats came from Kansas City.
When my brother came home from work, he hung is coat in the kitchen closet. The aroma of the deli soon permeated the closet, as well as the rest of the kitchen.
No matter how good a pastrami or salami sandwich takes at the chain delicatessens now, they lack that aroma, and the clacking of the tables on the wooden floor that was in Lindy's.
I understand. Oh yes, I understand. I feel that way about porchetta. And fresh ricotta, the real thing. And the kind of crisp fried whole fish I had decades ago in China. And the Morse's sauerkraut I had in Maine last week. Talk about Reuben's--once you get past the pastrami, what do you do for 'kraut?
I was disappointed that you didn't try the Reuben at the Lafayette Deli. It coud have been good.
Pastrami is so delicious. Before coming to the US I knew it as "pickled beef" in Jewish-Alsatian cuisine. Then I had the great Reuben revelation at the Dante Street Deli, in New Orleans. Had some great ones in New York, as well (the Carnegie Deli, what an atmosphere!).
Why not try to make your own? It can't be too complicated. One restaurant where I used to work (yes, the one I told you about where Patricia Highsmith used to come often because she lived at the end of the block) made its own. These days, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a reliable recipe for authentic tasting Pastrami. When you get it down, I will drive over ! Give us a call if you come to NO for a Pastrami fix!
Every once in awhile, my NJ roots show up and I crave for liverwurst. Not politically correct in the vegan or vegetarian inn world of today, but it is soooo good. Here's to our evils!
Growing up in Wichita, KS in the 1960s, I encountered kosher pastrami when my older brother worked weekends and summer nights at a kosher deli. The owner's first name was Leonard, and he arranged with Lindy's in New York for him to use that name too. Lindy's in Wichita had a meat counter, a scattering of tables for dining in, and a tiny kitchen in back in which bread, bagels and cheese cake were prepared. The meats came from Kansas City.
When my brother came home from work, he hung is coat in the kitchen closet. The aroma of the deli soon permeated the closet, as well as the rest of the kitchen.
No matter how good a pastrami or salami sandwich takes at the chain delicatessens now, they lack that aroma, and the clacking of the tables on the wooden floor that was in Lindy's.
I understand. Oh yes, I understand. I feel that way about porchetta. And fresh ricotta, the real thing. And the kind of crisp fried whole fish I had decades ago in China. And the Morse's sauerkraut I had in Maine last week. Talk about Reuben's--once you get past the pastrami, what do you do for 'kraut?
Very vivd description of a food craving, Richard.
I was disappointed that you didn't try the Reuben at the Lafayette Deli. It coud have been good.
Pastrami is so delicious. Before coming to the US I knew it as "pickled beef" in Jewish-Alsatian cuisine. Then I had the great Reuben revelation at the Dante Street Deli, in New Orleans. Had some great ones in New York, as well (the Carnegie Deli, what an atmosphere!).
Why not try to make your own? It can't be too complicated. One restaurant where I used to work (yes, the one I told you about where Patricia Highsmith used to come often because she lived at the end of the block) made its own. These days, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a reliable recipe for authentic tasting Pastrami. When you get it down, I will drive over ! Give us a call if you come to NO for a Pastrami fix!
Pastrami Queen
used to be by SVA....moved to here
1125 Lexington Ave
Ummmm, I saw this ☺️let’s drive to New Orleans !