LTHForum.com

Evil,

I am not making a value judgment on gristly fatty meat, I think my position is clear, having just posted yet another love note to cold Szechuan tendon in your Northern Pancake thread. What I am specifically referring to is the gray, not tasty, gristly band of non delicious fat laying horizontally between the point and flat on a full packer cut corned beef.

Enjoy,
Gary

_________________
Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Look, I agree personal taste is paramount....and I like chewy meats myself...and am in no way fat averse (in fact always ordering corned beef "NOT too lean please") but some things are supposed to be chewey (like tripe) and some are not (like pastrami). A pastrami sandwich is ideally meltingly tender, soft, juicy almost silky in texture. Chewey rubber bands imbeded in each slice of (pleasingly fatty please) meat have no place here. You may or may not like it that way, but it's not the way it should be.

kudho,

So, you're saying you've had the pastrami sandwich at Manny's and it was trimmed so poorly that each slice of meat contained chewy rubber bands. I have never had it to that extreme, and I've probably ordered it a dozen times.

Gino must have had a hangover on that day.

Oops... big misunderstanding...sorry about the confusion. Let me clarify: I have never had rubberband pastrami at Mannys. Not ever, and I've had pastrami there many many times. But I have had it elsewhere, and from the description in the above thread assumed that what was being described was the same thing I had experienced at other places from time to time. Sure, an occassional bit of gristle may show up in any pastrami,but this seems to be something related to a particular cut being used (or possibly to a particular grade of meat). I've never encountered this rubbery band (what I'm referring to is a uniform defect imbedded in each and every slice , not something on the surface) in a brisket I've cooked myself...come to think of it, I don't know if I've ever encountered it with a Vienna pastrami (which is I believe what is used at Manny's). Sorry Geno, my 'brother' (see us together and you'll know what I mean...we've been joking about the resembelance for decades).

It looks like Manny's has hit the big time (as if they weren't there already). On a recent visit with sdritz I saw that they had instituted valet parking. Oy Vey, what's next...a latte machine and fancy waffles?

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Hey, they already have Wi-Fi!

I was really amused when I saw this, too. But it makes lots of sense, especially during the lunch rush, when the Manny's lot is packed and street parking is impossible.

_________________
Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

Now, if they would only add a shuttle to and from the loop. I can easily catch a cab to Manny's, but getting one back to work is always a pain.

Best,
Michael

Here's a tip. The Marathon station just to the north of Manny's is a very popular place for cabbies to refuel. There is a cab company garage that shares the land with the Marathon. A lot of times, you can walk up to the gas station and catch a cab as he is filling up. Not only will you get a cab, but you can be pretty sure that you won't run out of gas before you get to wherever you are going.

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

That's a good tip, thanks. I usually just start walking east down Roosevelt and hope that I find a cab before I get to the el.

Best,
Michael

At the risk of sounding overly cynical....just make extra sure it's really the valet before handing over the keys .

That is a fine precaution to take when valet parking anywhere. Not just Manny's!

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Point well taken. I only bring this up as the number of rapscallions in the area around Manny's may be somewhat higher than elsewhere . You are correct though in that this can happen anywhere.

The valets I saw seemed to be wearing typical red valet coats.

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

you meant a 'latke machine', right?

_________________
Chicago is my spiritual chow home

Perish the thought!

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

I see no mention of it so i'll go ahead..

Apparently manny's recently increased their prices and their corned beef and other sandwiches are now a whopping $12 (after tax) ... just for the sandwich (no sides/drink, maybe a pickle and that's it?)

i also noticed they charge $15 for delivery.. not that i would have it delivered, but ... what the heck.


has manny's totally gotten full of themselves? or are they just smart business people? are they trying to turn away locals and make this into a tourist-only restaurant?

Yep, $10 for a sandwich and $11 with one potato pancake, right? Of course, they also added "free" valet parking. And I think started taking credit cards. What's next, being open for dinner?

_________________
Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

So they've stopped giving a latke with the sandwiches?

..oh, maybe not. i don't know... ? i *think* the latke is another $1 add-on

http://www.mannysdeli.com/lunch.htm

The latke is and has for a while (always?) been a $1 addon given to you by default. You can choose to not get a latke and reduce your sandwich bill by $1, in other words, but it's assumed you want one if you don't speak up.

_________________
Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

Hm. I never knew that. But, then again, I don't think I've ever looked at prices at Manny's. I just see what I want and go for it.

This is correct. You can opt out of the latke and save $1.00...but why?

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Clearly it's merely a theoretical option.

_________________
Watch Sky Full of Bacon, the Chicago food HD podcast!
New episode: Soil, Corn, Cows and Cheese
Watch the Reader's James Beard Award-winning Key Ingredient here.

Exactly.

_________________
Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

I managed to eat two full Manny's sandwiches in one afternoon, so I think it's almost foolish to say that I like this place. I love Jewish delis and have found the Jewish deli "experience" to be nearly as appealing as the food. I've eaten many a corned beef and pastrami sandwich in my day and will say that Manny's compared quite favorably. Among the best I've had? Unfortunately, no, but with Katz's and the Second Avenue Deli under my belt that's nothing to really be ashamed of.

My main complaint is that the meat here is not hand-sliced. I feel that the machined slices are too thin and lend neither enough hearty meatiness to the tooth nor juiciness to tongue. The meat more disintegrates than melts in your mouth. I also found my pastrami to be a bit stringy but not distractingly so.

I will also say that this place isn't cheap. It doesn't seem like a particularly high rent area, but for a couple sandwiches and a marvelous Cel-Ray soda I spend $25. Those prices make me want (expect?) a more organic, hand-sliced experience even more.

But at the end of the day, I thoroughly enjoyed my corned beef on an onion roll and pastrami on rye. I was quite pleased to take a few minutes on a Saturday afternoon to chomp away and people watch.

Is there a significant difference between the corned beef and brisket sandwiches? At some places they're one and the same, so I want to know if it's worth trying out this weekend.

I think I remember brisket as a special there, but my favorite is the roast beef that they carve...and ask for med-rare. The pastrami at Manny's is not a highlight for me there as you know there is no comparison to Katz's or the like.

Yes. I haven't had it for awhile, but unless they've made some change (Manny's? Change? Hope not.) the brisket is basically boiled beef. Still machine sliced, but difficult to find elsewhere and quite good. Have it on an onion roll and look for a table with horseradish. (You really need the horseradish for this one.)

_________________
"The fork with two prongs is in use in northern Europe. In England, they’re armed with a steel trident, a fork with three prongs. In France we have a fork with four prongs; it’s the height of civilization." Eugene Briffault (1846)

LTH,

A Bridgeport Bakery Bacon Bun may be the perfect snack for a snowy slushy Chicago Saturday, but a heaping corned beef/pastrami sandwich, kreplach soup and side of kishka at Manny's is the perfect meal.

By 2pm lunch I must have stepped in three ankle deep curbside slush puddles, the last a total left shoe soaker walking into Manny's, but one sip of soup, not to mention a bit of friendly verbal jousting with Gino, set me on the path to equilibriium.

Speaking of Gino, I had the pleasure of Crrush's company at lunch and we both ordered the same pastrami/corned beef combo. Gino looked at the two of us smiled at Crrush and said guess which one gets the bigger sandwich. Her sandwich was an easy 20% larger than mine.

Enjoy,
Gary

_________________
Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Is it weird that I bring my own bottle of mustard (Boar's Head Delicatessen Style) whenever I visit this stellar establishment?

I have been visiting Manny's sporadically for about 20 years (80% of my life) and I always enjoy going. I was a bit disappointed that they decided to stay open for dinner and now serve alcohol. An odd feeling, I agree, but it somehow feels as though they strayed away from the luncheon/cafeteria spot of yore. The business decision (and probably a wise one on their part) notwithstanding, I adore this place .

The decision hasn't seemed to affect the overall lunch vibe or the quality of the food in the least, so you've got that going for you, which is nice.

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child