I happened to be in the loop for a training thursday and friday, at Monroe and Franklin. I decided to do a one-day-delayed head to head, so Thursday was Uncle Abe's Deli and Friday was Eleven City Diner.
Uncle Abe's Deli:
Pastrami Sandwich was ok, but nothing spectacular. The rye was a little too soft for my taste. Matzoh ball soup was quite good, though, with a chickeny, properly seasoned broth and a good mix of veggies. The matzoh itself was also rather good, more sinker than floater.
The soup was the high point, but the sandwich was certainly above average. The whole package was also a relative bargain. Pastrami sandwich, big container of soup, and a root beer was $8.03.
Eleven City Diner:
Arrived at about 3:30 on Friday for a late lunch. It's a beautiful space, with great leather booths and counter seats and a nice bar. It was quite busy, especially with college students.
I again had a pastrami sandwich with matzoh ball soup, and a chocolate phosphate. The sandwich was the "piled high" variety, not the "piled higher than high". Nevertheless, it was still a double-decker sandwich. I don't know if they gave me the larger version and charged me for the small, or if they accidentally put on a third layer of bread, or if they've decided to make 'em all double deckers.
I thought on this occassion that the bread to meat ratio was a little too high. That said, the pastrami was very good, hitting a nice balance between lean and fatty (Manny's sometimes goes overboard on the fatty bits, for me). The bread was the best rye I've had pastrami on in this city. It was a good enough sandwich that I didn't miss the mustard I usually put on.
The soup, though, was a disappointment. The broth was bland, watery, underseasoned, not particularly flavorful, and too hot. The matzoh was good, but without a good broth, what's the point?
The chocolate phosphate was very good, although the chocolate used tasted more like Hershey's than, say, Scharffen Berger. Not really surprising, but I'll probably get a root beer next time.
It was also considerably more expensive at $13 or so (not including tip).
I'll be back to Uncle Abe's and Eleven City, but I'll probably stick to the sandwiches at the latter.
I did also see two older women with a big plate of french fried onions that looked stellar. Looking forward to trying those, too.