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recommend a good Jewish Deli Sandwich Shop?

recommend a good Jewish Deli Sandwich Shop?
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  • recommend a good Jewish Deli Sandwich Shop?

    Post #1 - August 23rd, 2006, 10:42 pm
    Post #1 - August 23rd, 2006, 10:42 pm Post #1 - August 23rd, 2006, 10:42 pm
    I recall, years ago, visiting this cool Jewish style deli on Orleans north of Chicago avenue. The deli no longer exists but I sorely miss it. So much that I can not even remember the name. Anyway this restaurant had a huge sandwich list in a fold out newspaper style menu, all the sandwiches had interesting names, some named after local personalities.

    Currently I visit Finkles, but was wondering if anyone could recomend their favs in this category.

    I miss a good latke, potato knish, borcht, matzoball soup. I am not Jewish, but damn I love this food.
  • Post #2 - August 23rd, 2006, 10:50 pm
    Post #2 - August 23rd, 2006, 10:50 pm Post #2 - August 23rd, 2006, 10:50 pm
    Winklestein's was the deli. The location later became (may still be) Zaiqa, an Indian or Pakistani place.

    Zaiqa
    858 N. Orleans St., Chicago
    Tel: (312) 280-6807
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  • Post #3 - August 24th, 2006, 6:49 am
    Post #3 - August 24th, 2006, 6:49 am Post #3 - August 24th, 2006, 6:49 am
    I like Manny's, on south Jefferson (south and west of the Loop). Here's a link: http://www.mannysdeli.com/

    But I absolutely love Max's, in Highland Park, on Skokie Valley Road. The corned beef is wonderful, and the pastrami is to die for. They get their meats from New York - which is an indication of their dedication to quality. It's totally worth a drive. Here's a link to a review: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/dini ... 9173.venue
  • Post #4 - August 24th, 2006, 6:57 am
    Post #4 - August 24th, 2006, 6:57 am Post #4 - August 24th, 2006, 6:57 am
    Mike G wrote:Winklestein's was the deli.


    It seemed to be a nearly carbon-copy of the sandwich shop part of Zingerman's in Ann Arbor. So if you want that sort of experience, you can get it with a short road trip :)

    http://www.zingermans.com
    Leek

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  • Post #5 - August 24th, 2006, 7:00 am
    Post #5 - August 24th, 2006, 7:00 am Post #5 - August 24th, 2006, 7:00 am
    But I couldn't have gotten there during my lunch hour from 343 W. Erie, which is where I was (and not many restaurants were) circa 1990.
    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.
  • Post #6 - August 24th, 2006, 8:17 am
    Post #6 - August 24th, 2006, 8:17 am Post #6 - August 24th, 2006, 8:17 am
    Depending on what you're looking for, Manny's may or may not give you much reason to go back. For pastrami I strongly prefer Uncle Abe's Deli in the Loop (122 S. Franklin) and JB's Deli (5501 N. Clark in Andersonville). Both are much more modest than Manny's, but even JB's microwaved pastrami is higher quality than Manny's. (As a fairly good recreation of a drug store with a soda fountain and a huge selection of candy, much of which I haven't seen in years, JB's might be worth a stop anyway; it's in Gordono's Pharmacy.)
  • Post #7 - August 24th, 2006, 8:20 am
    Post #7 - August 24th, 2006, 8:20 am Post #7 - August 24th, 2006, 8:20 am
    Bob S. wrote:Both are much more modest than Manny's, but even JB's microwaved pastrami is higher quality than Manny's.


    I'm pretty sure Uncle Abe's also microwaves their pastrami. But my question is...how can it be possible that microwaved pastrami is better than the real deal (and I believe hand cut?) stuff at Manny's?
    -Josh

    I've started blogging about the Stuff I Eat
  • Post #8 - August 24th, 2006, 8:34 am
    Post #8 - August 24th, 2006, 8:34 am Post #8 - August 24th, 2006, 8:34 am
    jesteinf wrote:
    Bob S. wrote:Both are much more modest than Manny's, but even JB's microwaved pastrami is higher quality than Manny's.

    I'm pretty sure Uncle Abe's also microwaves their pastrami. But my question is...how can it be possible that microwaved pastrami is better than the real deal (and I believe hand cut?) stuff at Manny's?

    Well, I'm trying to be polite because I know Manny's has very devoted fans here. But just because it's the "real deal" doesn't make it good. I'm not the kind of person who investigates purveyors and whatnot. But Uncle Abe's and JB's have much better, more flavorful pastrami with far better texture. Pastrami was a regular item in my mom's Saturday night dinner rotation (and the many delis in Brookline and, at the time, Harvard Square around Boston educated me further) and Manny's pastrami is greasy, fatty, and stringy. It was somewhat less so when I revisited Manny's with a fine group of LTHers a few weeks ago than it was on my first visit in '01 (after which I swore I'd never go back), but still.

    So as I say, depending on what you go to Manny's for (I understand the corned beef there is much better), you may or may not leave satisfied. In the unlikely event I go back, I'll try the corned beef; if I want pastrami, I'll go to Uncle Abe's or JB's, which offer the quality that the Boston-area kosher delis (and my mom) were able to attain.
  • Post #9 - August 24th, 2006, 8:54 am
    Post #9 - August 24th, 2006, 8:54 am Post #9 - August 24th, 2006, 8:54 am
    I'm a fan of Ada's in the loop.
    14 S. Wabash Ave

    I believe they also have a north shore outpost, but it has become a regular lunch-spot for me, and they have some tremendous versions of my favorites (Pastrami, fried salami & eggs, the infamous 2 Latke's-in-leiu-of-rye pastrami sandwich), along with great service at the bar. Frankly, I never saw much of a need for Max & Benny's because of Ada's.

    ab
  • Post #10 - August 24th, 2006, 9:02 am
    Post #10 - August 24th, 2006, 9:02 am Post #10 - August 24th, 2006, 9:02 am
    Uncle Abe's Deli
    122 S. Franklin St
    (312) 425-9983

    J.B.'s Deli
    5501 N. Clark St.
    773-728-0600
  • Post #11 - August 24th, 2006, 9:04 am
    Post #11 - August 24th, 2006, 9:04 am Post #11 - August 24th, 2006, 9:04 am
    Must be a matter of taste. Uncle Abe's is just about the closest restaurant to my office. While I like the soups very much, Abe's heavily 'waved pastrami on what seems to be Wonderbread colored to resemble rye is not so good, to me. On the other hand, I continue to enjoy Manny's smoky, chewy, heavy-handedly spiced pastrami very much. It's almost like pastrami jerky or pastrami-style bacon. I like that. And, yes, I do have a baseline. I've been to Langer's many, many times, and I was at Katz's eating pastrami as recently as 2 weeks ago. Manny's is nowhere close to that. Apples and oranges doesn't do the differences justice, because the tender, buttery, subtly spiced, hand-sliced stuff at the coastal pastrami palaces is just a substantively different (and yes, to be clear, relatively, normatively much better) animal. However, the rustic style of Manny's pastrami has its precedent and its good examples. For instance, I think the pastrami at Zingerman's is in the same genre; it is quite good, enhanced by Zingerman's spectacular bread. But I prefer Manny's meat.
  • Post #12 - August 24th, 2006, 9:18 am
    Post #12 - August 24th, 2006, 9:18 am Post #12 - August 24th, 2006, 9:18 am
    JeffB wrote:Must be a matter of taste. Uncle Abe's is just about the closest restaurant to my office. While I like the soups very much, Abe's heavily 'waved pastrami on what seems to be Wonderbread colored to resemble rye is not so good, to me. On the other hand, I continue to enjoy Manny's smoky, chewy, heavy-handedly spiced pastrami very much. It's almost like pastrami jerky or pastrami-style bacon.


    I'm with you, although I don't mind the Abe's pastrami quite as much. But the texture just doesn't do it for me like Manny's does. I also agree wholeheartedly on Abe's soups, which are quite good.

    I'll eat Abe's if I'm in the loop, but otherwise I'll head straight to Manny's.
    Ed Fisher
    my chicago food photos

    RIP LTH.
  • Post #13 - August 24th, 2006, 9:21 am
    Post #13 - August 24th, 2006, 9:21 am Post #13 - August 24th, 2006, 9:21 am
    I haven't had the pastrami at Ada's -- is it, like their corned beef, cut from a vacuum-sealed hunk of Vienna? Their potato pancakes were cold the first time I ordered them, and I've not had them again.

    For me, the ultimate sandwich at Ada's is roast beef on an onion roll. I'm pretty sure that Ada's claims to roast its own beef and turkey. The beef, cooked to medium, is the better of the two. While Ada's turkey club is not bad, there are better places around for roast turkey (e.g., Haifa Cafe).
    - Peter
  • Post #14 - August 24th, 2006, 9:28 am
    Post #14 - August 24th, 2006, 9:28 am Post #14 - August 24th, 2006, 9:28 am
    ab wrote: the infamous 2 Latke's-in-leiu-of-rye pastrami sandwich


    A Yiddish Jibirito? Maybe it's a Jewbirito :lol:
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #15 - August 24th, 2006, 9:36 am
    Post #15 - August 24th, 2006, 9:36 am Post #15 - August 24th, 2006, 9:36 am
    stevez wrote:
    ab wrote: the infamous 2 Latke's-in-leiu-of-rye pastrami sandwich


    A Yiddish Jibirito? Maybe it's a Jewbirito :lol:


    exactly!

    http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6510&highlight=jewish+jibarito

    Oh, I'm pretty sure it's just Vienna pastrami. But I like it - I recently had the best pastrami of my life on Queens Boulevard @ at Ben's Best (they hand spice and still cure in barrels, it back hand-slapped the pastrami's at Katz's/old 2nd ave Deli et al, imo), and I don't expect to find that in Chicago. Although we do have some fine places for salami (Romanian deli) and Corned Beef (Kaufmann's) and of course, Roast Beefs...

    But Ada's is a great place. You can also drink beer and read the paper at a nice wood bar, so that's nice too.

    Kishke/Knishes/soups as well...[/quote]
  • Post #16 - August 24th, 2006, 9:59 am
    Post #16 - August 24th, 2006, 9:59 am Post #16 - August 24th, 2006, 9:59 am
    I'm no saltophobe (I've been known to salt food before I taste it, which is stupid, but I seldom regret it), but the chicken soup at Ada's was way too salty for me the one time I had it.
  • Post #17 - August 24th, 2006, 10:06 am
    Post #17 - August 24th, 2006, 10:06 am Post #17 - August 24th, 2006, 10:06 am
    the ultimate sandwich at Ada's is roast beef on an onion roll.


    Haven't had Ada's but it would hard to match Manny's for this, where the meat is hand-carved to your specifications (re doneness and fattiness) and the onion rolls are always fresh.

    As far as a place that serves the kinds of sandwiches the op was inquiring about (A Wabash Avenue, say: Layers of corned beef, tongue, and salami topped with a shmear of chopped liver on fresh pumpernickel, along with two dozen others of similar ilk), does a place (of worth) like that still exist within the city's precincts?
    "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)
  • Post #18 - August 24th, 2006, 10:18 am
    Post #18 - August 24th, 2006, 10:18 am Post #18 - August 24th, 2006, 10:18 am
    jbw wrote:As far as a place that serves the kinds of sandwiches the op was inquiring about (A Wabash Avenue, say: Layers of corned beef, tongue, and salami topped with a shmear of chopped liver on fresh pumpernickel, along with two dozen others of similar ilk), does a place (of worth) like that still exist within the city's precincts?

    The Bagel does have these sorts of "combo" sandwiches on its menu. Whether they would pass muster (or mustard) for you I can't say, but I've been known to enjoy them.
  • Post #19 - August 24th, 2006, 10:39 am
    Post #19 - August 24th, 2006, 10:39 am Post #19 - August 24th, 2006, 10:39 am
    jbw wrote:
    Haven't had Ada's but it would hard to match Manny's for this, where the meat is hand-carved to your specifications (re doneness and fattiness) and the onion rolls are always fresh.


    Where have I been :?:

    Not to be snide or snarky, but in all my visits to Manny's, I never recall them hand slicing the pastrami, and in fact I thought it was once discussed on this board that they won't hand slice.

    Now, maybe people mean that it's hand sliced in advance, I can see that given the thickish-ness of the slices, but hand sliced to order...Now, if they do hand slice to order, I have to get with the program :!:

    You know, having had luck 'waving pastrami and corned beef at home, I'm not against that device per se (I cannot speak to the place in question). On the other hand, as I have argued before, I just do not think Manny's holds/keeps their pastrami very well. Thus, it is possible to get good pastramini there, if lucky, but the chances, in my experience, are iffy.
    Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.
  • Post #20 - August 24th, 2006, 10:47 am
    Post #20 - August 24th, 2006, 10:47 am Post #20 - August 24th, 2006, 10:47 am
    I join in with the Manny's fans. But I also wanted to point out that Costco is selling vacuum packed Carnegie Deli pastrami in its grocery section. Two 12-oz sealed containers of pretty darned good sliced pastrami can be boiled in water, and costs only $10. Is it as good as sitting down at the Carnegie Deli in New York, with a sandwich requiring both hands, and with all the wonderful smells and rude waiters and great atmosphere? Absolutely not. But, given the sorry lack of outstanding deli in our fair city, it's not a bad choice.

    BTW, does anyone else remember Lenny Minck's (I think I'm spelling it correctly), the excellent loop deli that was on the north side of Randolph, between LaSalle and Wells, and that closed sometime in 1973 (might have even been late 1972)? That was just about the time I started working in the loop, and it was a great Jewish deli.
  • Post #21 - August 24th, 2006, 11:18 am
    Post #21 - August 24th, 2006, 11:18 am Post #21 - August 24th, 2006, 11:18 am
    jbw wrote:
    the ultimate sandwich at Ada's is roast beef on an onion roll.


    Haven't had Ada's but it would hard to match Manny's for this, where the meat is hand-carved to your specifications (re doneness and fattiness) and the onion rolls are always fresh.


    What does Ada's have that Manny's doesn't? Loop location and evening hours. I wish I could get to Manny's more often.
    - Peter
  • Post #22 - August 24th, 2006, 12:09 pm
    Post #22 - August 24th, 2006, 12:09 pm Post #22 - August 24th, 2006, 12:09 pm
    Vital Information wrote:
    jbw wrote:
    Haven't had Ada's but it would hard to match Manny's for this, where the meat is hand-carved to your specifications (re doneness and fattiness) and the onion rolls are always fresh.


    Where have I been :?:

    Not to be snide or snarky, but in all my visits to Manny's, I never recall them hand slicing the pastrami, and in fact I thought it was once discussed on this board that they won't hand slice.


    Those are excellent observations on Manny's pastrami, but I think what jbw was referring to was the roast beef -- which, as you know, IS hand carved to order, and which I know is one of your favorites as well as mine (including that half sandwich I donated to you a couple of weeks back :wink: ). Although I can try to conceptualize it, I have not had, nor can I really imagine, a roast beef sandwich better than Manny's.
    JiLS
  • Post #23 - August 24th, 2006, 12:13 pm
    Post #23 - August 24th, 2006, 12:13 pm Post #23 - August 24th, 2006, 12:13 pm
    JimInLoganSquare wrote:
    Vital Information wrote:
    jbw wrote:
    Haven't had Ada's but it would hard to match Manny's for this, where the meat is hand-carved to your specifications (re doneness and fattiness) and the onion rolls are always fresh.


    Where have I been :?:

    Not to be snide or snarky, but in all my visits to Manny's, I never recall them hand slicing the pastrami, and in fact I thought it was once discussed on this board that they won't hand slice.


    Those are excellent observations on Manny's pastrami, but I think what jbw was referring to was the roast beef -- which, as you know, IS hand carved to order, and which I know is one of your favorites as well as mine (including that half sandwich I donated to you a couple of weeks back :wink: ). Although I can try to conceptualize it, I have not had, nor can I really imagine, a roast beef sandwich better than Manny's.


    Nor I :!:
    :D
    Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.
  • Post #24 - August 24th, 2006, 1:21 pm
    Post #24 - August 24th, 2006, 1:21 pm Post #24 - August 24th, 2006, 1:21 pm
    Vital Information wrote:
    JimInLoganSquare wrote:
    Vital Information wrote:
    jbw wrote:
    Haven't had Ada's but it would hard to match Manny's for this, where the meat is hand-carved to your specifications (re doneness and fattiness) and the onion rolls are always fresh.


    Where have I been :?:

    Not to be snide or snarky, but in all my visits to Manny's, I never recall them hand slicing the pastrami, and in fact I thought it was once discussed on this board that they won't hand slice.


    Those are excellent observations on Manny's pastrami, but I think what jbw was referring to was the roast beef -- which, as you know, IS hand carved to order, and which I know is one of your favorites as well as mine (including that half sandwich I donated to you a couple of weeks back :wink: ). Although I can try to conceptualize it, I have not had, nor can I really imagine, a roast beef sandwich better than Manny's.


    Nor I :!:
    :D


    Yup, just the roast beef. As a matter of fact, several years ago, there was an elderly gentleman whose name escapes me and who has, I think, since passed away whose sole job was to ensure that every customer got the exact state of doneness requested and who took it as a personal affront if a single unwanted speck of fat remained behind. An artist of the carving knife.
    "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)
  • Post #25 - August 24th, 2006, 2:13 pm
    Post #25 - August 24th, 2006, 2:13 pm Post #25 - August 24th, 2006, 2:13 pm
    Manny's Roast Beef
    Image
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #26 - August 24th, 2006, 3:59 pm
    Post #26 - August 24th, 2006, 3:59 pm Post #26 - August 24th, 2006, 3:59 pm
    This is a new place at 1112 S. Wabash. People tend to dislike the owner (I can't say he's my favorite person, but otherwise I have no problem wit him ... my wife, being an ex-waitress, noted that he was very rude to one of his waitresses). That said, my wife and I love their Ruben, and their matzo ball soup is very good, although not great. Long lines on the weekends around brunch-time. They serve Green River!
  • Post #27 - August 24th, 2006, 4:11 pm
    Post #27 - August 24th, 2006, 4:11 pm Post #27 - August 24th, 2006, 4:11 pm
    SonOfND wrote:This is a new place at 1112 S. Wabash. People tend to dislike the owner (I can't say he's my favorite person, but otherwise I have no problem wit him ... my wife, being an ex-waitress, noted that he was very rude to one of his waitresses). That said, my wife and I love their Ruben, and their matzo ball soup is very good, although not great. Long lines on the weekends around brunch-time. They serve Green River!


    Eleven City Diner? Feh! (Except for the patty melt)
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #28 - August 24th, 2006, 4:20 pm
    Post #28 - August 24th, 2006, 4:20 pm Post #28 - August 24th, 2006, 4:20 pm
    I would definitely not call 11 city diner's matzo ball soup good. The broth is pathetically bland.

    I went twice in the month after they opened, and it was decent the first time and mediocre the second. I see no reason to go back.
    Ed Fisher
    my chicago food photos

    RIP LTH.
  • Post #29 - August 24th, 2006, 9:06 pm
    Post #29 - August 24th, 2006, 9:06 pm Post #29 - August 24th, 2006, 9:06 pm
    I just recently discovered Ashkenaz in the Gold Coast. I've walked past it for nearly a year so last week I decided to try it. Their pastrami and corned beef are very good. I've also had good mushroom barley and vegetable soups. They have knishes, blintzes, severeal types of salads, bagels, lox, smoked fish, breads, etc... Open 7 am to 11 pm monday thru friday. They're open on the weekends but I'm not sure how late. Next time I might have a cabbage roll or some creamed herring. Try this place.

    Ashkenaz Deli LLC
    12 E Cedar St
    Chicago, IL 60611
    Sal G
    Chi cerca trova.
  • Post #30 - August 25th, 2006, 1:02 am
    Post #30 - August 25th, 2006, 1:02 am Post #30 - August 25th, 2006, 1:02 am
    If you are ever in the burbs, Original Bagel & Bialy is really quite good. They have terrific corned beef, cut new york style. They also have terrific egg salad.

    Surprisingly, their bagels and bialys are awful. Also, their chopped liver is sub par.... But for a great corned beef ruben in the burbs, try this place.

    All in all though, if I had to eat a last meal, it would be at Manny's. I was speaking with one of the owners the other day and he told me they are heavily debating staying open for dinner and also on Sundays once the new Best Buy and all the other new stores go in down the street.



    Original Bagel & Bialy 105 McHenry Road, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089

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