Katz's Deli - A step above cat food

I consider myself more or less a fan of Katz's. In principal at least. Reality is another story.

I had at least one good meal there that I memorialized in the Best Thing You've Eaten Thread. But I was wasted that night. Rubber tires macerated in spent motor oil might've been good too.

Recent trips to Katz's have not been so pleasant. I don't get the pastrami - rubbery, little or no smoke flavor, tastes like a cheap hot dog. Many slices were unappatizingly fatty and slimy, cut way way too thick to appreciate the subtelties in grain and texture.

The corned beef tastes like it came out of a can. Seriously, it reminded me of the halal corned beef in a can sandwiches I was forced to eat as a young Jihadist at the local Madrassa on Montrose and Elston. At least the Muslims and Jews have something in common, right?

Katz's - stay away.

...and only $16 for a sandwich. Probably paying for the labor as it's supposed to be hand cut (which may have something to do w/the thickness).

Same thing happened to me (minus the wastage).

My first trip there was memorably good. I was visiting NY as a culinary tourist for the first time (shortly after college) and was really excited to eat at an iconic deli. The thick cut pastrami on rye with an enormous knish on the side was my defining NY deli experience for a couple years. I also enjoyed the egg cream that they described as heaven on earth on the menu.

Recently I took a second trip there with some friends and we were all surprised by how bad it was. Fatty meat, stale bread, starchy flavorless knish, and an egg cream that tasted artificial and acidic. Part of me wondered if I had just hit an off day, but more likely, I figured, it was never that good in the first place and I just know better now. Also, yeah, it's a rip off.

What's funny is how many patrons are there actually eating cheap hot dogs. Well, not cheaply priced.

I have eaten there twice and got pastrami both times and both times it was the most amazing pastrami I ever ate. I like the thicker cut, fatty pieces. The fat is the best part.

I took a bite of a corned beef sandwich and it was very dull. My home-cured stuff is 100 times better. I have been told by some people in New York that the only thing worth ordering is the pastrami.

Hard to relate to this post; I love Katz's Deli. Its as if we are eating at different restaurants. Just shows there are different palates and taste preferences. Give me THIS kind of cat food any day! Meow.

I want to love Katz's. I love the idea - old school Jewish deli in the boundary between the East Village and L.E.S. What could be better?

Well, for one, pastrami that is moist and meaty, not dry and spongey. Corned beef that doesn't taste like spam.

Maybe I've had a few outlier experiences. I'll likely go back, but not enthusiastically and not soon. Maybe I just don't like pastrami and corned beef?

The CB is no great shakes. Not a CB town. The pastrami isn't Langer's, but I would say you had clunker experiences unless something has radically changed at Katz's recently. Come to think of it, the CB at Langer's is nothing special, either, while the 'strami is extra special.

What town is a corned beef town?

I think the smoked meat at Mile End Deli in Brooklyn is light years ahead of what I've had at Katz's. So there, the hipsters won.

Milwaukee, Detroit, some would say Chicago.

JeffB wrote:some would say Chicago.

Who in their right mind would say Chicago? Maybe 40 yrs ago.

I finally found some great corned beef and pastrami out here, but I had to venture to downtown Newark to get it. If you're up for a little road trip sometime, let me know.

Habibi,

The folks who started Mile End grew up in Montréal, eating Schwartz' smoked meat. So theirs just *has*to be good!

Geo

Habibi wrote:What town is a corned beef town?

I'll nominate Cleveland. And I must confess that the sandwich I had at Katz's (two years ago?) was kind of disappointing, (based on many visits during the late 70's and 80's). The CB was just too fatty and salty.

Josephine wrote:

Habibi wrote:What town is a corned beef town?

I'll nominate Cleveland. And I must confess that the sandwich I had at Katz's (two years ago?) was kind of disappointing, (based on many visits during the late 70's and 80's). The CB was just too fatty and salty.

I whole heatedly agree. I'm head there next week and my first stop will be Corky and Lenny's for their wonderously fatty and moist corned beef.

This too. Basically, the Rust Belt is for corned beef, the Borscht Belt for pastrami.

But is it wrong that I've been to all of the places mentioned and more but feel no one holds a candle to Mike's Famous Ham Place when it comes to open-kimono, no-hiding-it cured meat on 2 slices of bread sandwiches?

I've had mixed experience at Katz's. Usually it's highly delicious, melty and fatty calling for the mid-sandwich pickle refresher. But last time I went (on Thanksgiving) the pastrami was definitely rubbery like a tire and I've had this experience one other time in the summer. However considering the embarrassing frequency which I go to Katz's, rubbery sandwiches are not the norm in my experience.

JeffB wrote:This too. Basically, the Rust Belt is for corned beef, the Borscht Belt for pastrami.

But is it wrong that I've been to all of the places mentioned and more but feel no one holds a candle to Mike's Famous Ham Place when it comes to open-kimono, no-hiding-it cured meat on 2 slices of bread sandwiches?

So, Jeff, have you given any more thought to that Beard Classic nomination for Mike's? I'm doubting it will make it onto the radar without your help. Just think of how many actors and actresses have been boosted by whispers on the way to their Academy Award nominations.

Not really. If you have insight into the process, let me know. I'll take a look at the Beard site. Thanks for the reminder.

For all the love it got in this thread, I'll silently post this linked article (with an LTHF member tie-in): Katz's Deli joining forces with..

This is probably the worst titled thread on LTH. Maybe there's worse that I haven't seen, but this just-revived one takes the cake. Aside: I don't know why any restaurant thread titles have any editorializing since it necessarily impacts the conversation.

I hate to resort to a logical fallacy like appeal to popularity, but come on. I suppose reasonable people can disagree about the greatness of Katz's, but they're not packed every single day with people dropping $27.45 per sandwich just because of tourists and rubes.



Those are old pics. The sandwich hasn't changed but my approach has. Katz's inexplicably does still use terrible rye bread. Now when I go (which I do every single time I'm in New York), I take off the bread, slather on some mustard and grab a fork.

pudgym29 wrote: For all the love it got in this thread, I'll silently post this linked article (with an LTHF member tie-in): Katz's Deli joining forces with..

Interesting. The hot dog from the kit is quite a ways from a Chicago dog. Apparently the goal was to feature giardiniera, so perhaps a better choice would have been an Italian beef. That would also have allowed a side by side of 2 of America's great sliced beef sandwiches.

I went for the first time last October. I managed to avoid the rush, but still had a considerable wait. It was confusing, a bit chaotic, and expensive. And it was the best pastrami I've ever had. I will happily stand in line again the next time I'm in Manhattan.

A small hack, if you can swing it. Katz's is open 24 hours on Friday and Saturday night, so if you're willing to have a later meal on those nights, there's not much of a wait.

Those are the only times I've been and mixed with a couple beverages, the pastrami has always hit!

I've been to Katz's about 4 times within the last year, and several others within the last five years. It's always good, I mean great. Of course, the pastrami; although I've had the corned beef and brisket, and thought they were very good too. I've never had anything I did not like. The last time I was there, my eyes were wandering while the slicer sliced, and I noticed they have chili (as it's a deli, the chili is served with pickles). I asked my guy, "who gets the chili?" He returned with a taste. Now, I'm not going to Katz's, personally, and getting the chili, but I'll tell you, it was quite good. I know a lot of people rag on the bread, and the savvy thing is to go for the club roll, but I don't think the rye is so awful. The pastrami itself is so damp, I think that's what people notice, that the bread gets soggy.

I go, almost always, before 11, and then have no wait and lots of space. Between 11 and 12, it's still manageable.

Katz's is, surely, deli museum. A good deal of its being overwhelmingly busy is that it is a tourist attraction. It is both a relic of the LES and a relic of deli's (abet one of a different era from say Carnegie). To use that awful expression, it is what it is.

BTW, if anyone does find themselves on the Lower East Side, besides Katz's, I highly recommend Pickle Guys at Grand & Essex. Everything is excellent. Great guys running the place. Lotsa samples. Nothing close to it in Chicago.

Never been there.

Does anyone know why their pastrami is so good ? Do they take brisket to pastrami better than anyone else, or is it something else ?

lougord99 wrote:Never been there.

Does anyone know why their pastrami is so good ? Do they take brisket to pastrami better than anyone else, or is it something else ?

https://www.seriouseats.com/how-katz-de ... t-pastrami

Darren72 wrote:https://www.seriouseats.com/how-katz-de ... t-pastrami

Great read. Katz’s pastrami goes old school all the way. No short cutting even to the point of using navel. Kudos.

It’s been 30 or s years since I’ve been. Time for a revisit.

As an aside I occasionally made corned beef and/or pastrami at the restaurant where I worked. I even made goose breast pastrami once for a Pitmaster dinner. Which turned out terrific.

I was reminded on a recent trip to Katz's that they give you a little taste before making your sandwich. My sample was a bit lean so I asked for more fat and they happily started cutting from the opposite side. Katz's remains the the king, but sometimes the king needs a nudge.