Get that pig off my pastrami!

O.K., so Chicago isn't a deli town. That much is clear. We seem to have trouble supporting even a few delis at any given time and most Chicagoans' idea of deli food seems to involve various permutations of turkey breast.New York, on the other hand is a deli town, in fact most would consider it to be the deli town. So what's N.Y. style deli food? What makes it different from say Italian or Lithuanian deli food? It's a Jewish thing, thats what. Not to say New York delis have to be kosher, most aren't. But the Jewish ethnic roots of the cuisine are undeniable...which is why I find it jarring, even irritating that every time I walk into a self proclaimed "N.Y. style " deli in Chicago, I'm greeted by the sight of rows of grinning hairy hazer (pig) heads adorning everything in the deli case. On ham,it's o.k., appropriate even. On muenster cheese, fine. But on corned beef or pastrami?
Come on.

This Boars Head thing has really gone too far. It's bad enough that this supermarket style stuff has penetrated the Chicago "deli" market almost completely, but to see it promoted as "real New York deli" is pathetic. Actually in a way almost insulting. Yet whenever I mention the incongruity
to someone at these 'deli's', I get only the blankest of stares. Nobody seems to have the vaguest idea what I might be talking about. Maybe they think pastrami comes from a pig. Maybe they think the hairy pig-like animal on the label is a wild pastrami. I don't know.

I suspect they really don't even understand the basis of my concern. I suppose all the years of whole wheat/ multigrain/blueberry/asiago cheese bagels have taken their toll. "Deli" as a cuisine has evidently been so thoroughly stripped of it's ethnic roots that people don't even see the issue with having a pigface on their pastrami. Too bad.

I'm curious-which places are claiming to be N.Y. style delis?

Boar's Head's been discussed elsewhere if you search. Funny, yr right, tho'...I never thought of the Boar's Head branding on pastrami. It's simply a case of brand integrity...amusing tho' it might be.

I've always liked Boar's Head(the roast beast is rare and tastes of beef not misc spices). I've eaten it since the early-mid 80's. Having said that, if there's a house brand available I'll typically go for it instead of BH. IMO BH is merely the relative best bet in a mass supermarket's deli case when compared to Butterball, Ekridge, etc. I have seen a major decrease in quality hand-in-hand with their huge expansion.

As a boy from West Hartford, CT (which has a rather large concentration of Jews and is fairly close to NYC) and the son of a Jew from Westchester Co., NY, I couldn't agree more. While there are a handful of decent spots, Chicago for the most part, sucks when it comes to deli food. The only answer, short of hopping a flight or heading to Jake's is to make your own!

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=10474

stewed coot wrote:I'm curious-which places are claiming to be N.Y. style delis?

The "NYC Bagel Deli" on North avenue and the "Five Burroughs Deli" (which made a big deal of it's true New Yorkness and which is now defunct I think) are but two examples. Another "authentic NY Deli" recently opened on Clark st. (around 2900 N)... and also features Porky the Pastrami.

Stagger wrote:As a boy from West Hartford, CT (which has a rather large concentration of Jews and is fairly close to NYC) and the son of a Jew from Westchester Co., NY, I couldn't agree more. While there are a handful of decent spots, Chicago for the most part, sucks when it comes to deli food. The only answer, short of hopping a flight or heading to Jake's is to make your own!

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=10474

Amen Brother and pass the hawgstrami!