Something new coming to Manny's?

Had lunch yesterday at Manny's. We recovered from the initial setback of them being out of short ribs (at noon!) and worked our way through the unusually difficult line and had a nice meal (as per usual at Manny's). I was even treated (?) to my first time seeing someone actually apply mayo to a corned beef sandwich, something I had considered up to that point mere urban myth.

After exiting I noticed that there was an official notice of application for permit to sell alcohol posted on the window. Assuming they receive the permit (and, really, nobody gets that far in the process without it already being a done deal) I imagine we can someday soon be having beer with our pastrami sandwiches or wine with our short ribs (when they aren't out). I can't help but imagine this has been prompted by the imminent opening of Whole Foods on Canal where I presume they will also be serving libations in their on-premises food court operations.

I think we're also going to start seeing Manny's open on Sundays and some evenings, too. We'll see, though.

Adding valet and accepting credit cards are already signs of a major shift in the management strategy. They seem successful, too.

More power to them.. I wish our servers broke more often so I was down there during the lunch hour.

Downsides of near south gentrification are obvious -- insipid architechture, insipid chains, no more Maxwell St., less diversity. But there are some upsides. This is one for sure. I agree, good for Manny's.

gleam wrote:I think we're also going to start seeing Manny's open on Sundays and some evenings, too. We'll see, though

Good call. Phil Vettel posted this at the The Stew, the Trib's food blog, today:

. . . Manny's, which customarily has closed at 4 p.m., will remain open until 8 p.m., effective October 16. The menu will continue to rely on the deli's staple items, including corned beef, pastrami, short ribs and beef stew. But there will be some new dishes, such as skirt steak, salmon and what Raskin calls "a nice, big hamburger."

Manny's after dark? Believe it.

=R=

Oooh.

I am very interested in trying the skirt steak. Although, I'm a little confused as to exactly where they'll be preparing the skirt steak and burger..

gleam wrote:Oooh.

I am very interested in trying the skirt steak. Although, I'm a little confused as to exactly where they'll be preparing the skirt steak and burger..

They have long had burgers as a special item on the steam table. They are well seasoned and served in mammoth portions. In the past, the burgers have mainly been served as a "hamburger steak" of sorts...like a main dish with sides and no bun. They are damn fine pieces of meat.

stevez wrote:

gleam wrote:Oooh.

I am very interested in trying the skirt steak. Although, I'm a little confused as to exactly where they'll be preparing the skirt steak and burger..

They have long had burgers as a special item on the steam table. They are well seasoned and served in mammoth portions. In the past, the burgers have mainly been served as a "hamburger steak" of sorts...like a main dish with sides and no bun. They are damn fine pieces of meat.

I agree but I just don't go enough to hardly ever get around tro having. Maybe with dinner, I'll have more chances.

Let me just say that I've enjoyed more than a few cocktails, wines and beers in my life while dining or otherwise. However................ when it comes to Jewish delis and Greek diners I've never even remotely felt like wanting an alcoholic drink with my food. Maybe it's just me but when I'm eating at Manny's, I'm usually close to comatose afterwards, so I'll stick to the iced tea or Green River, even after 4 P.M.

8pm? With free wifi, this is now an excellent way to wait out evening expressway traffic.

T Comp wrote:Let me just say that I've enjoyed more than a few cocktails, wines and beers in my life while dining or otherwise. However................ when it comes to Jewish delis and Greek diners I've never even remotely felt like wanting an alcoholic drink with my food. Maybe it's just me but when I'm eating at Manny's, I'm usually close to comatose afterwards, so I'll stick to the iced tea or Green River, even after 4 P.M.

How do you eat pastrami without beer? It's not physically possible.

Just like to point out that I posted (my first post) about dinner at Mannys about 2 months ago (http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=14719&highlight=mannys)
and was all excited about it before the wind was taken out of my sails and was shot down by skeptics. I am redeemed, and http://www.savethedeli.com is too. Interesting that Ken Raskin apparently denied it back then. Guess he didn't want to get scooped.

Well, all's well that ends well.

Fishline wrote:Interesting that Ken Raskin apparently denied it back then.

Actually, Ken only denied the part about opeining on Sundays. So far, they're still closed on Sunday.

True, but he wasn't confirming it either. Just playing it close to the vest.

It is my wholly unscientific opinion that dinnertime Manny's is more generous than lunchtime Manny's. This is a ridiculous amount of food:



Although the cutter's said that dinner business has been good, I would have expected a much larger crowd at 7:30. Manny's for dinner is a great option; I hope it sticks around.

At the register, I was handed a coupon for a free bowl of soup or a free latke with entree purchase that I'll be using in my campaign to keep Manny's dinner hours worthwhile to them.

We visited last week, and didn't find portions any more generous than usual. However, we were there on a Tuesday when Gino isn't around, and Gino generally gives me much more than other people during the lunch hour, too. So my perspective is a little skewed.

We were very amused by the crowd, which was almost exclusively 60+, but it was nice to be able to go there for dinner. I'll certainly be back.

I did not have a chance to try the skirt steak or any of the other dinner specialties. It's so hard to get anything but pastrami or corned beef..

stevez wrote:

gleam wrote:I am very interested in trying the skirt steak. Although, I'm a little confused as to exactly where they'll be preparing the skirt steak and burger..

They have long had burgers as a special item on the steam table. They are well seasoned and served in mammoth portions. In the past, the burgers have mainly been served as a "hamburger steak" of sorts...like a main dish with sides and no bun. They are damn fine pieces of meat.

The dinner burger is different. They grill them in back and deliver them to your table.



It's a pretty good burger but it'll be tough for me not to order a corned beef sandwich.

ndgbucktown wrote:It is my wholly unscientific opinion that dinnertime Manny's is more generous than lunchtime Manny's.

Here's a picture of the meatloaf dinner. I kept wondering if this was meatloaf with a side of mac & cheese or mac & cheese with a meatloaf garnish.

i was there for dinner monday. it was pretty empty. what a relaxing change from the busy lunch vibe, which i enjoy as well. i had short ribs, mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans with a side of kishke(extremely small portion). i was a little shocked at the bill ($18.20). but then i usually am at manny's. the food was wonderful, also always true. i did not receive any kind of coupon for free soup, as someone else mentioned. also, they close the parking lot and offer free valet service. i parked on the street, which is easy. ken raskin's son, working the register, said they thought customers might find the neighborhood a little scary. why not offer valet and also open up the lot for self parkers??

I didn't have any trouble parking in the lot last week...honestly, mandatory valet (at a cafeteria?) would be a major disincentive.

The lot was chained off on my visit, too, so it was effectively mandatory valet. On the other hand, the valet parked our car two spots down from the door and tossed us the keys on the way out. So it worked out OK.

On the theme of Rene G's dinner burger and everyone's favorite side:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071105/ap_ ... le_recipes

I think Manny's should try their own take for a more substantial dinner latke!

gleam wrote:The lot was chained off on my visit, too, so it was effectively mandatory valet. On the other hand, the valet parked our car two spots down from the door and tossed us the keys on the way out. So it worked out OK.

I stopped by Saturday afternoon and the lot was open and I parked there (it was also pretty busy so maybe they opened it to release some pressure on the valets).

i should have said in my earlier post that raskin said the valet service is for the dinnertime, not all the time. i guess the neighborhood is scarier after dark. jj

justjoan wrote:i should have said in my earlier post that raskin said the valet service is for the dinnertime, not all the time. i guess the neighborhood is scarier after dark. jj

Yeah, I'm talking about dinner here also. After dark.

I wanted to chime in on the skirt steak. Grilled to order (and cooked as close to medium rare as you can expect for such a thin cut), beautifully seasoned, beefy, and juicy. Served with bread and a side (I got two potato pancakes) for $16, and it's a pretty good deal, too.

Tried the short ribs again today at Manny's and while the sauce is a bit sweet for me, there's no question that it's an excellent, well-prepared dish there. They were trimmed nicely, with just enough fat. The meat was flavorful and tender . . .


Short ribs and roasted potatoes at Manny's

=R=

Had dinner at Manny's last night. As usual, I spent at least five minutes studying the menu for all the hot-food options, and, as usual, I ordered the pastrami sandwich.

It was terrific as usual and pretty much looked like the one pictured above by ndgbucktown. I could only eat half of it. But that's partly because I couldn't resist ordering something new -- an enormous bowl of cold beet borscht with sour cream, wonderfully refreshing on such a hot day.

For a Friday night, they weren't as busy as I'd have expected, even at prime a.k. suppertime, 6:30. It would be a great pity if they stopped opening evenings for lack of business, so do plan dinner at Manny's soon!

They're open Mondays through Saturdays till 8 p.m. (I didn't ask, but I assume that's the time they shut down the cafeteria line, not the time they put the chairs on the tables.)

Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli
312/939-2855
http://www.mannysdeli.com
1141 S. Jefferson St.
Chicago

In March (around St Patty's Day), Manny's was offering a Corned Beef & Cabbage special which included a beer. I assume it was legal because they were "giving it away for free". Perhaps the warm recpetion to that deal was what convinced them to apply for the liquor license. Can't say I'd always want to drink with my meal (many times I'm these pretty early in the day), it'll be a nice option with the hearty fare they serve.

Lancelac

I liked the short ribs, but the sauce was too sweet for me, too.

Manny's shoots, scores with edible Stanley Cup

Couldn't resist this: Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen (1141 S. Jefferson St., 312-939-2855) decided to salute the Blackhawks with this Stanley Cup Special, a stack of two knishes, kishke, corned beef and rye that looks just like you-know-what, if you turn your head and squint.

And it's only $12.95!