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.