The Jewish Deli
The Jewish or Kosher deli is an icon of New York City. If you don’t believe me just rent When Harry Met Sally (who isn’t familiar with that Meg Ryan scene in Katz’s?) or Broadway Danny Rose.
Not only have the Chosen People been an integral part of New York City’s history in general, but they also have had a profound influence on New York’s famously diverse food culture. These influences can most often be felt, seen, and tasted in such well-known joints as Katz’s Delicatessen on Houston St., Carnegie Deli on Seventh Avenue, and Second Avenue Deli (once on Second Avenue, it closed in the winter of 2006, but will soon re-open on 33rd St…between Third and Lexington Avenues).
Specialties of the Kosher deli include pastrami, corned beef, chopped liver, and knishes. The sign of a true Jewish deli is the awe-inspiring, jaw breaking sandwiches, which typically consist of rye and about seven inches of meat (often pastrami or corned beef).
If some of these dishes are foreign to you, here’s a quick tutorial:
Pastrami is typically the fattier part of a piece of beef brisket. It is cured in a brine immersion and then flavored (predominantly with black pepper) and dry-cured/smoked. It is traditionally served on rye with some mustard, simple as that. God help you if you request mayo on it…
The term “brisket” refers to a cut of beef, the meat running from the chest down to the navel (where the pastrami meat is taken from). Brisket can also refer to the dish of the same name, which is the beef brisket cut, braised and eaten either as a kind of roast or put on a sandwich.
Corned beef also is made from the brisket cut, which is pickled in a brine and then boiled in a seasoned water, leaving behind very tasty meat that turns a tantalizing, uniform pink when cooked. Often it is attributed to the Irish, but in actuality, its roots lie in Jewish food culture. Rumor has it that there is a lasting association between the Irish and corned beef because, in the 1800s in NYC, Irish immigrants sought a meat similar to Irish bacon and found it in Jewish corned beef. Not sure how accurate that is, but makes sense to me.
Chopped liver is a spread that is made by cooking beef or chicken livers and onions in schmaltz (animal fat) and then mixing it with hard boiled eggs, salt, and pepper to form a thick spread. This spread is eaten on rye or sometimes on crackers.
A knish is a fried or baked savory pastry stuffed with a filling that can consist of mashed potatoes or ground meat (or other varieties), often consumed on its own, although I prefer them with some spicy brown mustard.
The atmosphere of delis such as Katz’s is almost diner-like, but with a clearer cohesion within the menu and a higher quality in the items they specialize in (pastrami or brisket or tongue). I say diner-like, because of the extensive menus (ranging from cheesecakes to hot dogs to french fries to sandwiches) and, more importantly, because there are no expectations of pretension or fanciness at a Kosher deli, just a lot of tables, chairs, boothes, and casual, convivial chatter in the air.
Unfortunately, the Jewish deli has become so iconic that if you do decide to visit any of the aforementioned heavy hitters over 50% of the room probably will consist of wide-eyed, “What’s pastrammy?! Is that like salami?” tourists. But alas, if you’ve lived in New York long enough, you won’t mind having to elbow your way past a few of them to get to eight pounds of delicious, steaming, cured meat on rye.
I don’t know if I have ever been to a Jewish deli – where is the one on seventh?