Behold A Katz Classic!

Take some time to feast your eyes on a legendary sandwich: the Pastrami on Rye from Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City!

Although I’ve been to New York dozens of times, I had NEVER been to Katz’s – a legendary deli located on New York’s lower east side…

This place has quite a history – this is from their website:

“In 1888, a small deli by the name of Iceland Brothers was established on Ludlow Street in New York’s Lower East Side by the Iceland brothers. Upon the arrival of Willy Katz in 1903, the name of the store was officially changed to “Iceland & Katz”. Willy’s cousin Benny joined him in 1910, buying out the Iceland brothers to officially form Katz’s Delicatessen. Their landsman Harry Tarowsky bought into the partnership in April 1917. Katz’s Deli was moved across the street, to its present location, during the construction of the subway system. The vacant lot on Houston Street (pronounced “House-ton” after a Dutch emigrant of the same name) was home to barrels of meat and pickles until the present storefront facade was added between 1946-49.”

My wife Alex told me it was time to make up for my failure to eat there, so while she was at a baby shower, I walked down second avenue to Houston and made my first visit.

I arrived on a Saturday night, just after dark – as I expected, the place was pretty jammed, but I was able to walk right in – and I immediately was overwhelmed with the “process” for ordering my food:

First, you are handed a ticket and warned NOT to lose it or you can’t get out! Then, you are left to gaze, which I did until I realized I needed to step up to a “Cutter”, who would take care of my order…

I got the Pastrami on Rye and a Katz’s beer – he took my ticket and added up what I owed, wrote it down and handed it back to me.

I stood here for a minute before realizing that this was to grab salamis to go – then I sat down at a free table – while it was very crowded, I found a place easily…

I sat down and took a moment to size this sandwich up: yes, there were mounds mounds of fresh hot pastrami, and the bread was firm but soft as well…and the meat:

It was mouthwatering, succulent, juicy and full of flavor…becasue I didn’t order any side dishes, or anything else on the sandwich, I could just enjoy the flavor of the meat – which was incredible:

I was given a small plate with two different kinds of pickle wedges, and they offered a crisp counter balance to the rich meaty pastrami…

In hindsight, I should have ordered some potato salad or cole slaw, which are also a great way to test the authenticity of a deli – but I was flying out the next morning and concerned it would needlessly go to waste…I won’t make that mistake again!

As with all legendary establishments, Katz’s walls are full of pictures – celebrities, foodies, politicians – as well as articles on the place that have been published over the years…you could spend hours just reading the walls!

Katz’s has been around for more than a century, but filmgoers in the 80’s learned to love the place for a whole new reason:

“When Harry Met Sally” At Katz’s!

Director Rob Reiner filmed an iconic movie scene in the restaurant…when Billy Crystal tells Meg Ryan that women always have an orgasm with him – and never fake it…Meg then steals the scene:

Here is that legendary scene from the GREAT film:

Of course, the woman with the punch line at the end of the scene was Rob Reiner’s Mom! A classic movie moment from a classic restaurant!

By the way, if you LOVE “food in movies” like I do, then you will want to make this as well:

Clemenza’s famous meatballs from “The Godfather” – there is a recipe to make what Michael Corleone had for dinner! See it here:

https://johnrieber.com/2014/06/17/the-godfather-clemenzas-meatballs-goodfellas-garlic-great-mobster-dinners-and-a-movie/

I have made them and they are great!

Now, if you need some of this incredible Katz’s deli food, you can actually order it to be shipped to you! Check out the menu, plus lots of great trivia and photos, and their whole menu, at their website:

http://www.katzsdelicatessen.com

Bravo to Katz’s Delicatessen, may you last a hundred years more!

Now, if you need to make a recipe from an animated film, may I suggest this:

The incredible recipe for this animated film can be found here:

https://johnrieber.com/2013/06/29/ratatouille-chef-thomas-kellers-recipe-for-animated-food-magic/

If you like all kinds of food – whether it has starred in a movie or not, then you need to head to Chicago for THIS:

Yes, it’s the world’s best fried bologna sandwich, and they sell it at Au Cheval – see more of their incredible food here:

https://johnrieber.com/2013/11/06/fried-bologna-the-brilliant-cooking-at-chicagos-au-cheval-general-janes-chicken/

Time to get my food on!

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