First time at Katz's Deli . . . ORGASM

[amerikajinda]

Inspired by this thread, I went to Loeb's Deli in Washington, D.C. today and ordered their Pastrami with chopped liver sandwich (with a Dr. Brown Cream Soda) but much to my dismay, "chopped liver" actually means "liverwurst" in D.C. Very disappointing!

 

[Mr. Moo]

Originally Posted by iammatt

I agree with you. Really, only Molinari and Lucca are necessary. I'm not sure why we have never had a good Jewish deli. East-Coast West is terrible for most things, but they do very good lox, eggs and onions. For actual deli meats, we are fucked. I think everybody in the area uses Boar's Head or Nieman Ranch pre-made pastrami, so how good can it really get. FWIW, the new latkes at Saul's are fantastic. Best I have had in a long time.
I actually haven't been to Saul's because I rarely have a reason to go to the East Bay except to check on a rental property. Perhaps it's time to pay that place a visit... On pastrami: I went to a place called Kinetics Cafe or something like that for lunch yesterday after this thread made me hungry for a hot pastrami and I had read that that cafe serves it. We get there and one of my coworkers orders the hot pastrami just before I have a chance to order, and the guy takes cold pastrami and throws it on a George Foreman grill. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich it got out of there as fast as possible.

 

[Fuuma]

That's sad, very sad indeed.

 

[edmorel]

just had the pastrami at Sarge's. Garbage.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by imatlas

Wolfie's closed a couple of years ago.
Yeah I know. I meant Wolfie Cohen's Rascal House (I still call it Wolfie's). Of course, that's also closed now. Being converted to a high-end food market.

I've found that kosher deli's aren't necessarily any better than non-kosher deli's, especially when it comes to meats. They usually knock out the sides (knish, latke, etc.) better though.

 

[cheessus]

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

I'd trade 5... no, 10 Italian delis for 1 Jewish deli like Katz's.

I would love to find any good type of deli in the South Bay...

 

[Mr. Moo]

Originally Posted by cheessus

I would love to find any good type of deli in the South Bay...

Not gonna lie, this place is pretty damn good.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/rogers-deli-mountain-view

 

[imatlas]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Yeah I know. I meant Wolfie Cohen's Rascal House (I still call it Wolfie's). Of course, that's also closed now. Being converted to a high-end food market.

I've found that kosher deli's aren't necessarily any better than non-kosher deli's, especially when it comes to meats. They usually knock out the sides (knish, latke, etc.) better though.

The point is that kosher meat actually tastes different from non-kosher. It's in the preparation - because blood isn't kosher, all of the meat is soaked in water, then salted to draw out the blood, then rinsed. Because it has less blood and more salt it has a distinctive taste. If you grow up on it, your first taste of non-kosher meat is usually a WTF?!? moment.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by imatlas

The point is that kosher meat actually tastes different from non-kosher. It's in the preparation - because blood isn't kosher, all of the meat is soaked in water, then salted to draw out the blood, then rinsed. Because it has less blood and more salt it has a distinctive taste. If you grow up on it, your first taste of non-kosher meat is usually a WTF?!? moment.
I would say that's true of steaks and chops more so than cured meats, since you can't really make corned beef or pastrami without a brine.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

I would say that's true of steaks and chops more so than cured meats, since you can't really make corned beef or pastrami without a brine.
Yep. There really isn't a monumental difference there. Kosher steaks are awful Kosher chicken, on the other hand, is is pretty damn tasty. Don't forget, there is Kosher, and there is ultra-Kosher that the super duper Orthodox/Chabad fruitcakes eat. That's some next level **** with them and it all tastes like crap.

 

[imatlas]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

I would say that's true of steaks and chops more so than cured meats, since you can't really make corned beef or pastrami without a brine.

Good point.

I've never tried glat kosher meat, so I have no idea how it's different. I thought it was just subjected to more stringent inspection (with the stuff that fails being sold as regular kosher).

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Yep. There really isn't a monumental difference there. Kosher steaks are awful Kosher chicken, on the other hand, is is pretty damn tasty. Don't forget, there is Kosher, and there is ultra-Kosher that the super duper Orthodox/Chabad fruitcakes eat. That's some next level **** with them and it all tastes like crap.
Well.. from a meat perspective, I think it's all Glatt. As far as I know, the only differences for the uber-frums is 1> Dairy must be Halav Yisroel (milk is watched to prevent tampering from the cow to the bottle). OU Dairy kashruth is not sufficient for Chabad. 2> You can't buy meat from a Jew who isn't Shomer Shabbat... but you can buy Empire from a super market that is open on Saturday, I think. 3> Wine must be Mevushal (pasteurized) or it can't be exposed to sight. I don't really know of any other major differences. OU on any processed meat is good enough. The OU-D think is an issue because it takes away Entaminn's and a few other commonly Kosher brands.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by imatlas

Good point. I've never tried glat kosher meat, so I have no idea how it's different. I thought it was just subjected to more stringent inspection (with the stuff that fails being sold as regular kosher).
It is generally handled better... and there is a very close scrutiny to make sure the cow was not sick before it was slaughtered in a humane fashion. Also, the animal must be fed only kosher food that it would eat naturally, so most Kosher beef is basically grass-fed (with some grains to cut cost, I'm sure)... but definitely a vegetarian diet.

 

[KObalto]

Grass fed beef is cheaper for feed but you need the acreage. Most cattle are fed corn which isn't always kosher for Passover.

 

[imatlas]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

It is generally handled better... and there is a very close scrutiny to make sure the cow was not sick before it was slaughtered in a humane fashion.

The whole notion of "slaughtered in a humane fashion" is LOL BS.