Monday, September 5, 2011

Viognier Restaurant/Draeger’s Markets American Kobe/Waygu Pastrami, Wise Son's Rye

Happy September. This is my favorite month because the weather is still nice, football is starting, and my birthday is on the 19th. The Pastrami Blog celebrated it's 2nd anniversary on August 28th. It's amazing how far this blog has come. Just in the past two years I've tried pastrami from NYC, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and all over the Bay Area. Also, we've seen great things happen in our backyard as new pastrami/corned beef spots have popped up over the city like Wise Sons & Deli Board. There are still many places to try in San Francisco and other areas of the Bay and I look forward to sampling them for another year to come. Feel free to send suggestions although a small list of places I'd like to try soon include - Giordano Bros on Mission, Orson Cafe, and Spruce Cafe. I'm always happy to get more suggestions from readers and fans - send e-mails to Pastramiking@gmail.com.

With Chef Preston


 Lovely Fluffy Rolls

 Wrapped Pastrami and Mustard


This post we have something extraordinary - a pastrami made from Kobe/Waygu beef. This product is going to be available soon at Draeger's Market / Viognier Restaurant in San Mateo (Viognier is located above Draeger's market). Chef Preston Dishman makes this pastrami and is a pastrami blog fan - here is another bio on Preston. He sent me a small gift package with pastrami, homemade rolls, homemade mustard, a napkin and a sweet note letting me know about the sugar cure and the blend of spices they used for the rub for the large, smoky outside of the pastrami as well as instructions for the perfect pastrami sandwich.

 Holy Marbleized! 

Upon opening the package I was very impressed with the way they thought of everything for me to have a perfect lunch - Thanks Preston and Viognier for the lovely care package and chance to try this pastrami.

The pastrami itself got inspection right away. The first thing I noticed with the very marbleized pastrami - this is of course Kobe/Waygu which is known for it's increased flavor and fat content. That was very evident from just looking at the meat - there were many layers of fat within the meat. The large black outside smelled excellent and the sugar cure was also evident in it's aroma when first smelling the pastrami. The flavor cold and hot is tremendous.

Sliced Pastrami - Ready for Warming...or Not.

It's almost a whole different world trying it cold versus hot and both are pleasurable in a different way. When tried cold the fat sort of melts in your mouth like butter but the flavor on the outside almost tastes more like a jerky rub - which isn't bad, just a bit more of a jerky flavor to the rub than normal (spicy). It's honestly so good this way that my roommate has caught me eating cold slices late at night for dessert. He makes fun, but even he likes it when it's cold. When heated up the sugar cure really comes out and it's very sweet, but the peppery outside offsets it in a wondrous way. I would say it's most similar to the Wise Son's pastrami with the cure - much different than Sy Ginsberg which is served at Miller's because of the sweeter cures. Also, like Wise Son's, this was not packaged and was cured within miles of where it was given to me (not stored, refrigerated, and shipped over), which means it's very fresh tasting. When I tried the sandwich I was very impressed with the roll - it was soft and a perfect picnic type of roll for a lunch. I also thought to myself that I'd like to try it on rye bread and since they gave me about a pound (maybe more, not sure) I would have plenty of meat to try a couple of sandwiches on different mediums. I always say a double baked rye bread is the best way to experience a pastrami and I think Wise Son's has the best rye in town.

The Perfect Pastrami Lunch at work

When I went to Wise Son's I got a pastrami and tried to order a rye bread, but they were out. The guy up front tried to sell me a challah roll, but I explained to him it was for something special and that I thought they had the best rye bread around. He asked "Did you read that or somewhere, best rye bread?" No! That's what I think and I have tried many rye breads. They have the double baked caraway seeded rye bread with the chewy outer crust which is essential to a classic Jewish deli sandwich. When I was waiting for my pastrami I explained to Leo (co-owner of Wise Sons) that I had some special Waygu/Kobe beef pastrami at home and that I wanted to try it on his rye bread because I thought it was the best. He found a few slices for me. Thanks Leo!
Double Baked Rye Bread with Kobe Pastrami - Only for the King!

That sandwich description - Kobe beef pastrami on the double baked caraway seeded Jewish rye bread with homemade cheese and homemade mustard, what a mouthful just describing this sandwich only fit for a king! I think that sandwich was good either way though - with the soft roll or the rye bread. One is more for a bright sunny day outside in the park (the roll) and the other is better for and indoor Sunday lunch. Why does the scenery matter? I'm not sure, but I think it does more than the chewy crust versus the super softness of the fresh roll. What do you think? Rye bread or not? It's a hot topic in the pastrami community -  leave a comment about it if you have an opinion. I'm glad to say I got to experience multiple sandwiches of each! Overall I would say this is some of the best pastrami in the Bay Area, competing with The Refuge and NimanWaygu/Kobe beef which is praised as some of the most tasty beef - normally reserved for steaks - they made pastrami out of it and the flavor is amazing! The time and care are also advantages as this was prepared by a great chef who knew what flavors he was trying to obtain - kudos to Chef Preston for your vision - the man the man that made the sugar cure Kobe beef pastrami should be hailed by all pastrami blog fans as a royal
culinary genius!

1 comment:

Peter said...

Nice post...the pastrami was yummy!