SoMa Throwdown! Ted's Market Vs. Ak Subs. (Save The Deli Book Signing)

Hello to all my loyal Pastrami Subjects. I've been having a small case of the writer's block, but I'm finally ready to get a new post...it's been a month. What really got me back into the writing mood was a trip to Kansas City. While KC doesn't have any worthwhile pastrami - they do have another thing I adore - BBQ! I got to sample two places in the KC area - one was great and the other not so much. Oklahoma Joe's is located in a gas station in Kansas City, KS (not MO) - they had the best pulled pork I've ever had and the people were really cool. We talked a bit about the gas price differences between the Pacific Coast and the Midwest and how much I liked BBQ...he was so nice that he added some of that epic pulled pork to my cowboy dinner (which came with brisket, 2 ribs, and some sausage). If you're in Kansas City I highly recommend OK Joe's. The other spot I went was the oldest, probably most well-known BBQ spot in KC name - Gates and Sons BBQ. My boss made me promise him (He's a KU grad) that I would try the burnt end sandwich - sadly it disappointed and I longed for my Memphis Minnie's brisket in San Francisco - How ironic?! I featured Memphis Minnie's in a previous blog and I went there just last wednesday night with a group of friends and enjoyed their Reuben for a second time. I've seen the real deal and Memphis Minnie's in the city has better BBQ Brisket than anywhere I've ever tried- even a big BBQ town like Kansas City.


I have a very important announcement! On October 19th a book will be released to the public called "Save the Deli". It was written by my new personal hero - David Sax - a Jewish deli fan and Vanity Fair writer. He has his own blog at http://www.savethedeli.com/ and he was very nice to add my pastrami blog on his blog index. Please check out his website and I want everyone to get the book and come to the Berkeley book signing at Saul's Deli, 4 PM October 24th! I have a link of the event on Bay area yelp to help people remember http://www.yelp.com/events/berkeley-save-the-deli---book-reading-with-writer---david-sax , but it is also on the Save the Deli website along with other dates in different cities. You'll get a chance to meet the writer of Save the Deli and the opportunity to try Saul's wonderful deli food. I've been several times to Saul's and it's very good, but a little pricey. Expect to pay 20$ total for yourself to do it right! I'm looking forward to meeting David and creating new relationships with pastrami fans in the Bay Area.

My dad sent me a great link yesterday from an interview with Current, soon to retire, Los Angeles Chief of Police. He was also Police chief in NYC for many years. He said straight up, "Los Angeles has better Corned Beef Sandwiches than NYC" and that he would try to get sandwiches from Langer's Shipped to New York. http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/10/what_bratton_will_really.php How about them apples NYC? although from reading some of Save the Delis blogs - I do see New York truly has Jewish "delicacies" like rolled beef or kreplach. I'm still prideful of Langer's and the Los Angeles pastrami scene with truly is the best pastrami in the world - says New Yorkers transplanted in LA. Take this into consderation - I don't hear anyone moving from LA claiming Katz' mops the floor with Langer's, but I've heard the opposite a few times. one of them here http://www.epinions.com/review/Langer_s_Delicatessen_44825460/content_389117152900 another one quoting David Sax from an interview with Vroman's bookstore in Los Angeles. “Brace yourselves, New York, because what I am about to write is definitely going to piss a lot of you off, but it needs to be said: Los Angeles has become America's premier deli city. Wait…Stop…Put the gun down. It's true.” “The delis [in LA] are bigger, are more comfortable, and ultimately serve better food than any other city in America, including the best pastrami sandwich on earth. Los Angeles is both the exception to the rule of deli's inevitable decline and the example for the rest of the nation of how deli can ultimately stay relevant. If we are to save the deli elsewhere, we can learn a lot from LA.” So I guess I can put a stop to my search for greatest pastrami sandwich in the world...I mean David did the research and found that the place I KNOW is the best in LA to also be the best pastrami sandwich in the world - HOWEVER!!!!! I still think the refuge in San Carlos, CA might have outdone Langer's and is just not as well known on the scene because it's not really a Jewish Deli, but rather a pub that serves pastrami sandwiches. The Refuge doesn't have matzo soup or whitefish - but it does have the thickest tastiest pastrami I've ever had - including Langer's.



I celebrated my birthday the 19th of September with a lunch at Miller's - my favorite deli in the city. I got the grilled NY pastrami special with macaroni salad along with an order of potato pancakes. Potato Pancakes have a very special meaning to me. The tradition in my Polish family was to have Borscht on Christmas Eve and to have Potato Pancakes Christmas morning. I think I associate potato pancakes with opening Legos, Video Games, and other childhood memories (remember that bright shiny bike!?!?). They're so important to me that when asked on the yelp profile survey what my last meal would be - I made sure to say both a pastrami with potato pancakes on the side. The combo of the two for me is killer and something I will only do once in a moon. My 25th birthday is just such an occasion.

Alright so let's get down to business. I work in an area of San Francisco known as South of Market or SoMa. There are two sandwich places people swear by - Ted's Market or AK Subs - anything else is just meh. Both places have been known to have lines outside the door during peak lunch hour and both places pack a great value sandwich. So which place has the better pastrami for your 6$????



AK subs is located at Harrison and 8th in SoMA and you can see the big blue building from the 5th street exit coming from the Bay Bridge. You may have noticed the Hancock ad on the side of the building that was there for entirely too long after the movie bombed. I remember my friend Mike, who was working at another architecture office, walked by me one day on the street and said, "Dude, you ever tried AK - it's like SoCal Prices." He's another LA transplant and like me or any other person from LA who has moved to SF we notice the price gouge - especially when it comes to sandwiches and burgers (I'm looking at you Ike's sandwiches and BurgerMeister, with a vengeful eye and an empty pocket!). However AKs is refreshing. You can get a drink and a soda for a little more than 5 bucks and the sandwich is large and in charge. They have different soups daily, of which my favorite is the Potato Leek soup on Tuesdays...remembers Tuesdays! The pastrami sandwich at AKS is known as Tony's Hot Pastrami and comes with melted swiss cheese and a bread of your choosing. I got it on Rye of course.




The pastrami is very good. Nice color and a tasty flavor - quite impressive for a sub shop. However the yellow mustard and the rye bread aren't the bomb like some other spots. For around 7$ with a drink though, it's quite a value. If you order more than 10$ worth, AK subs will deliver during lunch time - good to know. Suggest it for your company meeting next time and get the pastrami. The lady behind the counter is very sweet and helpful (and cute to boot).

Ted's Market is located at Howard and 10th across the street from the Royal Motors VW/Audi shop. People come from the DPT (the ticket people) and other government agencies to get their sandwiches here. Once I talked to a guy from the MTA, who worked on traveling routes for San Francisco MUNI. I see cops in here regularly coming in to make their lunch breaks. I think when you see cops at a restaurant it normally means there is good food there....cops and old couple know where to eat. Ted's market was also featured in Will Smith's movie - The Pursuit of Happyness (I'm not spelling it wrong - watch the movie). There are pictures of Will Smith with the owner of Ted's and pictures of what the market looked like in the movie. I remember I was working at Virgin Megastore when they were filming the movie. If you lived in SF in 2004-2005, it was almost impossible not to run into them filming a scene from this or the Zodiac. I digress back to Ted's - this place is not a place to go if you want to get a sandwich FAST! The line always goes around the bend by the sodas - at least ten sandwiches away from you ordering. There is a reason people wait for their sandwich - it's the BOMB and hey look at it this way - at least you don't have to make an appointment for your sandwich like overrated Ike's. I ordered the steamed New york pastrami on Rye with Russian dressing and tomatoes for 5.25$ and it came out looking like this.



The Bread was pretty even between AKs and Ted's - neither one would be considered hot stuff by a true pastrami guru - it was just ok. However the Pastrami and Cheese on the Ted's pastrami tasted better. You can see the Swiss on the Ted's sorta melted into the bread because of the hot pastrami - it wasn't pre-melted like I'm guessing the AK subs pastrami they grill the Swiss on the pastrami when they hand it to you. I prefer the Ted's way. If you look at the pastrami, Ted's pastrami was a deeper color and definitely has more fat...meaning more flavor. Ted's also has better sides than AK's even considering their potato leek soup on Tuesdays. Ted's has mozzarella and tomato salad, Greek pastisto, macaroni salad, potato salad, and much more. On top of pastrami, they have tri-tip MWF, roasted pork T&TH, and roasted turkey everyday all day. If you're gonna get a lunch time pastrami in SoMa, I highly recommend Ted's over AK's subs.

Lets Get Started - The Origin of the King.

Hello to all. Who likes Pastrami? I do!

First, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Teddy, I'm 24 almost 25, I live in Pacifica and I work at an architecture office.

Many moons ago my father and I were trying to get a late night dinner after my flight down from the Bay by his house in Southern California. I said to him "In and Out is just down the street, I'd be fine with that." He had other plans. He wanted to take me to the acclaimed 24 hour diner in Los Angeles named Canter's. We showed up somewhere past midnight and the place was packed. My father said "You should get the pastrami or corned beef, it's really good here." Flashbacks in my mind spotlighted a memory from my early childhood... My first time at Langer's deli, I was about 9 years old. I remember sitting in one of those old brown booths with my grandpa. He wanted to show me the new LA rail which opened in 1990 and it just so happened they had a stop by MacArthur Park, just kitty corner to his favorite deli. He ordered the flagship #19, the best choice a guy/king could make. I ordered the cheeseburger. "WHAT!?!?!" my grandfather Ralph exclaimed. "You'd be a fool NOT to get the pastrami." Being into my own thing (probably Ninja turtles and Nintendo at the time???) I took his warning with a grain of salt. I don't remember the burger knocking my socks off, but I did remember Ralph's boisterous protest to my juvenile, ignorant selection. I digress back to Canter's on Fairfax in West LA circa 2004-05. That night I ordered the O'Malley's special. The O'Malley's is a corned beef or pastrami (your choice) on rye with tomatoes and Russian dressing. That sandwich changed my life. The mixing of the meat with the dressing was all of a sudden my favorite combination in the world. Like a true full-blooded Italian salivates over tomato marinara with mozzarella cheese , I was hooked into craving cured meats with Russian dressing and rye bread.

I assume at some point my tastes had changed over the years and I finally loved a "Man" sandwich instead of the little kid thing to do - a burger. I don't ever remember liking tomatoes as a little kid, yet with the Russian dressing that evening it was divine and tomatoes still remain a favorite of mine on pastrami sandwiches. If you had asked my friends my first years of college in 2002-2003 my favorite food, they probably would have either said a cheeseburger or a cheese steak.

After that sandwich at canter's, I came back to San Francisco a changed man. I was searching to replicate that sandwich I had at Canter's. I knew the Bay must have something to offer me to quell this cured meat craze. I remembered the chicken coop having good pastrami/corned beef from my days at Taraval Street in the sunset. I made the trip out there one day from my at the time home on the other side of the city. Their pastrami is good...no it's really good, falls short of great. However they didn't have the same bread or same sauce as Canter's...essentially it's not authentic. It was a substitute for Canter's, but I was still searching for more.

Alot changed for me at the end of 2006. I stopped going to school at SFSU and moved to the East Bay. During the beginning, middle, and end of my tenure in the East Bay I ate at an Irish Hof Brau in Berkley named Brennan's. It's right under the University Ave exit in B-town across the street from Spenger's Grotto. The first time I went was in their old location which was up for a little more than 50 years. They have opened in the old rail house across the street and although they have moved into a brighter, newer location, the old spot had a certain charm. Brennan's is famous for their corned beef, but this is the place that I determined that I love pastrami over its leaner brother corned beef. I got the corned beef several times and was disappointed. It was dry! The pastrami was always wet and juicy, the high fat content of the meat seemed to make it last longer, so if i got there at 8:30 it was still fresh, juicy. I have had many pastrami sandwiches there and I even went on a sort of pastrami diet there while on a low carb diet. I would get the pastrami plate with brown rice instead of mash potatoes and green vegetables. It's actually a great South Beach option! Their pastrami on rye was excellent, but they do not have Russian dressing and the pastrami is still not quite as good as Canter's.

August 18th 2007 I started working for my firm in SOMA. In one of the first month's working there we all ordered from AK Subs at Harrison and 8th. I ordered the pastrami, assuming i was just gonna get an average pastrami experience. Boom, pow, surprise! What my coworker brought back for me was at the time the best Pastrami sandwich I had devoured in San Francisco city limits. I started going there regularly on my lunch breaks to get pastrami sandwiches. My other coworker has a beef with AK's. He always would say to me "Why do you go there, their bread sucks." Although I do not share the same opinion (AK subs is a-ok, cheap & good in my book) I was willing to listen to his suggestion for other places to go. One day he took me to Ted's on Howard by 10th street under the suggestion from his girlfriend. There I found another great pastrami sandwich, it trumped AK's and I now go to Ted's several times a week if I can. It's still not quite as good as the Canter's though...so now the quest was in full effect.



I decided to join Yelp in December 2008 to help aid my quest for the best pastrami sandwich in the Bay area. At the time I joined I thought nothing could hold a candle to my favorite LA delis Canter's and Langer's. One day while looking for what to get for lunch at work I stumbled upon Miller's East Coast Delicatessen near the Intersection of Polk and Clay. My coworker who went to the Art Academy yelled "Oh that place is super good. If you got get me a burger." That was all I needed to hear and I was off to put the pastrami at Miller's to the test. What I found was a sandwich that beats Canter's pastrami straight up and rivals the famous #19 at Langer's. Right now my reigning best pastrami sandwich in the bay is the Grilled New York pastrami special at Miller's. It's not grilled because they grill the pastrami...they put a little butter on the bread like you would a grilled cheese so the rye bread gets all crispy while the Swiss cheese melts over my favorite - pastrami and Russian dressing. I recently brought my dad to Miller's and when he saw the Grilled pastrami special at Miller's He asked in amazement and recognition "No they didn't do that to the bread...did they?" I still give Langer's #19 the slight edge on my favorite pastrami sandwich in California...but it's very close and up to debate.

Somewhere during this meat judging, I remembered the scene from Ferris Beuller's Day Off when he was trying to mcgillicutty his was into a swank Chicago restaurant. He pretended he was another guest on the reservation list - Abe Froman. The snooty Chicago waiter asked (Can you do the snooty Chicago waiter accent?) "You're Abe Froman???? You're Abe Froman, The Sausage King of Chicago?" in a disbelieving, threatening tone. I thought to myself.....I should be the pastrami king of San Francisco, shoot the pastrami king of the whole Bay Area. I should be the guy that walks in Brennan's and the lady behind the counter goes "Hey there's the pastrami king!" ...and it did happen! Gabi from Brennan's read my yelp reviews and greeted me as pastrami king in my favorite pastrami spots. How awesome is that?

I'm passionate about pastrami and my friends hear me talk about it. My friend saw my new photoshopped photo of me standing with a pastrami sandwich, crown on my head and asked "When are you going to start the website?" It's tonight my friends. Tonight is the night I start the pastrami blog and the quest for the ultimate pastrami sandwich. Who knows I might expand my title to pastrami king of California, pastrami king of the West, and ultimately Emperor Pastramus the first when i take over the whole world. I kid, but I do have lofty goals. I plan to take the pastrami belt to New York in a short while to sample Katz' and Carnegie Deli. Even though some New Yorkers have hailed Los Angeles' Langer's as the best deli in America, I understand to truly expand my pastrami knowledge I must make the journey to the motherland, birthplace of Pastrami - NYC. As for this blog I would like to blog all things pastrami related I can think of, as well as a log of the pastrami sandwiches I eat. I have some ideas but I would always love feedback at my new e-mail for the blog PastramiKing@gmail.com . Please check out my yelp reviews at http://pastramiking.yelp.com . If you click lists, I have a list of my favorite pastrami sandwiches in California. Try one out if you get the urge!