Let's go Irish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! The traditional meal on the Irish holiday is corned beef with cabbage, so it's only natural that they also have excellent pastrami at most of these tray-grabbing cafeteria style pubs. The examination of the Irish meat market in San Francisco has led me to a great revelation - I know where everyone gets their meat comes from. That's right...all the spots I visited buy their corned beef and pastrami from one spot in the city - Robert's Corned Meats.



I've walked by this building every weekday for the last two years - it's actually one block away from my work. One of the largest distributors of pastrami in the Bay Area had been operating under my nose, right by my work in SoMa at Bryant and 9th. I've paid some attention as I've walked by..."Hmm...that's awfully alot of beef brisket." I'd think to myself as I walked by a palette full of meat on my way to get a soda from the Shell station around the corner, but I've never actually had the gall to walk in the place...even though I knew at some point. I recently hooked up with Greg Dixon (the man behind the counter!) on facebook and I had the pleasure of speaking with him on location this past Thursday. It was by far one of the best conversations I've had about pastrami in the Bay Area.

The owner of Robert's Corned Meat is Jim Dixon AKA Corned Beef King of San Francisco (I dare not challenge his title). The Examiner had an article celebrating Robert's Corned Meat 100 year anniversay and Jim Dixon's unique corning method. Some of the success of the corning technique
he attributed to Hetch-Hetchy, the Bay Area's source of crystal clean drinking water. Greg, Jim's son is the man I went to for my pastrami blog answers. The place shovels out 10,000/lbs of meat per month which includes pastrami, corned beef, brisket - all top quality prepackaged meat. They have many different types of pastrami made from either the navel cut, the brisket cut, or the bottom round cut. Traditionally the navel cut is the most flavorful and most desired for pastrami while corned beef is normally made from the brisket "chest" cut which is naturally less fatty (we're talking relatively less), while the bottom round pastrami was a little new to me. Greg really broke it down for me who uses which type of meat at each of the big named Bay Area Irish restaurants and even added a few places I had been wondering about. "Bob Kantor of Memphis Minnie's came here looking for uncured navel cuts, but all out stuff is comes precured." I was excited when he mentioned the Lower Haight BBQ shack as I had been wondering how Mr. Kantor does his Wednesday only pastrami sandwiches and reubens. "Memphis Minnie's actually uses braised short ribs and then smokes them until the meat gets so tender it falls off." He even mentioned the Jewish style deli - Miller's East Coast Deli - the premiere pastrami spot in the city - "Miller's get their corned beef from us and in a pinch they'll use some of our NYC style pastrami, but most of the time they get their pastrami from Sy Ginsburg." Sy Ginsburg was featured in the Sax's book, Save the Deli, and supplies much of the greater Midwest with their corned meats. While I was talking with him a customer came in and bought a 5 pound cut of corned beef. Greg gave him some extra corning spices for the meat, which I thought was a nice touch. I left Robert's Corned meat armed with knowledge about the places I already loved - a truly great experience. Now let's get down to eating some pastrami!


The first place I visited was Lefty O' Doul's, which is right down the street from Union Square on Geary Street. The place opened in 1958 and features large wood paneling with pictures of old baseball starts lining the wall. None of them more featured than Joe DiMaggio himself.

Why the Yankee Clipper in San Francisco? Why not Willie Mays or Barroid Bonds? Not alot of people know that Joe D was actually born in Martinez, CA and went to high school in San Francisco. The first professional team he played for was a Pacific Coast League team named the San Francisco Seals, before he was eventually sold to Yankees for a handsome sum of 25,000$. You may have wondered why you've seen his picture around town or why the Giant's mascot is a seal - now you know!

When you walk in you grab a tray and order to the man at the counter who promptly takes out the pastrami and hand slices your pastrami. Lefty O' Doul's uses the Robert's Brand brisket cut pastrami, which has slightly less fat, but is still very flavorful. I got it on rye bread and enjoyed their pastrami with some mustard in the quiet dining room.

The pastrami came with lettuce and tomatoes on the side which i didn't really use. I just put some mustard on it and I was in heaven. As I was kinda spacing out towards the end of my meal I looked straight ahead and there she was - Marilyn Monroe - lit up with bright lights behind a pink curtain in the Seven Year Itch pose that infamously sent Joe DiMaggio into a jealous rage. The parody of the whole situation is something that is so San Francisco - which is somehow Dirty Harry and Jerry Garcia all at the same time.


For my next adventure I go across the Bay to Berkeley to visit one of my old favorites - Brennan's. Brennan's recently opened a new building just adjacent to their old location which stood for about 49 years as they recently celebrated their 50th anniversary in their new building. The new building has bigger televisions, better seats, and is right by next to the train tracks so you can see Amtrak trains passing by on their way to Sacramento. The old building had a certain charm and charisma of an old Irish pub that will never be matched by the new establishment which is brighter and more comfortable overall. I understand the move, but it doesn't mean I can't miss the old building.

The Old Brennan's

The New Brennan's

They're still the same trays!

My buddy Peter and I walked up to the meat cutter - he ordered first getting corned beef with cabbage with gravy all over it. I got a pastrami on rye with some mash potatoes. The meat man proceeded to hand cut our Robert's brand corned beef and Robert's lighter navel cut of pastrami.

The corned beef was juicy and succulent - it was a good night for the corned beef. The pastrami and Brennan's is my favorite of all the Irish spots I go to and this night was no change - top notch! It did cost a bit more money than the Lefty O'Doul's, but it was worth it!

The last place I visited for the Irish part of the blog was Tommy's Joynt at Geary and Van Ness. Tommy's Joynt has been around since 1947 and the first owner was Irish and went by the last name of Harris, but Greg at Robert's corned meat told me the owners are now Jewish. I'm not sure I consider Tommy's Joynt fully Irish - it's more a San Francisco Hofbrau with items on the menu such as grilled chuck steak sandwich, braised lamb shanks, and turkey sloppy joe's. However it was the day of the St. Patrick's day parade and most people were here decked out in green, ready for their famously good corned beef and cabbage.

World Famous Corned Beef

Founder of Tommy's Joynt

I went with three friends and everyone else got corned beef, except for me. I got the pastrami on rye again which was alot like the Lefty O'doul's brisket pastrami, very good for 5.50$ a sandwich. Peter came again and got the cheesecake, which I had a bit of - it was superb.

Pastrami and Coleslaw

Corned Beef on Sourdough - Cheesecake Upper Right

The sandwiches came with an au jus dip, if you wanted to make your pastrami and French dip it would be very easy to order on a french roll and use the au jus at your discretion. At the table there were two house mustard - a mild and a hot. The hot one clears your nasal passages - just a warning!

Geoff at The Refuge

Before I got to my Irish pastrami spots, I took my friend Geoff down to the Refuge in San Carlos. He wanted to try really good pastrami for the first time and I told him I would take him to the best. When he bit down in the perfectly sliced, perfectly smoke pastrami from the Refuge slathered in Russian dressing with a bit of Gulden's mustard he knew what it was all about. "It's so much better than the packaged stuff." Of course it is, the time and care Matt Levine takes into his pastrami is artfully mastered in his chique gastropub in the Peninsula. It's like going to a microbrewery - only for pastrami. Oh did I mention microbrewery - the guy has like 25 Belgian beers on the menu! I chatted with Matt a little bit about my NYC trip and he told me Carnegie under cooks their pastrami a slight bit because they sell so much of it - I couldn't really tell I liked it alot. He was surprised I said my Kat'z sandwich was a bit small, but after reading into it a bit more then next time I'm going to counter service and I'm tipping the guy cutting my meat like 5$ for a big one - and don't forget the pickle!

Toasted #19 - The Refuge

While writing this blog and self proclaiming myself SF Pastrami King, I've come to respect so of the true players in the pastrami game right here in the Bay Area. Jim and Greg Dixon of Robert's Corned Meats, Matt Levine of the Refuge , Robby Morgenstein of Miller's East Coast Deli, and Joe Sattler of Moishe's Pippic are truly deli men of the best kind - I thank you especially for making my pastrami just the way I like it!

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!