Bloomberg says "Yelp!" , The Deli Summit

 Pastrami Burger from Miller's East Coast Deli

The first days of Summer are here! The sun is shining and you should have had at least one pastrami sandwich in the past few weeks...and if you haven't - c'mon now!!! Get your lunch crew ready and hit up your deli for your favorite pastrami any way you like it. I won't hate on you if you like Boar's head with jalapenos on a soft-roll - just enjoy the sunshine with a sandwich as a favor to me and to yourself.

Since my last post I have been quoted in two major online publications - we're going to cover the news article I was quoted in entitled "Yelp's Online Reviewing Mafia" as well as the editorial done by SF Gate. My quotes were both in Bloomberg News and SF Gate (San Francisco Chronicle) and the yelp drama that comes with any story involving yelp was soon to follow. First I'd like to give a shout out to my boys as Wise Son's Deli. They got a big break and they were featured in a NY Times article - here. Also check out Wise Son's web page for breakfast, lunch specials here.

 Deli Summit icon - Awesome!

The owners of Wise Sons, Leo and Evan, are already so well respected in the deli community that Evan was asked to speak on the panel at the Deli Summit - which happened on last month, mid-May at the JCC in Berkeley and also featured some of the owners from Mile End Deli in Brooklyn, Kenny and Zukes in Portland, Oregon and our very own East Bay delight - Saul's Deli in Berkeley (I think they organized the event). That is a pretty heavy panel of deli experts! Check out the video of the first ten minuted of the discussion on Saul's deli web blog which I already linked above. I really enjoyed reading this particular article written about the Deli Summit from the Zester Daily. The writer has some pretty choice quotes from from Evan that I enjoyed reading his anecdotes about "Salvador Deli".


I have to really hand it to Leo and Evan for creating a buzz for their deli. It's only open one day a week - but they seem to have taken the SF pastrami scene by storm and I have to say they have the best rye bread in San Francisco. The big news coming from Wise Sons this week is they have changed their location - they will no longer be at Valencia street and Duboce - but rather 10 blocks down the Street on Valenica at 24th Street at 1270 Valenica street (inside of Heart Wine Bar). Same time, new place.Have you tried it yet? If not - make it a summer mission to get down there on a sunny Saturday.

David Sax - Sandwich Physician

I would like to thank my buddy David Sax from Save the Deli one more time for coming to the Bay Area, writing this article on Yelp, and quoting me in the article. You're the man, David

David was contracted to write an article for Bloomberg Businessweek on yelp - which he entitled "Yelp's Online Reviewing Mafia". Take a look at the link - but the part you really want to read is on the second page -

For others, the rewards are personal. San Francisco architect and amateur pickled meats expert Theodore Ordon-Yaussi, 26, was tapped in 2010 after attending the "Elite Prom" as a plus-one. "My reviews are definitely read more now," says Ordon-Yaussi, who writes under the nom de plume The King of Pastrami. "I get more random messages from people I don't know. I have 20 new fans who follow my reviews." That can be invigorating.

Amateur pickled meat expert - that's Hot! SF Chronicle went on to publish a similar article in the newspaper as well as online at SFgate.com - read it here.

Reaction to the Article

I received mostly positive attention from people congratulating me on the quote. However, the two articles have garnered some criticism from the Yelp community. If you check the web boards, comments below each article - it's absolute anarchy - with people getting into verbal fisticuffs. LA, SF, and NYC all had separate threads discussing the validity and value of the article. Some think the article was spot on and there seems to be a backlash against the Yelp Elites on the web boards as a few people see them as people who would sell their souls for some free wine and food. Other voiced that non-elites are really the best writers on the website and contribute better written reviews. I've met some really cool people on Yelp and for the most part, I think people are generally cool, fun people when you meet them in real life. There are many faceless trolls which won't show up to events (I could be better about attending events to be honest) and there are even more accounts that have no value what-so-ever with 3 reviews complaining about waiter service. This is getting people to start to worry about Yelp combined with the fact they've been repeatedly accused of offering to take down bad reviews of businesses for money. I'm going to keep on doing my thing on there and I think I'll be happier for it. I like reading the reviews, I love going to the Yelp softball games, and I enjoy the talk threads too much. Damn the haters - because I was quoted in two major online publications because of my Yelp status and that sits very well with me.

Please check out my yelp page at Pastramiking.yelp.com. E-mail is Pastramiking@gmail.com and you can leave me a message - I love hearing from people all over the country. @Pastramiking on twitter and I have a Facebook fan page that you can "like" as well. Thanks for reading!

Lunch with David Sax, Greenblatts's, Deli Board/Wise Son's: Another Blogger's Take

Happy April! The weather has changed, the sun is out....What better time to enjoy a pastrami sandwich then outside in the California sun. This Sunday I'm going to be at the Yelp Softball Game at Balboa Park and I'm thinking about making one of the dishes that's in the book "America's Great Delis: Recipes from Coast to Coast" by Sheryll Bellman - specifically the Corned Beef Reuben dip that was from a Baltimore Deli. I'll take pictures - but if you'd like to come to the softball game - it's an open invitation to anyone who would like to come (5$ for refreshments I believe).

There is some epic deli experience in this photo above. David Sax, author of the best-selling book "Save the Deli", is on the left with Robby Morgenstein, Owner of Miller's East Coast in the middle. David Sax is deli royalty, but he also writes for various other publications...which is why he was in SF. Sax was writing an article on Yelp and being Yelp Elite and I was obliged to give him some quotes about what being Yelp Elite entails for me. He was interested on how things have changed since I've become Yelp Elite and whether non-elite users talked to me more or if restaurant owners themselves talked to me more because they know of my Elite status. I told him I thought some owners cared more about what I write now and that I get random owners shooting me a message sometimes. Robby Morgenstein offered his opinion on yelp a few minutes later. He was upset about how frugal some of the reviews can be and said "Boy, all I have to do is look at someone wrong and they will give me a 1 star review. Ridiculous." Sitting at the table and listening to David Sax and Robby Morgenstein talk about delis and yelp was a real treat for me - I mean they are two people I respect greatly in the deli community and they're talking about the social/review network I am on daily - pretty special. For the record, I had a grilled NY pastrami as usual and David Sax had a brisket sandwich on a Kaiser roll. At the end of the meal David said to Robby "You know what I want from you next time I'm here?" Robby looked at him with excitement and David replied "I want some onion rings on my sandwich next time - right on top of the brisket." Robby asked "Thin or thick?" to which David said "It's your restaurant." Priceless.

 

The sandwich above is from Greenblatt's Deli in Los Angeles. Many people have suggested this place to me as having some of the best pastrami in the Southland and  I finally made it to the place - it helps they're open till 2 in the morning. The sandwich looked close to the Brooklyn Sandwich at Canter's, but upon first bite I knew this sandwich was slightly better than the Canter's pastrami. The rye bread was that crazy crispy, chewy double baked rye you only get in LA (or at least I've only found in LA) and the pastrami was machine-sliced thin, but had an excellent sweeter less spicy flavor. I was very impressed with my Greenblatt's sandwich and I recommend trying it out if you're on Sunset and feel that pastrami itch. They even have a large selection of fine wines and a big deli counter to take things to go, if you please.

 

I've been getting pretty chummy with the Deli Board. They know me by name and face now...and I've been going there every week consistently for the past month and I must say I'm always impressed and happy with my meal. The first sandwich above was the "Rach" which is a pastrami on dutch crunch with Russian dressing. I talked about the Bay Area's obsession with Dutch Crunch bread in this previous post and I commend Adam (Owner of Deli Board) for making a sandwich that is both Bay Area and Deli in the same package. The second picture was a trio of sliders known as the "three amigos" special. I think if they were actually the three amigos....I guess Steve Martin would be the pastrami....maybe Chevy Chase...I'm not sure. I have become a really big fan of the Deli Board's soups and salads as well...try a Board Cobb out and tell me you don't think it's excellent, big, and tasty.

I was very pleased to see another blogger's write up for the Deli Board and Wise Son's deli. Rachel Allen of the blog "The Jew and the Carrot" wrote an excellent post on the two delis and how they're opening up the Jewish Deli scene in San Francisco - check it out here and comment on her page and tell her you love Deli Board, you love or are going to try Wise Son's and that the Pastrami King sent me here....You have your instructions my pastrami subjects...make it happen. I honestly get a warm feeling inside when thinking about these two delis and how successful they have been penetrating the deli wasteland of San Francisco. Soon people will be talking about our fabulous Jewish delis - instead of making songs about how we don't have them - like this song from Rita Abrams. We, the pastrami fans of the Bay, need to work to change this attitude that we don't have any good delis in the city and Deli Board and Wise Son's are breaking the old anecdotes that "San Francisco has no worthwhile Jewish Delis". Blasphemy, I say.

Rachel did a tremendous job on her article and it made SF look progressive and hip in the deli community: Kudos Rachel! On the other side of the spectrum, I was disgusted by the recent 7x7 article on pastrami sandwiches in the city entitled "Refreshingly Unhip: SF's Oldschool Pastrami Sandwiches". Take a look at that article folks...there are many things wrong with this picture. My first issue, the writer of this article never used rye bread....ever. I'm sorry....but an "old school" pastrami sandwich comes on rye bread. I'm all for new Dutch Crunch experiments like Adam's Rach (I actually want to commend him a 2nd time down here...way to go making it both Bay Area and Deli at the same time.), but  an "old school" pastrami sandwich looks like the sandwich I got at Greenblatt's. It's on rye bread....maybe with some coleslaw...but if it were a truly traditional, old school it would come with mustard and that's it. Four of the sandwiches were on soft rolls....and one was on a Kaiser roll...not very traditional...maybe the kaiser roll...but certainly not a soft roll if you wanted "old school". My second issue with this article is the deli selection. They get gold stars for Moise's Pippic and Miller's East Coast....but the rest of the class doesn't belong in the pastrami conversation. M&L, Yellow Submarine and Roxie center were poor choices...choices that reek of someone who gets subs...but never gets pastrami sandwiches. With a little more research....7x7 could have found out that Memphis Minnie's has a special pastrami on Wednesdays or Wise Son's makes their own pastrami and serves it on Saturday...but of course those places are new, so if you really, really wanted to get Old School SF on em' they could have gone to David's Deli, Max's Opera Cafe, Lefty O'Doul's and Tommy's Joynt on Van Ness. All those places were opened some time ago, are well known to SF locals, and serve traditional pastrami sandwiches on rye bread...hell Lefty's and Tommy's hand slice the pastrami in front of you.  Burrfish on you for not taking time to do this article properly...7x7....I'm disappointed.

That's all for now, Folks.  @Pastramking on Twitter. E-mail is PastramiKing@gmail.com - my yelp address is Pastramiking.yelp.com and please join my Facebook fan page. My next post is going to be in the Bay Area most likely....was thinking about Spruce or Orson Cafe....please let me know what you'd like to see and I'll try to make it happen.

Wise Son's Pastrami Sandwich, Yelp Praise

Hey there pastrami fans. I hope you had an awesome Mardi Gras. This past weekend, I finally was able to try the Wise Son's pastrami sandwich...and boy was it awesome.

This sandwich was a bit hard to obtain...as Wise Son's is only serving on Saturdays as a pop-up inside Jackie's Cafe on Valencia (@ Duboce). The pastrami was sweeter than most of the pastrami I have tried - more salty/sweet than spicy. The slices were larger, thicker hand cut slices - which I normally prefer over the machine-sliced, thinner slices of pastrami. The brine had a large fat layer on it that let you know without a doubt in your mind that this was pastrami and not corned beef. I have never seen a corned beef with that type of brine on the outside, although it did have pinkish hue (not as ruby red) that some corned beef has. The rye bread was very good, the rye crust was chewy and crispy...but it still wasn't as good as the double-baked rye of Langer's. A very lovely presentation and a tasty pastrami - a definite 5 star in my book. Can't wait to try it again!

Speaking of Langer's....I had a guy harass me a bit when I ordered my sandwich @ Wise Son's with Swiss cheese and coleslaw. He said "That's not kosher, it goes against the grain." I smiled....this guy is 40+ years old and screams East Coast...but I'm confident in my deli ordering skills. I'm confident because I know the first deli I ever went to - Langer's in Los Angeles - has been proclaimed the best deli in the world by many, many people. "I'm not Jewish, I'm Polish. I do not adhere to Kosher law." I replied - then with a question to him "Where do you like to get your pastrami, usually?" He told me he was a a big fan of Max's Opera Café, but that he's from Brooklyn and "nothing beats Brooklyn." I have a bit of an issue with this statement. Many people try to claim Brooklyn when claiming the best deli food, but more often than not - I ask them which deli and where and their response is some small place I've never heard of or they give me an Italian deli instead of a Jewish Deli as an example. I know of some delis in Brooklyn - Mile End comes to mind as well as David's Brisket House and Ben's Best (Queens) - but I do think it's a cop out to claim Brooklyn without backing any claims. At least give me the name of the place that makes Brooklyn unbeatable. After he claimed Brooklyn, I responded "Oh yeah - Max's Opera Cafe uses Robert's Corned Meat in the city, they do good business." He looked at me like how the hell did he know that? then following up "and if you're going to claim Brooklyn on me - I'm going to have to claim LA. You ever been to Langer's? Best pastrami in the world." He told me "no" and I told him he's "missing out" and I hand him my Pastrami King card. Yes - I can tell a old Jewish maven from Brooklyn he's missing out on the best deli food without flinching - because I am the Pastrami King!

I got some awesome love on yelp this past few weeks - two awesome reviews. The first review was from a a girl named Tram, from San Jose, who reviewed the Deli Board. Check out the review here, but my favorite part is in the beginning.

"Theodore.. if it weren't for your review, I wouldn't have ordered the Boca sandwich.. I came here from San Jose w/ a one track mind: I MUST get Boca or else my heart would stop instantly."

Nice! Thanks a bunch Tram. I'm glad that Boca treated you well and I'm sure the owner of the Deli Board will be happy to know I'm sending him pastrami lovers. The second review that mentioned me was from a friend Luis A. We went to Miller's East together and he was blown away by how good it was. Check out Luis' review here.

A small excerpt "I was referred to this place by 'THE PASTRAMI KING' and now I know why he is called that. This guys truly knows his craft and was not kidding about the food here." I'm blushing from all the praise on yelp. It's amazing to see how many people have reached out and talked about how I led them to a great deli experience.

I got some news David Sax, writer of the book "Save the Deli", will be in the Bay Area to do a story on yelp and yelp elites. I'm not sure he knew I was yelp elite, but he does now and I'm hoping to have some pastrami with him sometime next week. Hopefully will get some pictures for the blog of David. I am also planning on going to Los Angeles at the end of the month and will be trying a few places there (hopefully).

My e-mail is Pastramiking@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @Pastramiking. My yelp stuff is always pastramiking.yelp.com. and please, join my facebook fan page. There is a link at the top of the page for "liking" the fan page - do it!