The Teddy.O, South Lake Tahoe, More Goodies

Hey there pastrami fans. I've been on a vacation from blogging mostly because life has been pleasantly crazy. I met a wonderful lady and moved from Pacifica, making my triumphant return to the city of San Francisco. I sold my car and walk to work. Life has changed.

Lots of things have happened in the Deli scene since then and I've been wanting to report, but it seems I've always been looking at apartments, moving, buying new furniture or just wanting to play video games because I'm so damn tired. Great news, things have finally settled down! I'm ready to get back into writing.

To start things off - I'd like to show you a nice video that my dad made for me and my blog. It's a dedication to my grandpa who really influenced my love of deli, as well as a short retrospective of the blog. Please enjoy.

The Deli Board named a sandwich after me a few months ago called the Teddy.O! I have a sandwich named after me - just writing that brings smiles to my face. The Teddy.O is a special Romanian pastrami, coleslaw, 1000 island on either rye bread or a caraway seeded roll - depending upon availability of rye bread.

That is a picture of me and Adam when I tried the first Teddy.O sandwich back in February as well as an up close shot of my sandwich. The sandwich is available as a special about every week or so - the last time it was available May 15th, but you just have to check the Board for availability.

To unwind after my move I made a small trip to South Lake Tahoe California by the Nevada Border. If you haven't ever been to SLT - it's a cool mountain town on the California side followed by 3 Casinos on the Nevada Border with pretty views of Lake Tahoe. There was a more than decent Reuben Sandwich in Town at Macduff's Pub.

The rye bread on the sandwich was pretty good, but it is hard to tell about the rye when it's toasted. The corned beef was house cured, home made and was juicy and delicious. Very good corned beef, I was impressed. They also had a killer bread pudding that they put directly into a fire oven - which makes it oh so toasty good when served to you. I highly recommend Macduff's for that Reuben fix in South Lake Tahoe.

Speaking of Reuben fixes.....

While I do no advocate going to Arby's for your Reuben fix...I did appreciate the commercial.


Other happenings: I received a nice e-mail from a lady named Megan and she had a nice meaty website to check out http://frugaldad.com/beef/ - it has information about beef and what different parts of the cow correspond with certain cuts of meat. Pastrami should either be navel or brisket/chest and Corned beef is almost exclusively the brisket/chest cut.. I thought the site was nice so I linked it.

I noticed in my new neighborhood there is a restaurant called Jablow's Meats. I actually met the owner at the deli board, but I am intrigued to try his pastrami. The place is only open on Wednesdays. It will be a mission to go.

Wise Son's Deli opened their permanent location on 24th street by Folsom and I have yet to go. I feel bad, because I was right on top of them opening their pop-up and I just haven't had the time to come by yet. I will make it back to Wise Son's, home of the best rye bread in San Francisco. I've heard they can get really busy at times....so let's hope for a good experience.


Please e-mail me at Pastramiking@gmail.com. I really like getting some of the cool random e-mails you guys send me...keep it up! My twitter is @pastramiking and I need to get on it more...but it's really just linked to my Facebook fan page. Thanks for reading!

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!

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!

Carmelo Hits Carnegie, Seattle Pastramified, Wise Son's and Calabria Bros.

I have lots of material for this post. I'm going to take us to NYC, then to Seattle, then back to the Bay Area. Let's start with the NBA, because I love talking sports.

(Photo Credit Mark McCormick of howiGit's blog)

It's final. Carmelo Anthony has gone to big lights of Broadway...Madison Square Garden...The Knicks. Before the season started, NYC was completely crazy over LeBron James and his possibility of signing with the Knicks. In an attempt to lure LeBron to New York, the Carnegie Deli named a sandwich after him in hopes it would let Lebron know they really, really wanted him in a Knick uniform. I featured it in the bottom this previous blog post and it was also featured in Save the Deli - here. LeBron chose South Beach and New York responded by signing Amar'e Stoudemire to quell the appetite of New York fans. That wasn't enough though, as the Knicks made big moves acquiring Carmelo Anthony, as well as former NBA Finals MVP Chancey Billups. Of course, as soon as Carmelo landed in the Big Apple....Guess what happened? The Carnegie Deli named a sandwich in honor of Carmelo...as he is now the true ruler of basketball in New York (sorry Amar'e, but I do love the apostrophe in your name).  TMZ was the first to break the story.

Feast your eyes on the Carmelo sandwich. Talk about stretching it out. It has loads of Corned Beef, Pastrami, Salami, Bacon, Tomato, and of course Russian Dressing. That's just insane....good luck to anyone who would dare order it. Alright...let's get out of NYC...as it's a bit frozen this time of year.

Let's go to a place where the NBA sadly no longer exists - Seattle. This is a view from Kerry Park in Queen Anne. It was remarkably clear - as you could see Mount Rainer in the distance.

We went straight from SeaTac Airport to Roxy's Diner in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. I ordered the pastrami hash with poached eggs and my friend got the challah French toast. The pastrami hash was excellent - a tremendously hardy breakfast with the bagel, potatoes, eggs, and pastrami. I loaded all the ingredients on half bagels and then punctured my eggs to let the yolk saturate the whole bagel...perfect. I highly recommend Roxy's Diner at any time of the day. The servers are cool and cute and the people the patrons are often lively and interesting...plus they have the coolest web address...they got www.pastramisandwich.com - lucky guys.

I Love NYC Deli - Pike's Kiosk

My next pastrami stop off was at Pikes Market to revisit the I Love NYC Deli kiosk... I can't say it was as good as it was last time. My pastrami could have been a bit warmer and the knishes were so dry he just have me one to sample for free. It was alright, but what's going on with the quality control? I don't think the owner, Jon, bothers with his kiosk anymore - it's all about the deli location on Roosevelt Street. My sandwich was OK...maybe it was later in the day (it was about 1 PM...not even quite 2). I suppose my question is why have two locations if one is going to suffer quality wise?

Inside of Pike's down below the I love NYC Deli stand there was the Pike's Place Bakery - where I found the elusive poppy seed flavored rugulas. They also offered a "homemade pastrami" which I found out is actually supplied from Market House Meats - a corned beef staple in Seattle. I asked for a small sample of their pastrami and the man obliged as I just bought some rugulas from him. I didn't want to take out my camera for one slice at a crowded bakery so I will do my best to describe what it looked and tasted like. It was almost without a brine, no black crust on the outside - so it looked like corned beef, but a slightly deeper red color. It tasted a little salty, yet very delicate for pastrami without much spice..with a thinner slice that made it extremely feathery, light weight. I'll do my best to make it to Market House Meats next visit - but I believe they're only open on weekdays, so it might be more of a challenge.

For my next stop, my posse went to Broadway and Pike for a surprise at the HoneyHole. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from a place named the "HoneyHole", but I was encouraged when reading about their pastrami which comes from Painted Hills Natural Beef ~ from the hills of Oregon, an organically grown beef.

The sandwich was named the Corleone and it came on a demi-baguette with mustard and sauerkraut. I added Russian/Thousand on the side. I'm going to make a bold proclamation here - the Painted Hills pastrami at the HoneyHole is the best pastrami in Seattle. It's hand-sliced with large cuts of spicy, robust, extremely flavorful pastrami. I'm talking way more flavor than my sandwich at I Love NYC deli yesterday (their pastrami is flown in from NYC and this is local). My friend was super impressed and said he'd never had a pastrami sandwich that good...and I'd have to agree it was most excellent. It cracks my top 5 list...perhaps..definitely in my top 10. The price was excellent too - the sandwich was only 9$, which is incredible for the quality of the meat. I wasn't all that impressed with the bread and other ingredients - it was the meat that made this sandwich. Check out the HoneyHole next time your around Pike and Broadway in Seattle - they're open pretty late.

Back to the Bay: Wise Son's and Calabria Bros

 

Do you prefer an Italian Deli or a Jewish deli? I prefer a Jewish Deli, of course but it is up to debate. The Calabria Bros sandwich shop opened about six months ago has a special on Mondays - a hot pastrami. The hot pastrami special was more like a Chicago hot beef sandwich with that chopped up, not as spicy pastrami -  more fast food, hot dog smelling than I prefer. It was...edible, but I would suggest sticking to the prosciutto or the mortadella with fresh mozzarella. They have loads of imported meats from Italy that are super salty (some are too much for me). Ask the guys for some help or a taste and they'll help you pick your sandwich meat. Give them a try when your feeling a different sort of salted meat (yes I love pork, bacon, and hot coppa).

 

My last sandwich is a not a pastrami sandwich, but rather a brisket sandwich from Wise Sons Deli pop-up inside Jackie's Cafe on Valencia (boy, that's a mouthful). This is the braised brisket on a sea salted challah roll with a homemade slaw and pickles. The braised brisket was awesome and the challah roll was probably the best challah bread I've ever tried. Homemade slaw A+ and the pickles were a bit different, sweeter and more cucumber-like than most. I keep on missing the weeks they have pastrami - hopefully it will work out soon. Thanks for the great brisket Wise Sons and I'll be back for pastrami soon.

Thanks for reading my post and please "like" my facebook fan page - I started it about two weeks ago. Twitter @Pastramiking. E-mail is Pastramiking@gmail.com and I love hearing from people from all over the world - so shoot me a letter and I might just respond in my next blog post. Please leave a comment if you liked the post. Also, if you would like to see what I eat besides pastrami check out my yelp stuff at pastramiking.yelp.com

George the Pastrami Maven - Mill Basin Receives NYC Honor - Update: Wise Son's

Hello pastrami fans. I'm very pleased with my blog right now. January 2011 was the most popular month of the Pastrami Blog by far. I had hits from all over the world since the last post - including a very large portion of Australian visitors earlier this week. How did I get to Australia? There was a blogger in the Daily Telegraph who posted pictures of what he thought was the worst sandwich of all time in a blog post he entitled "Scamwich" - check the link. Under his comments - someone said "I already ate" and then he linked my blog under the word "ate". It was cleverly written and caused lots of people to click the link. My recent visitor map was covered with Australian web-surfers from Brisbane to Melbourne - how awesome!?
 

 Pastrami Blog Milestone - I'm going to upload the first videos of the Pastrami Blog, ever. It's not of me, it's not at Katz's or Langer's. It's two videos of an old soul - a man named George who can't get enough of Pastrami - even at 97 years young. Please enjoy the videos as much as I did.

In other pastrami news - Mill Basin Deli in New York City received the "Best Pastrami" award from the NY Daily News - check out the article here. This is a big deal for Mill Basin, as it's putting them on the map with the big hitters in NYC like Katz's, Carnegie, or 2nd Ave Deli. I can tell you just from what I read I added it to my list of places to visit along with Sarge's and  Ben's Best. New York is certainly an Empire...and for me it's an Empire that's quite far away (and frozen right now), which is why my next trip will be to Seattle.

That's right - I'm going to Seattle next week for the long President's day weekend. I'm currently planning my trip on yelp and google maps - was looking a going to a few places for the blog...so keep posted for Seattle Pastrami #2 (here is the original Seattle post from over a year ago). I know I said I was going to do another LA post next, but I had some free tickets and  my family lives down in SoCal- so I will be returning to LA sooner rather than later to try Greenblatt's, Art's, and other LA joints.

As a small update to some previous posts - I would like to let you know that Wise Son's Deli has been serving food on Saturdays outside of Jackie's Cafe on Valencia. They have gotten nothing but excellent reviews on their yelp page. I'm excited to try them out, but I didn't get a chance last weekend - I was happy to see one person on yelp took a picture of their pastrami - Thank you very much Amy G. You only have 6 reviews on yelp, but you're an all-star to me for taking this picture (photo credit to her for this next one).

Wise Sons Deli -  Pastrami Sandwich

A very special announcement - I have created a fan page for myself on Facebook. I would appreciate it if you would "like" the Pastrami King of the Bay Area on Facebook - the link is here, but you have to be logged into Facebook, I believe, to add yourself to the followers. As always you can e-mail me at Pastramiking@gmail.com. My yelp stuff is at Pastramiking.yelp.com. Twitter @PastramiKing