San Francisco Magazine - No Beef with Pastrami

This post starts at the San Francisco International Airport. Have you tried to fly into or out of the Bay Area recently? I think I've been delayed the last four out of five times when dealing with this airport. They blame it on the fog bank...and while I can see their point...I find it completely hilarious that I can fly in or out of Oakland with no problems, while flights at SFO are being delayed down the whole board. I'm not sure there is a fix to this problem, but I have noticed the airport has gone completely downhill since Virgin America made the airport it's hub. Coincidence? I think not. Travel and Leisure ranked SFO as the 7th worst airport when concerning delays...I think it's up in 2010 from my personal experience.

I was planning to catch an 8:20 flight to Los Angeles on the evening of April 2nd - going down South to enjoy the Easter festivities. I showed up without an Ipod or a book - I totally failed on preparing media for my one hour flight - but it's just an hour right? Wrong. My flight was delayed until 10:20...and like I said this is like the fourth time in a row and I'm getting pretty sick of it. I decided to buy some magazines while I enjoyed my 12$ chicken salad sandwich from the Max's Café extension in the airport (yeah I know, but chicken salad is really good too!). I got some regulars...Sports Illustrated and National Geographic...as I was about to check out I passed the new San Francisco Magazine. It came out the day prior - the April issue - and promised to deliver the 40 sandwiches worth waiting in line for in San Francisco. My pastrami senses went up...this magazine normally features the new trendy spots to eat/drink in SF, but I've yet to see an issue dedicated solely to sandwiches.

Before I bought the magazine I thumbed through the pages extensively to see if they included pastrami in their search of the Bay Areas greatest sandwiches. I was pleasantly surprised when I got the page entitled "No Beef with Pastrami". Jan Newberry, writer for SF Mag, started the article with a soliloquy to the Bay Area's pastrami endeavors

"Like bagels and foldable slices of pizza, pastrami is one of those iconic New York foods that former residents of that city complain we don’t have here. The Bay Area still needs a decent bagel, and the pizza question may never be resolved—but when it comes to our four best pastrami sandwiches, former Gothamites can shut their pieholes and eat." That's right folks...we have pastrami sandwiches around here...and they're some of the best around - bar none! Check out the rest of the article, including other sandwiches to die for, here.


There were 5 sandwiches featured in the magazine - 4 pastrami and 1 corned beef - two of which (The Refuge and Wood Tavern) I have already reviewed and loved, but then there were two surprises in the Orson and the Spruce. I am really anticipating trying the house baked rye bread and the Orson and the Spruce pastrami has a smoked gouda with a red cabbage slaw. Towards the top of the article there was mention on the corned beef sandwich at the Sentinel which features either a classic Reuben or a corned beef with gruyère cheese. The Sentinel and the corned beef sandwich were mentioned in the top 100 things to eat in San Francisco before you die at #74 on the list and it is a favorite of people in the Financial District. However, it is rather hard to get to if you don't work around the area as there is no parking and they're only open weekdays till about 2:30 PM.

San Francisco makes some of the most appealing, interesting food in the nation and our pastrami sandwiches are fresh and exciting. The classic NY pastrami on rye is still in minds of the chefs, but they like to push the envelope in creating something uniquely San Francisco, uniquely Californian by adding such ingredients as a home baked rye bread, a special creamy cheese never thought to be compared with pastrami, or simply homemaking your pastrami - like the Refuge. The result is one of the most delicious, unprecedented pastrami scenes in the USA.

If you get to one of these places before I do, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Click the interesting/funny/cool button I put at the bottom if you liked my writing. Don't forget to pick up your issue of San Francisco Magazine as well. Take care and enjoy the nice April weather!

The Wood Tavern & Manhattan Hub - Prelude to NYC

As I write to you now I'm also packing my bags for New York. There was big news in the deli world this past week - Mile End (http://www.mileendbrooklyn.com/) opened up just this past week in the Boreum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, which is the first deli in the US to sell Montreal smoked meat. I thought I was going to have to go to Canada to try this special savory fabled smoked meat, but it's just my luck that they opened the week before my trip to the East Coast! Of course I'm going to try some other places when I'm there - I'm supposed to go to Carnegie deli with my friends Nick and Chris the first night I arrive there - so I'll be eating pastrami like a king as Thursday night settles into the city sky.

Speaking of Thursday night - my good pastrami buddy David Sax is going to be in San Francisco at the Jewish Community Center on California near 15th Ave - the Richmond District. Please come out and support his cause to save the deli. I think it costs about 10$ but it said "Expect a delicious surprise." Who know whats that means, but expect something good! I feel sad I couldn't make this event - as I would like to have met some new Bay Area pastrami lovers as well as see David again - don't be sad for me though - like I said I'll be at Carnegie Deli!

The Wood Tavern

This week I have two Bay Area spots to feature - the first is The Wood Tavern on College Ave, North Oakland, but you could throw a rock at Berkeley. I went to this spot the Sunday the Saints were playing the Cardinals with three friends who were all trying not to look at the game, because we had it on pause back home - how impossible!

Whiskey Laced Chicken Liver on the Left (knife attacking!)

We started with the prosciutto and whiskey laced chicken liver, accompanied with a medium cheese. It also came with small mini toasts, a Dijon mustard, and a relish or sorts. It was great to combine the prosciutto, the mustard, some cheese, and a little relish - a definite crowd pleasing taste bud tantalizer. The whiskey laced chicken liver - OMG! That was the best chicken liver I've ever tasted - the only one that'd I've had that was similar to it was The Refuge in San Carlos, CA which was a similar kind of French/California cuisine. The small difference between the two is key in the demographics they attract - The Refuge offers Belgian beers, like Chimay and Duvel attracting a younger college crowd as well as families - The Wood Tavern has lots of wines and attracts a slightly older, artsy crowd from my observations.

Wood Tavern Pastrami

The sandwich came out on a baguette roll with a sharp Dijon mustard - very nice presentation. The pastrami itself was a bit greasy - not the best pastrami - certainly not as good as my last pastrami sandwich I had at Moishe's pippic the day prior. I remembered my conversation with Matt Levin of The Refuge when he told me "You know the taste of pastrami when it hasn't been cooked long enough (properly) it smells a bit like hot dogs." This was what he was talking about, it honestly reminded me of the pastrami I had at Johnny's pastrami in LA except this was spruced up with a french baguette and sharp mustard. The coleslaw was more of a dill tasting slaw, not as sweet with much less mayonnaise - not really my thing but some people liked it. The pastrami I had was just OK but, I think there is alot of potential for this place for me to return. I'd really like to try their pan fried chicken or their duck confit! I think this would be a great place to take a date too, check it out for a more schnazzy option than the average deli.

Manhattan Hub - Reuben

The next place I went to was Manhattan Hub in the Financial District. It was recommended by one of our good pastrami blog readers - Sam. Thanks for the suggestion Sam! I went here on MLK day, they were open till 2 PM. I fumbled with the parking meter that ate my quarter and said out of order and started walking my destination, when I got to the address I was a bit confused. This place is in the back right corner of the building if you're facing the building facade head on - really on Sacramento street, not Sansome.

The Reuben was 7.50$, with that price considered, I was very impressed with the nice marble rye bread Reuben along with the generous portion of coleslaw with a large dill pickle on top. I thought the coleslaw was out of this world good! The pastrami wasn't that great, but not a fail. It had a brine, but a very small one that didn't have a nice thin layer of fat on it that I like seeing on pastrami.The marble rye and Russian dressing were also excellent - it just wasn't that hand sliced or steaming pastrami - it seemed like it was from a pack. Still in terms of the location it's killer - I would definitely eat here regularly for lunch if I worked in the FiDi.

That's all for now folks - I'll have a bunch of material from NYC and I still have plenty to get to in the Bay Area - so expect great things to come!