The Refuge - Pastrami Heaven

I featured The Refuge in a previous blog entry, but this visit had a very special twist. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner and god of pastrami himself, Mr. Matt Levine. Pictured above is the Reuben.

I came to the San Carlos Gastropub around 1 PM to have lunch and this time I was going for broke. I wanted try to everything that had pastrami on the menu. I started off with the pastrami chopped salad and the pastrami rillettes, which is under the Charcuterie.


The pastrami rillettes are on the right side, it was like a pastrami pâté with small chunks of pastrami mixed in. Matt delivered it to my table and told me he used the ends of the pastrami to make the rillettes. "Yeah it's about the only thing you can do with the ends." he said to me as he looked over to the lunch frenzy that was packing in at the Refuge on that Saturday. "It's going to be a busy day!" he said to me scurrying off to tend to the madness. This dish was amazing (amazing is an understatement). The mini cornichons and the sharp dill mustard combined with either the cracker and or the rye bread was a complex, sharp flavor that was gourmet, yet somehow reminisced back to the original pastrami on rye flavor that I love so much. My roommate and I were thoroughly impressed with the pastrami rillettes and I think it will be an every time order when I make it down to San Carlos.


That's not mustard on my pastrami, that's chopped liver spread. I've had the toasted #19 and the regular, this time it was proper to try the most cholesterol filled sandwich i could get. "Heart attack special" Matt said as he dropped it off on his way to chatting to the nice group next to us, guys with sunglasses enjoying Stanford beating USC on the TV screen over the bar. The pastrami was excellent as always and the chopped liver had a rich flavor - almost like goose liver. I must admit, by the end of the pastrami chopped salad, the pastrami rillettes, and the pastrami and chopped liver sandwich I was completely stuffed. "You earned your pastrami king title today" my roomie, Josh, remarked.


As I finished my meal, Matt finally caught a break in the action and we had a nice chat. The first thing I asked him - How do you make your pastrami so awesome?! He told me it was all about technique and the amount of care and culinary knowledge that went into the preparation of the pastrami. He makes his own brine, smokes his own meat, and hand slices it to serve. He claims a 54% yield, which means 46% of the meat is not served (well maybe some for the rillettes!) which is part of the reason the pastrami costs as much as it does. I was surprised to learn the he has no single source for his meat, "It always comes from California, but sometimes suppliers run out. So I have back ups." Each time I've been to The Refuge the pastrami has been consistently some of the best pastrami (never could tell it was different from last time) I've had bar none - even Langer's. That's tough to get an LA native like me to say - as Langer's is the shrine of pastrami in the South Land. The 38 year old Chef lived in many places during his life including Delaware for school, France to master his culinary skills, Ohio, and Los Angeles to eat deli sandwiches. "I would make up reasons to be around Langer's. It's not like I even lived close by, but somehow I managed to go there 2-3 times a week if I could." He told me. Among many interesting items on the menu one particular item caught my eye - The World's Fair Burger - which dates back to the to invention of hamburgers at a worlds fair in Ohio is the late 1800s. "When you taste a burger when your around those parts - Ohio - you know it's the way it's supposed to be." Matt was a top chef in Paris and was expected to open a more formal restaurant. "I was supposed to open a 5 star restaurant, but this is What I wanted." He said as he pointed around the room with people sipping beers down happily enjoying their afternoon on a sunny warm California Saturday. "I didn't want something that was rigid." He has truly succeeded in doing what many have sought to do in the business, create a local, moderately place that served to Stanford and middle class of the Peninsula proper. This was a place where people went to get a cheesesteak or a pastrami, have a beer, and watch the game...what could be more enjoyable? I asked him why not San Francisco to which he responded "San Carlos let me do exactly what I wanted to do. I have my family right up the hill with 2 daughters and I'm happy here." That sounds like a great life to me! We chit-chatted some more about making pastrami and the "Save the Deli" book then we took the picture at the bar you see above. It was truly a pleasure meet Matt and I can't thank him enough for taking time out of his day for the interview.



Big news! I'm going to have some cards made. It's already been designed (seen above) by my friend Jake Lung and they're being printed next week. I look forward to passing them out when I go to delis to meet owners and patrons who love pastrami. My next stop is Seattle - my plane leaves in the morning. I could not be more excited!

P.S. I Love You

Pastrami in Palm Springs, CA? You betcha! Palm Springs was home to many Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, and Lucille Ball. I lived in the Coachella Valley from 1992 until 2002, and I visited frequently around the time Beverly Hills 90210 was in town . When I first moved to the desert it was smaller, Sonny Bono was the mayor, and there were many consignment stores and antique shops with stucco facades dotting Highway 111 from Palm Springs to Palm Desert.


My favorite deli in Palm Springs when I was growing up was Nate's. Sadly, like so many other old desert institutions, it closed. I can only find vague references to it online, like the change of ownership in 1999 - which I'm guessing led to its closure. I was upset when I drove by the old ruins of the Palm Desert Motor Lodge - it used to have cool cars old cars displayed out front with a glowing red sign. The desert scene with the River, Coachella Fest and many casinos is more a mix O.C./Las Vegas than Old Hollywood resort.


Sherman's is the oldest deli in town - founded in 1953. I remember going to this place many times before, but never for a pastrami sandwich. One thing that is very cool about Sherman's is the large patio, where you can enjoy your pastrami in the nice, warm weather of Palm Springs, the only place I can think of where you can eat pastrami outdoors in the bay is the Refuge, so in this regard Sherman's is a very cool location!


When I came to Sherman's, just at sunset, it was buzzing with an outside crowd, while fewer patrons sat outside. As I walked in, the man up front shouted to the people ahead "Ladies, step right up, we have a wonderful place right on the patio, just for you!". His schmoozing along with the deli smell of cured meats made me feel right at home. I ended up chatting with a couple of the managers for a minute - Jimmy was very knowledgeable about his meat and talked about how he once could only get pastrami made from the brisket cut instead of the navel cut, but now he got good pastrami directly from NYC. "You'll like our pastrami - trust me!"

I wish I could have stayed longer to eat my sandwich there and talk some more about my blog with them, but I wanted to try the new spot in town - Manhattan in the Desert. Manhattan is hard to find unless you know where it is on Hwy 111 just before Cathedral City. The entrance is very dark and when entering I felt more like I was at a Marie Callendar's than a deli. The bakery display was impressive, but I didn't get to talk to any cool managers, just some high school students who told me three brothers from New York opened up the place a couple of years back.

Manhattan in the Desert

I got both pastrami sandwiches to go, so I could take them to a neutral location to determine which one was more pastramitastic in Palm Springs. Both sandwiches were excellent specimens on rye with mustard served with a side dish of choice, but in the end there was a clear winner.


Above is the Sherman's pastrami. It smelled delicious, but it had a strange color to it.

Now here is the pastrami from Manhattan in the Desert. It was a better, more familiar color...tasted fresh and delightful...clearly both better by taste and by looks. It really pains me to write this, because I liked the vibe so much more at Sherman's. If you were to eat a lunch in downtown Palm Springs I would highly recommend Sherman's as it's at the excellent location of Palm Canyon and Thaquitz, but take a pastrami to go from Manhattan for a real treat.


Before I got on the plane to PS, I made it to Miller's at the request of my friend who needed chicken soup to battle his cold. He ordered a pastrami sandwich before me and I ordered after him - a 2-way combo brisket and pastrami on rye with Russian dressing and tomatoes, to which my friend replied "You can do that?" After the server left he confessed he thought about changing his order after hearing my extravagant request. The sandwich, pictured above, was so large it looked like it could attack! The Miller's pastrami has an excellent brine and their rye bread is soft with a nice, chewy crust - it's a standout sandwich in SF. If you're craving pastrami/deli in the Bay and you haven't tried Miller's yet, you're really missing out!

I have some more posts coming up in the next few weeks. I hope to meet the owner of the Refuge in San Carlos, CA this coming Saturday, then the next following week I'm traveling to Seattle. I've looked into pastrami in the Emerald City and it look's like I've got plenty to explore. Please feel free to e-mail me at Pastramiking@gmail.com and check out my yelp page pastramiking.yelp.com.

Happy Halloween! Saul's, David's, George's on 24th, Canter's Halloween

Happy Halloween from a pirate with a pickle! I've been giddy with excitement over the past few weeks. It was pleasure to meet David Sax, the author of "Save the Deli" and I had pleasure connecting with some local Bay Area deli lovers.

The Berkeley book signing was held at Saul's which is in the Gourmet Ghetto of Berkeley, Shattuck and Rose. The sandwich above is a Niman Ranch pastrami with an Acme rye bread, plus Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. After hearing the owners speak about the meat and where it comes from and what they're trying to create (a sustainable California deli), I have an appreciation for Saul's. The pastrami from Niman Ranch is an excellent drier pastrami with a salty, tasty brine. It's some of the best I've ever tasted. If I'm going to complain the sandwich, I wish it was a little more meat, more bang for my buck and I despise the Acme rye bread. To me, the Acme rye bread tastes a bit sour and doesn't really have an excellent crispy crust that I get with some other ryes.

There was a pastrami/corned beef taste test at the event. The competitors were the Niman Ranch pastrami vs Empire National pastrami (supplier of Katz's in NYC). On the Corned beef side, there was again the Niman Ranch corned beef and a Marin Sun Farms grass fed corned beef. My choices were the Niman Ranch pastrami and the Marin corned beef. The Empire National pastrami was very good, juicer than the Niman Ranch pastrami, almost corned beef like. I could see how it would be marketable and sell well. The Niman pastrami is more of a dry rub with a salty brine that I enjoyed because of the more complex flavoring and spices, it was very poignant and I could see it maybe being too strong for some. Still I liked it better. Both corned beef were too salty to be honest. I think if you want a corned beef you could do better at Brennan's - an Irish spot. I brought along a friend, a writer for the Cal State East Bay Pioneer newspaper. He wrote a commentary entitled "Pastrami is Worth Saving" which can be found in the current issue of the paper on page 2 http://pioneer.csueastbay.edu/PioneerWeb/PioneerNews10-29-09/PioneerFrame10-29-09.html

David's is located at Geary and Taylor in the City. The deli has a long back story - it was once the most prominent deli in the City with about 15 locations. It's down to it's last location which is in the one of the worst neighborhoods in SF - The Tenderloin. Tourists walk by it all the time and the area is frequented by shoppers enjoying the Downtown shopping scene while sipping coffee and people watching at Union Square. At night, it's a different story...I know where I am, try as you may to tell me I'm in Nob Hill - I'm not. I'm in the Tenderloin and everyone local knows to watch your pocket and stay on your Ps and Qs when visiting.


I drove to downtown and I found parking on a meter just a block away like a savvy SF vet. I figured....well about 50 minutes should do for me to get my pastrami and take a couple of pictures and get out. So I left 50 minutes on the meter and got stepping. The first thing I noticed about David's was the bakery window. They had black and white cookies, cakes, and other assorted pastries.I walked in and the place was full, not crowded...but busy enough. I sat down and started to read the menu. David Apfelbaum, the owner of the deli, has inserted his own message into the menu with clever anecdotes about Jewish cuisine and his mother's attempt at making him pasta.Looking over the menu, the prices were ridiculous. absolutely sky high for soup it was about 5 bucks and a pastrami was about 14$. I ordered the kreplach soup and the Pastrami on rye with Swiss. They were out of the potato pancakes...ouch. While I was waiting for my sandwich and reading the menu some more I noticed that across the way a family was finishing eating. The waitress asked "Will there be anything else?" "YES!" the lady replied. "Her sandwich!" she pointed at a young hungry girl who had just watched her entire family gorge themselves while she had not received her food yet. What a shame!


The sandwich came and it did not disappoint. It was a large pastrami comparable to other places I know. It didn't come too many ways though - just traditional rye meat and mustard...which is great when you want it like that! The pastrami was thinly cut and tasty, perhaps on point with Mosihe's pastrami which comes from Vienna Beef in Chi-town. David's has some special points, but it has so many negative I think people are afraid to support it and go often. Let me count the negatives - took forever... and a day!, high prices, difficult parking. Positives - a nice large pastrami sandwich, a kreplach soup, and a killer pastry! I ended up taking a Napoleon home, it was delicious...many flaky layers filled with powdered sugar. I highly recommend you come to David's and get a blintz and some rugelahs, because the bakery is the best thing about this place. Take the train though, by the time I was finished my meter had run out - somehow by grace of the DPT gods I was not ticketed on the corner of Leavenworth and Post on a Saturday afternoon - explain that!

The picture above is a pastrami from George's BBQ on 24th. I walked in George's around 2 PM. "I'm here for the pastrami!" I said enthusiastically. I saw the pastrami sitting there ready to be sliced and I was excited. She asked me how I wanted the pastrami - I said with rye...."Oh we don't have rye - soft roll, dutch crunch, or wheat." Uh oh, Wheat? I ordered it on a soft roll with mustard - which can be good. The chicken coop over on Taraval hand slices the meat and puts it on a soft roll and it's to die for. However this meat was not to die for. It was iridescent - fish scale like. If you want a real deal pastrami, don't waste your time with George's. If you want some bbq chicken however, it looked exceptional...go there and try something else. It's a Greek owner place that pretty much copied the Pete's BBQ down the block.


I asked them where they got their pastrami and she didn't say a word. It wasn't something she wanted to divulge....hmm makes me think.

I just got back from Los Angeles. It was an awesome less than 24 hour jaunt - the festivities down Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollyweird were reminiscent of how The Castro was back in 2004, when no one got hurt and you could still go to The Castro without it being a police state. Sadly, San Francisco, which was once known for having one of the most elaborate Halloween festivities, has lost it's fire. It's simply more fun in LA now. After we were done with the parade my dad asked me if I would like to go to My Father's office - known for a large selection of beers and a killer 15$ burger or Canter's on Fairfax. To many it would've been a tough decision, but to me it was instant decision - Canter's for pastrami on Halloween...what could be better?


That's the Brooklyn - Pastrami with Coleslaw on rye. My dad got the same thing with a Dr. Browns cream soda. We finished our sandwiches in about five minutes flat - no knishes, no soup we meant business. Canter's is really where my love of pastrami started. This place really does it well and the fact that it's open 24 hours make it the only other spot in the USA besides NYC where you can get a pastrami sandwich at 2 in the morning.


When we finished we were off to the bakery. My dad planned to buy a whole loaf of bread because his honey isn't eating bread anymore - so she won't buy it in the store anymore either. When he told me he was going to get a whole loaf I thought to myself "Is it really that good, I think I've had better now" however when I bit into the crispy crust of the rye at Canter's I was reminded how great their bakery really is.


Standard issue out the door - we always get 1/2 dozen macaroons - 3 regular, 3 chocolate. They're excellent. Above pictured are poppy rugelahs. I bought a half dozen. I ate 3 and gave the rest to my roommates. They were like a poppy fig newton!

Oh that bridge! Caltrans was supposed to perform maintenance on the Bay Bridge over the Labor Day weekend. They found a crack in the bridge and a part had to be airlifted from Arizona to Oakland within days. The same part of the bridge that was "fixed" had a large part fall on 3 cars at 5:45 on weekday. The Bay Bridge has been closed ever since and I just heard on the news it will closed for Monday's commute. People in the East Bay are suffering, but people in SF and the peninsula have been voicing an interesting opinion. Some people have suggested the City is better without the bridge, there is less traffic, you can park and the trains run later which deters drunk driving. I even heard someone say "Wouldn't it be great if they just blew up the San Mateo bridge too, just cut us off." We think we would be alright over here in the SF peninsula, but the fact is the Bay bridge, when functioning, augments regional stability. Oakland is the largest port on the West Coast, all the Hondas that people drive in California come through that port. Over 200,000 people cross the bridge daily - now they are forced to take BART which broke a single day record of ridership during the now Bay Bridge crisis.

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.

Chick 'N Coop, Moishe's Pippic, The Refuge

Football started this week. College Football isn't my thing, it's been in swing two weeks now. I find the games sloppy, even the USC Ohio St. game. I just see the college games and it makes me anxious to see the professional competition. Watching Adrian Peterson tear apart the Cleveland D kinda looked like college though, he was tearing people apart like a rag dolls. Monday Night Football just ended and of course, the Raiders disappointed. I'm used to them blowing it so it was actually surprising to see them go up late, but in the end they always find a way to blow it.


Updating an earlier article the new small section in the Bay Bridge infamously known as the S-curve has already caused traffic jams and accidents. They hope traffic will settle once people get used to the curve, although speeds will be reduced on the bridge for the next...oh 3-4 years. I drove across the bridge Sunday night in that crazy rainfall, I survived! I'm hoping the new bridge will be a new Regional/National monument once completed. The current Bay Bridge is rather dull, Grey, and unappealing. The stayed cabled design will not be unique, but I don't think I've seen a bridge like that of this magnitude. I visited Boston before they finished the Zakim Bridge, which is also a cable-stay bridge and traffic was pretty crazy. Now it's Boston's city's newer engineering marvel, the same will be for the San Francisco Bay Area and with the new Bay Bridge.


Enough messing around and lets get to the pastrami. I stayed busy this past week and had three different pastrami sandwiches to feature on this blog entry. The first one, the Chick n' coop, isn't such a traditional pastrami sandwich, but still holds a close place in my heart because it's close to my house and I've eaten there many times. It's the most geographically desirable pastrami and it's under celebrated because of the tendency to order chicken at the Chick n' coop. Really, the best thing to order on the menu is the corned beef or the pastrami, whichever you prefer. The first time I took my roommate there under after hyping it up she tried her chicken and complained it was dry. She took a small sliver of my pastrami and exclaimed "I'm getting that next time!" The scene at Langer's with my grandfather jumped back in my mind and i responded back "Well you'd be a fool NOT to get the pastrami." The pastrami is hand cut in front of you and they make the cuts very thick. The reason this is not a traditional pastrami sandwich is they do no have crispy rye, which is a big sin...you must settle for a soft roll or a dutch crunch roll. The finished product does not disappoint though.


As you can see in the 2nd picture, I add coleslaw to the sandwich to get that extra kick and to make it seem a little more true to the Jewish style pastrami sandwiches. This is key advice, take it and order a side of coleslaw, you'll thank me. At the Chick N' Coop a pastrami, coleslaw, and a diet coke costs about 8$ which is quite a value for how much tasty cured meat you get in your sandwich. They have several locations, one on Taraval, one in Daly city, and one in the Excelsior....all of them are the same in that they are frequented by cops and old folks. This is a quiet place, you won't have to worry too much about parking or dealing with crying kids. Just pay for your food and leave your trey when your done, no muss, no fuss. Sometimes that's exactly what you're looking for, and the coop is my go to when I feel like this.

The next sandwich I had was on Friday afternoon. My friend sent me an e-mail to my office early in the morning asking if I would like to go to Moishe's Pippic to take advantage of his brisket special. I replied with a "YES! Get me out of the office for a bit, please!" To my friend's dismay, Mr. Pippic ran out of brisket but promised to have double next week....ooo fail! My friend gave him a little hard time, but understood. I have a picture of him smiling with his corned beef on a kaiser roll, he didn't seem to upset with his sandwich. I ordered my favorite, the New Yorker: Pastrami, rye bread, coleslaw, and Russian Sauce.


The first time I came here he offered me mustard to which I exclaimed "I'm Polish, I only like the Russian dressing!" to which he reminded me "It's neva too late to converyt." That had me laughing. This place is a serious Jewish style deli. Along with the Vienna products Hot Dogs and Pastrami, he serves latkes, knishes, and matzo ball soup.

Moishe's Pippic is a place that my friend and I go to and have conversations about what's going on in life. This trip we talked about fantasy football and him definitely adopting a new dog by the end of the week. It's a place I really enjoy and it always sets up my weekend very nicely when I go there on Fridays. So far, Moishe's Pippic is my 3rd favorite pastrami sandwich in the city, and that's not very bad at all! Miller's East and my new love - Max's Opera Cafe top it because they have thicker, tastier pastrami. The next spot I review might top them all though. It's not in the City, it's in San Carlos, CA!!!!


I fared the traffic Saturday afternoon to go to The Refuge from my house in Pacifica.The first time I had a sandwich from here someone brought it to me and they only got it with mustard, while you all know I like it with Russian dressing. The distance kept me from going for awhile, but it was well worth the 20 minute drive. I got the pastrami sandwich with Russian dressing, coleslaw on rye bread of course. The pastrami was large thick pieces. Compared to Moishe's Pippic this pastrami was much thicker and tastier - advantage Refuge.



The place advertises pastrami on the outside along with a charcutrie and Belgian beers. Most people in here are eating pastrami sandwiches or Reuben with a large glass of Leffe or Chimay....very nice beer. I had the pot de creme of chocolate for dessert as well and it was very rich and thick, a good pot de creme. I do not have a picture of the pot de creme because I ate it so fast, sorry guys. Instead enjoy more pictures of the beautiful sandwich.



I also noticed they have a sandwich called the toasted #19. They don't have numbers on anything else, the reason they call this the toasted #19 is the flagship pastrami at Langer's (my most favorite deli of all time) is named the #19. It comes just how the Refuge does it pastrami, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and coleslaw but Langer's doesn't toast the bread, you have to get a Reuben for that.


Now that I've had it fresh from the source I can honestly vouch as Pastrami King of the Bay that this pastrami is as good, if not better than any pastrami around. They say on the menu it's house made from the navel cut of the beef like it's supposed to be. The chef/preparer of the pastrami does an excellent job and the thick cuts are perfect sized. http://www.refugesc.co...
You can read about the meat maker there, but basically he learned from French meat curers and incorporated his Jewish cuisine experience to make his own pastrami. Merci bien pour le pastrami, monsieur!


Is it possible the best pastrami sandwich comes from a small gastropub in San Carlos, CA??? Yes, it very well might be true! I think you could equal but not better.