Tag: deli

Sandwich Wednesday
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10/05/16 12:46pm

What’s Your Favorite Old School Jewish Deli Sandwich?

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eisenbergs

Eisenberg’s combo Reuben in all its glory.

After two decades of eating around New York City I finally got my fress on at Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop last week. Funny thing is my first job out of college was right around the corner. I’m not sure what kept me away back then, but these days the proximity of Ben’s Best Deli to my home does a good job.

But back to Eisenberg’s. Gotta love a joint whose slogan is “Raising New York’s Cholesterol Since 1929.” That cholesterol along with plenty of schmaltz and New York attitude has also managed preserve the old school deli tradition.

My pal Drew, clearly an old hand at dining in the joint’s bustling lunch time atmosphere, humored me as I briefly considered the shrimp salad sandwich. “I always get the combo Reuben,” Drew said. Between his cajoling and the waitress’ claim that it was “the best thing in the house,” my choice was made, and I am glad it was. And it wasn’t just any plain vanilla Reuben either, but a combo of pastrami and corned beef. Well worth it for $13, too. The dynamic duo of deli meats, kraut, and cheese almost put me in an old school deli coma. (more…)

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Sandwich Wednesday
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03/09/16 12:54pm

Putting Ben’s Best Arch Electric to the Test

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ArchElectric

The Arch Electric dwarfs Ben’s overstuffed pastrami sandwich.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

“Does anybody ever order these?” I asked the waitress at my local deli as I pointed to the list of novelty sandwiches with names like Dr. Ruth Westheimer (brisket of beef, turkey, lettuce, tomato, and Russian dressing) and the New York Newsday (salami, tongue, corned beef, and cole slaw). “Sure, all the time,” she said. By local deli I refer not to a bodega trafficking in bacon and cheese sandwiches but Ben’s Best, a bona fide Jewish deli with a 70-year history lovingly maintained by Jay Parker and his crew.

“Okay, I’ll have the Arch Electric,” I said ordering a $20.95 behemoth consisting of Chinese mustard, rolled beef, corned beef, sweet red pepper, cole slaw, and Russian dressing (Tums available on request).” In my 15 years of eating at Ben’s Best my go to order has been a pastrami on rye, so I was curious to switch it up a bit with this sandwich named for an L.I.C. based electrical contractor. Corned beef and rolled beef were a definite change of deli pace, Chinese hot mustard not so much, though I can’t say I’d ever had it in a Jewish deli.  (more…)

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Dish O' The Day
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12/23/14 3:10pm

Ben’s Meshugah Latke is a Chanukah Gutbomb

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MESHUGALATKE

The double down of the deli world is piled high with brisket.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Among my Jewish friends and relatives I am renowned for my knowledge of Yiddish. “You’re such a Jew,” an old girlfriend once proclaimed. Heck, I even have an adopted Jewish mother. So it’s a real shonda that I’m so late to the party on what’s surely the tastiest Chanukah gutbomb in Queens, the Meshugah Latke ($11.95) at Ben’s Best Deli. It’s been available since the  Festival of Lights began, but I only got to try it on the sixth day. (more…)

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Sandwich Wednesday
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03/12/14 12:01pm

Souper Soup and a Triple Decker at ‘Jewish Phoenix’ Sarge’s

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SARGES

Photo: Sarah Drew

Like many a fresser I’ve always thought of the newly reopened Sarge’s as something of a third-string player in the delicatessen game. I’m glad to see an old school Jewish deli reopening instead of closing for good, but I’m not as excited about Sarge’s as some like my pal Noah Arenstein who has been kind enough to share his thought about this underdog of delis in this guest post. Take it away Noah . . .

Sarge’s in Murray Hill has long been overlooked in favor of more famous deli standards like Katz’s, Carnegie and even the Second Avenue Deli, but for me, it’s as deep a New York deli experience as I’ve ever experienced. Of course, at first glance, 24/7 delivery anywhere in Manhattan impressed me as much as anything, but soon the food won me over as well. (more…)

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Sandwich Wednesday
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07/31/13 10:28am

Beef Tongue at Bens’ Best: A Kosher Classic

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Beef tongue and matzo ball soup, good for what ails you.

Beef tongue and matzo ball soup, good for what ails you.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Feed a cold, starve a fever, or so the old saying goes. But what if you’re down with a bit of both? Well then the cure  as any good Jewish mother knows is surely to eat something. Enter Ben’s Best, my local old-school Jewish deli. Whenever I have a cold I stop in for a bowl of Jewish penicillin, aka matzo ball soup ($6.75). Chicken soup helps with the cold part. As for the feeding yesterday I opted for a beef tongue sandwich. ($14.95). (more…)

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