Katz's Deli

New York City, NY

Katz's Deli is a New York landmark and I wanted to make sure that we got a chance to try the supposed best pastrami sandwich in the world. It's certainly the most famous because at 3 PM on Saturday, there was a line out the door. Actually, there was a line to get in the door because it was so packed. This sandwich MUST live up to the hype if locals and tourists are flooding this place at a random hour between lunch and dinner. Honestly, the reason I was really excited was because I wanted to compare it to the best pastrami sandwich I ever had at Langer's in Los Angeles. 

It's very crowded

You can order up at the counter or sit in a table service section. We were tired and looking for a place to sit down, so we sat with the rest of the tourists for the table service. We ordered a pastrami sandwich to share with an order of fries and a Dr. Brown root beer. The fries and drink came much earlier than the sandwich. There was really only one or two servers for a boatload of tables, so some people got impatient waiting for their sandwiches.

Fries and Dr. Brown's Root Beer

The fries were hot and fresh, but bland and boring. The Dr. Brown root beer was pretty awesome, so good that we ordered another.

Famous Pastrami sandwich

Finally, the moment of truth came when we received our $16 hand carven sandwich. My first bite surprised me because it was lacking the flavor that I had expected from my Langer's sandwich. I know I'm stirring the pot since Katz's is supposed to be the quintessential perfect pastrami, but I just didn't feel that way. The meat was more tender and delicate, a melt in your mouth texture, and there was definitely more meat than Langer's but it didn't have the flavors I had hoped for. Nevertheless, it was a good sandwich, but wouldn't come here as a regular to fight the lines.

Rating 6.5/10

March 5, 2011

Bonus bite

Langer's pastrami sandwich

As mentioned, the Langer's sandwich had more flavor overall, was a bigger sandwich, cheaper, came with a tasty slaw and a pickle. It's one of the things I crave when I'm in the LA area and that instant desire isn't something I felt for Katz's. 

Rating 7.5/10

December 29, 2009