Katz's Deli was high on my long list of PLACES THAT I NEEDED TO VISIT during our stay in New York. By Sunday morning I realised that we are running out of time and we won't be able to try all of them but I was determined to get my pastrami on rye, so we decided to take a train to the Lower East Side and have an early lunch at Katz's.
Katz’s is located on 205 East Houston (corner of Ludlow Street). Established by a family of Russian immigrants in 1888, Katz’s Delicatessen prides itself on being New York’s "oldest and best delicatessen."
At the start of the twentieth century the Lower East Side became a home to millions of immigrants, many of them from Eastern Europe longing for "taste of home". Katz's became their main meeting point and on Fridays the neighborhood turned out for franks and beans, a long time Katz tradition.
During World War II, Katz's encouraged parents to "send a salami to your boy in the army" which became one of the deli's famous catch phrases, along with "Katz's, that's all!" which is still painted on the side of the building.
As we entered the restaurant, we were told that they were celebrating their 125th anniversary that weekend and that they were organizing a street party on Sunday evening with music and food stalls.
We were then giving 2 printed numbered tickets which we had to present to the staff at the food counter, our order was written on one ticket and we had to show both tickets and pay the bill upon exiting.
Remember to keep you tickets safe (even the blank ones), if you lose a ticket, an additional $50 surcharge will be added to your bill.
We ordered 2 sandwiches: Mr PB ordered pastrami on rye and I went for the Reuben sandwich and a side order of pickled gherkins. While preparing the sandwiches the cutter let us taste the meat, it was delicious, the pastrami just melted in my mouth.
At $16.95 and $17.45 the sandwiches were quite pricey but they were HUGE!!! They are easily big enough for two (or three) to share. I only managed to eat half of mine Reuben and a couple of gherkins and honestly I didn't need anything else to eat all day.
The food was sooo tasty! Definitely the best pastrami I have ever tasted, it was delicious and tender.
The gherking were lovely and refreshing and tasted just like the ones my Mum used to make when I was little.
If you are planning a trip to New York you should definitely try it out! To me it felt like a real New York experience and I definitely we'll be back to try their potato latkes, knishes and matzo ball soup.
