Sadly for me, Zaftig’s isn’t actually kosher. They mix meat and dairy, and serve pork products. Nice for folks that enjoy those things, a bit of a downer for yours truly. 
I ate at The Parkway Deli a few times years ago. The Matzoh Ball Soup is/was very good. Pastrami was dry and overly salty: no good. And I never went back after the pair of cockroaches I saw did a dance across the pickle bar.
I accept your challenge!!
(Geez, I’m full from a ton of nigiri and now I want pastrami)
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I should add that this is, obviously, all very subjective: we tend to like the flavors and smells that remind us of our youth. Growing up in Queens, New York, Ben’s Deli on Queens Blvd in Rego Park was great–that is the smell, and the taste which I get from the 2nd Ave. Deli. Your mileage WILL vary.
Jewish bakeries? There is only one left that equals those of my youth in Queens: Moishe’s on 2nd Ave between 5th and 6th in Manhattan. I buy 6 pounds of bowties (that’s a cookie made of egg kichel for the non-Jews reading this) and bring them back to DC whenever possible. A trip to Moishe’s for the apple strudel or any of the other baked Jewish goods is heavenly. Reminder: they close when the sun goes down on Friday and reopen Sunday morning.
My New Year’s Wish for all of you who’ve taken the time to read my article and comment: eat a lot and be well with no heartburn.
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Oh Dojo! On St. Marks. That dressing was the shiznit. The move was to get the salad and hummus there, and then go up to Continental Divide on Wednesday’s for Mudslides with the little plastic dinosaur.
Good times.
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IANAJ, and I can’t tell you if it’s kosher, but the best pastrami I ever had was at The Refuge in San Mateo/Palo Alto. Homemade, thick cut. It’s the restaurant that made my wife change her mind about Pastrami. And for calibration, we’ve tried Schwartz’s, and for us, it paled to The Refuge.
Which cut do you prefer for pastrami, the plate or brisket?
how the hell do they have a Yiddish name and don’t keep kosher? that’s false advertising!
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None of the places mentioned here are kosher. The only downtown glatt kosher pastrami I recall was Noah’s Ark Deli but that’s gone now.
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99% of what people think of as “Jewish food” is “kosher style” at best
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Well, unless they have access to unattainable ingredients like pixie dust and wizard jizz, I’m pretty sure it’s just a matter of learning. Take a man to 2nd Ave Deli and he’ll eat well for a night. Reverse engineer a 2nd Ave Deli pastrami sandwich and he’ll eat well for his whole life.
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Anything worth recommending in Portland, OR?
You need to hie thee to the Kosher Store at the H-E-B off Far West Blvd. in Northwest Austin. I used to eat there, but that was about 15 years ago. Here’s a review from back then; the Yelp page indicates that it’s still open.
All I ever ate there was the chicken salad, so I can’t vouch for their pastrami or anything else. But O! Merciful Heaven, I had no idea that chicken salad could taste that good.
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The best places I know currently are Kenny & Zuke’s at 11th and Stark, and Kornblatt’s on 23rd. What I really miss is Dave’s Deli that was in the Federal Courthouse building (I think). They’d do a 1/2 and 1/2, corned beef and pastrami. Higgin’s restaurant cures their own pastrami, but there’s variation across batches.
Dammit!
Didn’t know that about Kefauver, but what about Dinah Shore?
Langer’s pastrami is excellent. Much better than Art’s in Studio City.
Best pastrami in LA, though, is at Brent’s Deli in Northridge. Also, Brent’s is a much better deli. At Langers, the pastrami is great, but the rest is pretty meh.
The Black Pastrami Reuben at Brent’s is to die for.
Located in an unprepossessing suburban shopping center, and not open late, darnit, but still, one of the best delis ever - “Best Deli West of Anywhere.” (-:
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I was there about 5-6 years ago. Amazing kosher selection there.
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i’ll be damned. i only vaguely knew of her, but as a TV host before my time.
Frances Rose Shore was born to Russian-Jewish immigrant shopkeepers, Anna (née Stein) and Solomon Shore, in Winchester, Tennessee.… By her fifth-grade year the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee,[3] where she completed elementary school. Although shy because of her limp, she became actively involved in sports, was a cheerleader at Nashville’s Hume-Fogg High School
she went to my high school, how did i not know this? i knew about Betty Page, but not Dinah.
speaking of Nashville, there’s a joint over by the south east end of Vandy called Noshville which everyone loves, but again, i’m not the authority. it opened after i’d left for school.
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