WSJ: Pastrami on Rye: The 6 Best Places to Eat New York’s Signature Sandwich

Oh whew. I think I’m okay. I just say “fatty” and interact like crazy with ‘my guy.’ :slight_smile:

Go to Dickson’s Farmstand at Chelsea Market

Finally tried PQ. Very good pastrami, not as moist as Katz and more pronounced smoky flavor. Definitely one to revisit.

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Nice! Are they hand slicing it - I don’t recall? I think good pastrami is like good BBQ, you need to be doing a high volume so it doesn’t sit around and dry out. That looks like a bigger pile of meat than the last Langers sandwich I had.

I got it GrubHubb’ed :blush:. The meat pile wasn’t overwhelming, about 2/3rds for Katz’s. I think the quantity is about the same as Langers, maybe a touch more.

I’ll have to dine at their new outlet in Times Square, much closer vs. their original UES location.

I’ve never tried Langer’s. How do you compare it to Katz’s and 2nd Ave. Deli, to give two places I know?

Never had 2nd Ave, but looking at the sandwich as a whole, Langer’s is miles better than Katz’s. Pastrami itself is roughly equal (maybe slightly better at Katz), but the bread at Katz is so bad it doesn’t even deserve to be called rye bread. Even Oroweat rye from the grocery store is far better than whatever bread Katz’s uses.

Langer’s is the best pastrami sandwhich I’ve had. Perfect proportions of bread and meat; and the pastrami is excellent.

Katz makes a great pastrami, but totally agree with @CeleryVictor, marred by the terrible bread.

I like the pastrami at Langers better because it is less fatty and I believe use the brisket whereas Katz uses the navel. I guess it is a matter of preference, my last experience at Katz, I found it overly fatty.

But I do love Katz’s reuben and brisket sandwich though!

This is my take as well. I give Katz’s the edge on the pastrami but the bread at Langers is in a different class altogether.

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Thanks for the replies. For what it’s worth, I always ask for my pastrami juicy (fatty) at Katz’s and don’t really care about the bread, although I definitely agree that a good seeded rye would be an improvement. I should try Langer’s one of the times I’m in L.A., but I’ve never made it a priority, and I think it’s pretty far from Venice, where my cousin lives.

That PQ pastrami looks great, but I’m glad I looked upthread before asking – @Ns1 confirmed that the bread is as bad as Katz’s, just as it appeared to be.

Yeah but unlike Katz I would go back to PQ

Interesting piece.

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Very interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

My pleasure. I really, really like Slate. And I love Katz’s :smile:

WTF! Crap :frowning_face:

What is the white stuff on the left half of the sandwich? Mayo? Horseradish? Why is this on the sandwich at Katz? What the hell is going on?

They make the sandwich right in front of you so I’m believing that some one asked for mayo.

Yep I’ve been there many times. I just don’t understand why somebody would add mayo to a pastrami sandwich. Horseradish I can maybe kinda understand.
Crimes against pastrami.

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