Why it matters
The Jewish delicatessen arrived in New York with waves of Eastern European Jewish immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and at its peak there were thousands of them across the city. There are now a relative handful left operating in the original tradition, which makes visiting the survivors feel less like eating and more like reading a document about what the city used to be.
What to order
- Pastrami on rye — the benchmark order. Pastrami is beef navel, brined, smoked, and steamed until the fat renders into the meat. A real deli pastrami sandwich is hand-sliced, piled high, and served on seeded rye with yellow mustard. Nothing else.
- Corned beef — similar process to pastrami, without the smoke. More approachable for first-timers, less polarising.
- Matzo ball soup — particularly on a cold day, this is the thing. Jewish grandmother or not.
- Knish — baked or fried dough stuffed with potato (or other fillings). A street food that's mostly survived in deli form.
- Egg cream — contains neither egg nor cream, just chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer. Order one once for the experience.
The institutions still doing it
Katz's Delicatessen on the Lower East Side has been operating since 1888 and is the most famous; the scene in When Harry Met Sally was filmed at a specific table still marked with a sign. Barney Greengrass on the Upper West Side has been running since 1908 and specialises in smoked fish rather than deli meats. Both are genuinely worth visiting rather than merely famous.