Photos by Sasha Mazlov
Not again, as it is often misquoted (by lots of people, say me, for example), but still rather. Play it still, Sam. The old pastrami on rye, just the way it’s always been. It’s near absence has made our gusto grow fonder.
Toast me a bialy!
David Sax made a call to arms and arms they have raised, hoisting smoked fish, chopped liver, blintzes, bakkas and bialys. The deli has been saved!
I eat my words. With schmaltz.
Pastrami warrants ink. In DC. Hallelujah. Language is liquid and much of it, maybe most of it, is brackish. Pastrami. When did it start? Who thought it up? The story involves water, both salty and not, and travels a long loopy path to us.
How pastrami joints stack up in DC here.
The Southern Foodways Alliance, a hallowed outfit in this household, produces – on paper and electronically – a quarterly newsletter, Gravy, read with relish by me religiously. Neither precious, nor breathless, nor kitschy, Gravy tells stories that orbit around food, a path that connects us all, rather than creating hierarchy, competition or status.
Recently featured Neal’s Deli in Carrboro, NC, is a hop, skip and jump from Chapel Hill, a straight shot down 85 from DC, a drive just long enough to let a full-court-press appetite develop.
The Watchung Delicatessen is a thing, thang, thung. They are famous for the Bennie Mac, so I’m told. I told you the mac and cheese sandwich was a thing.
Here stands the brilliant technique for loading the Bennie Mac. A chicken cutlet is the landing pad.
There’s things and there’s things. Macaroni is amazing, no doubt, and makes one curtsy to the inventiveness of humans. Peaches we have nothing to do with, thank goodness. They are perfect as they are. Possibly particularly in New Jersey.
Posted in Delicatessens, Mac and Cheese, New Jersey, Sandwiches
Tagged Bennie Mac, Mont Clair, Watchung Delicatessen
First, identify the Object Of your Affections. Choose wisely. Your OOA (Object of Affection.) need not be world famous, nor hot necessarily. Worthiness in the eye, and desire, of the beholder is essential.
Now, are you ready to lay down your heart? I thought so. No holds, or rolls, barred. Rolling, rolling, rolling. Momentum is all.
PresentationAgain, choose thoughtfully. Think of first impressions. The company you keep is a piece of your testimony. Represent well. Classy collateral should not be underestimated. Black ink or dark blue only please, and never a frivolous shade such as red or green. You want to present well. Los angels forbid your OOD should find you silly.
Mood. The elusive element. Put yourself in it. Turn yourself over. Feel it. Tufted vinyl cries for pastrami. What says OOA to YOU? Flokati underfoot? A turban of Whipped Cream and Other Delights swaddling your head? Your face aglow in the light of the rotating dessert case?
Mise en place applies to all of life. Stack your plates, replace your typewriter ribbon, fill the creamers, roll up your sleeves.
Not the body of your beloved, for heaven’s sakes. The body of your love’s letter. You don’t want to be thinking about any human body with a plate of eggs and pastrami at chest level and fork’s reach.
A little embellishment never hurt anyone, even a bit of the tried-and-true parsley+orange wedge duo. Bitter, sour, sweet. Reach down deep and touch the power points of sensuality.
Ordering a little love to ride? “Pastrami on rye with mustard ONLY,” requested Linda. “Get it right or pay the price,” said Nancy. She knows. She’s been married a long time. “Yeah,” said Lynda, no dummy herself, “I don’t want to scrape anything.”
A ferocious appetite supported my case. Before taking the leap, I strongly advise assessing the width and depth of your desire. I can put away a mountain of pastrami, half on site, half in the middle of the night.
With love ~ CRUMPLE CRUMPLE~ With all my love ~ CRUMPLE CRUMPLE ARRGH~ Oh! I’ve got it ~ Dreaming of your pastrami at midnight, I am…
Doused with the scent of pastrami. It’s the little things. You might want to use a napkin liberally before licking the stamp.
Posted in Delicatessens, Los Angeles
There is a deli renaissance in our future and I hope it rolls over us all in a big way. Stalzy’s in Madison, Wisconsin, is a beacon of delis to come, a rebirth of what was beloved and has been (nearly) lost.
At Stalzy’s they corn their own beef, and make their own pickles, and pastrami and rye bread. Oooh. An outfit of such deep endeavors can do no wrong by me. None. 
2701 Atwood Avenue, Madison, WI 53704 | phone: 608.249.7806 | hours: Monday – Saturday 7:30am-9:00pm Sunday 7:30am-2:00pm
Want to witness an epic battle, up close and personal? The angels versus the devils in hand-to-hand combat. Raise a child. Watch them break your heart with sweetness, and tear your heart out with worry. Till you are reduced to dust.
Here he sat, like an old man engrossed in the paper, distancing himself from the goofy, giggly, gaggle. Girls? What girls?Until the check arrived…
We did okay, on our own, no boy-man as chaperone. We did okay. Stalzy’s had us at 
.
Posted in Delicatessens, Uncategorized
Tagged Corned Beef, Deli, Pastrami, Pickles, Reuben, Rye Bread
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The Lunch Encounter 