ehBeth, oh yeah, the Shopsy's on Front is for tourists. I seem to remember a review of the deli in Thornhill. Now that it's got the ehBeth seal of approval I'll have to try and get there someday.
(djjd makes amazing blintzes -- there must be some way to bribe him into the kitchen...)
If you go to Centre Street without me ...
there'll be trouble!
djjd in the kitchen? guess his thumb musta healed up
~~~
latkes at Switzer's - I prefer mine with apple sauce (it's the Prussian influence)
Last time I went there must have been around 1982, after our gang went on an outing to the old Ikea in the west end of Toronto.
<sigh>
Boida's making brisket, Ben's is gone ...
I can think of only one kosher deli in my area (must be more). It's pretty close by and also pretty good, I think. But, I wouldn't really know. We also stop at Reins in CT on the way to Stamford to see my extended family. I like that less well. But, I am not a meat-eater, so I judge by bagel and cream cheese, knishes, and pickles.
I guess I'm not much of a deli person at all. I have been to Italian delis. Around here they are deli-pastry shop or deli-convenience store. My favorite is called Capone's. They sell italian meats, cheeses, olives, oils, vinegars and freshly made pasta and sauces. They also sell packaged pastas, hard breads, chocolates, etc.
I haven't found any good deli of any kind here in heat city, but I haven't really searched on the east side of town.
Did find a how-to-corn-beef recipe,
HERE. I could do that, if I could figure out where to get potassium nitrate... which I gather from a few other recipes I saw, is optional.
Hey, a new hobby....
Meantime, I've run across an italian jewish brisket recipe, sounding good,
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blbeef135.htm
and some others, perhaps too numerous to name.
OK, back to delis...
egg salad.
rarely make it myself, can't make it as good.
with a sour pickle of course.
There's a restaurant here....Katz's Deli, the owners tagline is "I can't help it, I gotta tell ya"
One of his radio commerical almost made me drive off the road, I was laughing so hard.
It was about his "cheesecake shake"
"I can't help it, I gotta tell ya....Katz's cheesecake shake....it'll change your life!....It's a heart attack in a glass!
I CAN'T HELP IT...I GOTTA TELL YA,... KATZ'S NEVER KLOSES!
Chai, A heart attack in a glass. Love that. Good egg salad is hard to find. My mother told me to throw in a bit of mustard. It gives a certain tang.
Speaking of heart attacks, I was at a deli with three friends. They each ordered either corned beef lean. When it was my turn, I said I wanted corned beef, but I did not want it lean. The waiter smiled. A little while later the man from behind the counter came out the meet the person who knew about corned beef. Moi. You take off the fat, and you're left with very dry not very tasty meat.
Bethie, When I was at a kosher dairy place, I ordered the latkes. Sour cream or apple sauce? "What's a matter? I can't have both?" I got both. Sour cream on the latke. Sauce on the side.
There's a thing called smoked meat? Live and loin.
osso, Potassium nitrate? I had no idea that chemistry was involved in corned beef. Go for it, girl.
Not so fast on the brisket cooking. It's as hot as hell here. I don't wanna turn on the stove. Maybe when the temperature returns to the seventies.
littlek, Bagels with a shmear, knishes, and pickles. Not a bad way to judge a deli.
I'm semisorry I started this thread. Craving and drooling all over the living room.
Potassium nitrate is Saltpeter, which (I seem to remember jokes about it) keeps the corned beef pinkish and has some anti bacterial growth quality, which seems silly, given the brining.)
I remember jokes about saltpeter too, osso. You gonna make the corned beef?
All this deli food talk is rousing me to action. When the weather cools off, I'm gonna make some chopped liver. I can hear the chopper hitting the wooden bowl now. That sound is half the fun.
Part of the perfect deli experience are the waitresses. The best one I had was a floozy gum-smacking blonde in fuzzy pink bedroom slippers which I noticed because she greeted me with:
"Oy, my feet! What'll ya have, honey?" >snap
"... um ..."
"Hey, I got other customers too >snap< Ya want me to tell you what to have?"
"No, I'll have the pastrami on rye, shpec [not sure of the spelling, but you gotta have shpec] on the side, cole slaw and a chicken soup."
She bellows the order to the cook while writing it on her little notepad.
... later ...
"Somethin' wrong with the soup?" >snap<
"No, it's very good."
"How come you're not eating it all?">snap<
"I'm kinda full from the sandwich."
"Y'know there's starving kids out there.">snap<
"... uh ..."
"My mother makes that soup.">snap<
"... uh ..."
"You look like you should eat that soup.">snap<
" ... um ..."
"Okay, okay. Ya want anything else?">snap<
"Yeah, I'll have a coffee."
"Ya have room for coffee, but you can't eat the rest of your soup?"
" ... uh, yeah ..."
"Fine, I'll bring you coffee -- but NOT UNTIL YOU FINISH THE SOUP!">snap< >snap< >snap<
If you're trying Toronto delis, check out Panzer's at Bathurst and Steeles.
oh yeah....or the one's that tell you "don't order that, it's no good"
last time I was in a NYC deli, I asked for a particular type of bread on whatever it was I ordered.
It came on a different bread, but before I could mention it, the waitress said.
"yeah, I know it's on the wrong bread, so he made a mistake. I don't want to have to go back and tell him to remake the sandwich."
um...ok...this is fine....
"yeah, you gonna want desert?"
gotta love'em.
A Pocono Jewish Seniors Club is having a "N.Y. Deli Luncheon" today.
The Pocono's doesn't have delis--of any sort.
Brisket first - from that link above (about.com)
Italian Jewish Style Brisket Recipe
Ingredients
1 beef brisket, about 5 to 6 pounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, cut in 1/4-inch dice
2 sticks celery, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3 chicken livers (poached, if you keep kosher)
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 bottle red wine
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
Garnish: 4 sprigs of parsley, chopped
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Trim the brisket of most of its fat and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy casserole, and sear the brisket on both sides until it starts to brown. Remove the brisket from the casserole. Add the diced vegetables and garlic, and saute for about 5 minutes over medium heat or until onion is translucent. Add the rosemary, chicken livers, tomatoes, and bay leaf, and return brisket to casserole. Completely cover the meat with the wine, adding chicken stock if necessary.
Cover the casserole and bake in the oven for 3 to 3 and 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork-tender. If the liquid reduces by more than half during cooking, add a small amount of chicken stock.
Transfer the meat to a dish and keep warm. Remove the herbs, and puree remaining liquid in a blender with the vegetables and chicken livers until smooth. If the sauce is a little thin, return it to the casserole and reduce over medium-high heat until it reaches the desired consistency. Slice the brisket and arrange it on a deep platter with the sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Yield: 8 servings
Credits
Recipe from: Chef Mark Strausman, Campagna and Fred's at Barney's New York
Tico, Great minds. I was remembering last night the waiters at one of my neighborhood delis in the Bronx. If I went there for lunch and it wasn't too busy--and I wasn't eating everything--the waiter would sit down and try to coax me to eat.
chai, Yup, they'll tell you what's good--and what's not. Sometimes just a slow head shake or a subtle nod. Sometimes they'll just tell ya. My parents would often go to a deli and ask, "What's good?" They usually got pointed in the right direction.
Osso, Thanks for the recipe. That's a lot more complicated than my recipe. Still too hot for cooking. But it's never too hot for eating.
So, I bought the brisket (not as much as in the recipe) and the chicken livers today. We'll see...
Waiting to hear, and drooling only slightly on the left side.
Perhaps this thread is responsible for my recent unseemly greed? Ive spent the week wolkfing down chunks of ring bologna with garlic?
The WASPish hinterlands also peddle drool-worthy cholesterol.
Noddy, Multiethnic cities don't have a monopoly on drool. Enjoy yourself, kid.
