I don’t remember how it happened, but somehow Katz’s Delicatessen popped up on my foodie radar early as a reputed ‘best pastrami’ in New York City. They are listed on just about every applicable best of NYC list, in business since 1888 it is an institution. It’s also the site of Meg Ryan’s orgasmic meal in “When Harry Met Sally”. The inside is a bustling self-serve cafe filled to the brim with gorgeous sandwiches, pickles, and other NYC deli favorites.

When you enter the restaurant, they give you a little ticket that becomes your bill, then you proceed to one of the sandwich men (or other stations if you want soup, breakfast, etc) to order. Sandwiches are pricey, but in actuality are big enough to easily split between two people, which takes the sting out of the $18.20 price tag (including tax) for the basic pastrami.

When my turn came up, I asked to taste test the pastrami vs the corned beef, as I was tempted by the Reuben. There was no contest–pastrami! Served hot on rye bread and slathered with spicy deli mustard is the house standard. (I would add a second layer of mustard to the bottom piece of bread later; a necessity in my book.) The pastrami was served warm, broke apart easy when bitten in to, and absolutely melted in my mouth. Moist, flaky, savory, tender, mmm… ok, I’m starting to see where Meg Ryan’s outburst came from! I’ve eaten a bunch of pastrami sandwiches here in New York, but I have to say, this one is indeed my favorite.

I required documentation of this event but the sandwich is a two-hand project; selfies were a total no-go. I asked my table mate, a gentleman delivering a bone marrow donation from Minneapolis, to take my picture. He told me I had a million dollar smile, which I then promptly obscured with a big bite of pastrami. 😛

After he left, I was joined at my table by an older couple who had lived in Brooklyn for 77 years. They come “all the way over the bridge” for Katz’s regularly and raved that it was indeed the best in the city. They shared their french fries with me and gave me their strong opinions on their other New York best-eats, including pizza (15th and J in Brooklyn) and knish (three blocks down on Houston, order the cherry cheese). After chatting for a while, we said goodbye and they asked where I was headed next. I said to their amusement, “well, I guess going to get myself a knish…” Midnight snack secured!