Once Jewish delis were the backbone of the New York food scene; now their numbers are greatly diminished. Low-fat and anti-meat mania over the last couple of decades has had its effect, but so have newer and more faddish forms of food that make hot pastrami, gefilte fish, and matzo ball soup seem hopelessly old-fashioned. Luckily, we still have plenty of delis left. Here are our favorite places, rated with stars: [1* good], [2* great], [3* excellent]. As of press time, the Carnegie Deli is still closed, so we provide only an address and a short note, but no rating.
Named after legendary Upper West Side restaurateur Artie Cutler, this sprawling palace of cured beef isn’t as old as it looks. When founded in 1999, it was designed to resemble a deli far older. Meat-wise, the nicely marbled corned beef, sliced thin but layered high in the sandwich, beats the pants off the pastrami. The frankfurters here are especially good (you can get one stuffed inside a knish), and the matzo ball soup, sporting one big fluffy ball, isn’t half bad. It’s nice to grab a seat by the window to admire the bustle on Broadway. [**]
Styling itself as the “Sturgeon King,” this 1908 repository of preserved fish on the Upper West Side is also a fully functional meat deli, with notably normal-sized sandwiches (pastrami, tongue, turkey, salami, and chopped liver) at prices a bit below par. There are some crossover favorites, too, such as pastrami-cured salmon on a bagel and a tongue omelette. One of the best reasons to go here is the dining room, with nicely padded chairs and goofy retro wallpaper. [*] 541 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024, (212) 724-4707
This tourist trap on the north end of Times Square dabbles in kobe beef sliders, ricotta ravioli, and Santa Fe egg rolls, while also partly partaking of the Jewish deli ethos, trying to be all things to all people in search of a bite to eat between local attractions. The semi-overstuffed pastrami sandwich is not bad of its type. And “Lot’s motza ball” [sic] — curiously referencing a biblical patriarch — vies with French onion for the attention of the soup-slurping masses. Cheesecake is pretty good. [*]
The kreplach soup is prodigal at Ben’s Best, which has been around Rego Park since 1945, a narrow storefront with the restaurant’s name inset in tile on the facade. That’s founder Benjamin Parker looking down from the painting in the dining room. The kreplach in question — oblong dumplings with a ground meat filling — has enough cumin in it to suggest a Sephardic origin, and this is one of the few places still serving rolled beef, a bygone deli staple sliced cold and thin in sandwiches like pancetta’s beefier cousin. The pastrami is damn good, too; dark and rich. [***]
This kosher Garment Center fixture, a chain originating in Long Island, took over the humongous space (seating 360) two decades ago from the deli called Lou G. Siegel, which had been in this location since 1917, creating one of the oldest continuously operating deli premises in town. The sprawling menu is sometimes hit or miss, but the hot tongue is superb. The pastrami is good but not fantastic. Don’t miss the glistening gefilte fish, but skip the too-sweet cabbage soup. [**]
Founded in 1937 and named for its proximity to Carnegie Hall, this restaurant is known for its ridiculously overstuffed (and hence expensive) sandwiches, Carnegie Deli has been closed since April due to gas issues and a divorce. Its future is uncertain.
This place was once an ancient Jewish deli, but then was taken over, first by Jamaicans and then by Yemenite Muslims, who kept the menu mainly intact, proving that kosher and halal are in nearly perfect accord. Now David’s constitutes a beacon of warm deli meats in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and visitors of all stripes drop by for its specialty: roast brisket on a roll with gravy. Mmmmm! The pastrami and corned beef are also quite good, too, as are the cheese-dressed fries. [**]
Founded in 1927 and looking every year of its age, F & S is a long-lasting Upper West Side kosher fixture. The interior is a pleasant nest of wooden booths, and you can ogle the food as you enter past the cash register and head for the dining room. Much of the food is decent-to-good and not great. Sliced-thin pastrami on rye is a good choice, while the chopped liver is a bit too sweet and made with calves liver instead of chicken. The roast chicken can be spot-on, while the knishes that languish by the front door are standard issue. [*]
Located in the Satmar Chassidic neighborhood of Southside Williamsburg, Gottlieb’s is a venerable classic, clad in wood and looking like the '60s. While its kosher certification is sub-par for many of the observant Jews who live in the neighborhood, it is perfectly fine for the orthodox visitors who come here to meet friends and do business. Available in two sizes, the sandwiches run to pastrami, corned beef, tongue, turkey breast, salami, and roast beef. The place has a sub-specialty in Chinese-Jewish fare. The Hungarian goulash is good, and so is the gefilte fish. [*]
Located on a side street in downtown Newark, and open only during the daytime — except on hockey game days — Hobby’s is one of the country’s greatest Jewish delis. Just inside the front door, a gray-haired woman sits doing the accounts like a scene out of Dickens; adjacent is a large dining room lined with reminders of the city’s history. The pastrami is gloriously greasy and smoky, with tongue the second-best meat choice, and roast brisket the third. You can get all three on a sandwich called the "Hat Trick," with coleslaw tucked inside. For appetizers, try the outsize latke or the mushroom barley soup.
A personified neon frankfurter (the bun is his overcoat) poses in the window, and a much bigger one hangs by chains over the cash register at this kosher deli in Homecrest. Young in deli years at 22, Jay & Lloyd’s shows it with a fun-loving outlook, emphasizing pigs-in-blankets and knishes in addition to the usual deli meats. The pastrami is particularly good here, but even better are the hot dogs, zucchini pancakes, stuffed cabbage, noodle pudding, and fried kreplach (stuffed meat or potato dumplings) with onions.
