New York City is full of cultural, historical, and culinary institutions – it’s the nature of big cities. And amongst the pizza joints and bagel shops you’ll find loads of old school delis (like Barney Greengrass on the Upper West Side), but one rises above the rest: Katz’s Delicatessen.
Katz’s owns the title of New York’s oldest deli, having first started at Ludlow and Houston on the Lower East Side in 1888. Although ownership has changed over the nearly century-and-a-half, it’s kept up serving pastrami, corned beef, pickles, knishes, salamis, matzo ball soup to hungry crowds day in and day out.
If you’ve never been to Katz’s, the process is simple: you step inside the doors and are given a ticket, then directed to one of the cutters at the long counters. The cutters in the center handle sandwich orders; different sections to the right and left are for ordering grilled items, soups, etc. At each one, you just place your order and they’ll mark your ticket. Long, narrow menus hang high up on the walls above you.
But let’s face it: the real show is watching the sandwiches prepared before you. It takes a long time for cutters to work up to these positions, so their deft handling of the meat, from spearing big chunks of corned beef or pastrami, slapping them down on the cutting boards, and quickly slicing them up.
We went simple with a corned beef sandwich and a pastrami sandwich. As the cutter slices up the meat for your sandwiches, they’ll often grab a couple bites and throw them on the plate for you to sample.
If you’re a lover of cured and brined meats, it’s a bit of heaven. And they work so swiftly – it’s really a delight to watch.
Always say yes to the offer of pickles, too.
After you’ve loaded up your tray, just find a seat in the expansive dining room. Our latest visit was after midnight on a Saturday, and it still buzzed with activity.
Katz’s is probably one of the most recognizable delis in America because it’s shown up in so many different movies and TV shows. Above one of the central tables hangs a sign showing where Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal filmed the famous “I’ll have what she’s having” scene from When Harry Met Sally.
Half the fun is sitting in such an iconic spot, people-watching, and checking out the photos of famous visitors lining the walls.
But the pastrami is an easy sell, too. We ordered two simple sandwiches: pastrami and corned beef on rye with mustard. Both were excellent and in giant portions, although we were really partial to the pastrami.
But I wouldn’t say no to the corned beef as well. It’s more heavily marbled with fat, but still tastes delicious. Next time we’re there I’m ordering a reuben.
Loved the pickles, too.
And just look at that pastrami! It’ll soak up the thin slices of rye, so just be prepared for it to be a mess. But I think you won’t mind.
Katz’s is open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, then they open at 8 a.m. Friday and remain open until Sunday night at 11 p.m. So like us, you can visit in the middle of the night for your fix of sandwiches, salami, and knishes.
Katz’s Delicatessen
205 E. Houston St.
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-2246
Web: katzsdelicatessen.com
FB: Katz’s Delicatessen
IG: @katzsdeli
