A Catholic, A Half-Jew and a Jew Walked Into a Deli…

A few weeks back, my roommate and I were craving a good Jewish deli sandwich all weekend – it may have been the fact this was around Hanukkah (and yes, I’ve been saving this post for quite some time).  So Sunday night, with our neighbor/friend Doug in tow, we headed over to the 2nd Avenue Deli, on 33rd and 3rd.

2nd Avenue Deli was a lot like other Jewish delis I’ve been to in the city – really crowded when you walked in and tons of old people.  But unlike some delis, the wait was not ridiculous to get a table.  After about 10 mins, the three of us were seated and the crowds were a distant memory.  Still, it was a little cramped in the back, but it was quiet enough where you could enjoy a conversation with friends.

As soon as we sat down, we were presented with cole slaw, a pitcher of water and a few minutes later, a plate of pickles.  Pickles were excellent and I loved the full sour and half-sour pickles – in fact, I may have consumed 4 (yes, I was a hungry girl).  The cole slaw was a vinegar based coleslaw, and while I typically avoid cole slaw at restaurants, this one was delicious.

While waiting for my pastrami sandwich, I sampled some of my roommate’s Matzoh ball soup.  It was good, but I honestly have nothing to compare it to.  When asking for my roommate to channel his (half) Jewish heritage to provide some details on the soup, he called it “great, delicious.”  He’s a man of many words.

My sandwich came out and I have to give Second Ave Deli “props” for making a sandwich that was actually manageable.  The sandwich wasn’t piled ridiculously high with deli meat, and while I did struggle with the last few bites, I didn’t feel like I was on Man v. Food.  My pastrami was a typical pastrami sandwich, and while it was good on rye, the addition of some mustard made it great.

I also was able to sample noodle kugel for the first time at Second Ave Deli as well.  It was delicious and a great sweet dish.  I’m not really sure how to describe the dish, but the sweetness of it went nicely with the salty deli meats.

At the end of the day, the meal set me back about $20 for a drink and sandwich.  While I know this is a little pricey for a sandwich, it’s pretty standard for a Jewish deli around the city.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the price that is keeping me from heading back soon – it may have been my stomach.  After completing the meal, let’s just saying I was pretty thankful I only lived a few blocks away, as I didn’t feel too hot.  I’d try the deli again, but I will be blocking off my entire evening if I do.

Guest Post by Doug Feingold, Columbia Correspondent

I would actually put the 2nd Ave Deli in the upper echelon of delis I’ve had in the city. I only had a bowl of matzoh ball soup and a piece of kugel (I had eaten Cosi about an hour earlier), but both items illustrated how great the deli is.

The soup broth and the matzoh balls were brought over separetely – a first for me. I think this means they make the balls fresh, and I won’t reiterate how much this blog appreciates fresh balls. The freshness was evident from the second my spoon hit the soup – the matzoh balls were incredibly moist and broke apart seamlessly. Typically I like to slice up the balls first like crumbling crackers in soup, but this time they were so flavor filled and moist that i didn’t want to risk losing something from the experience, such as missing a tiny piece in the soup at the bottom that you cannot get to unless you put the bowl to your mouth, which wasn’t happening in the restaurant.

As for the kugel, it was good, but not great in my mind. In my family, nobody makes meat loaf. For us, the equivelent is kugel – nobody makes it better than my grandmother. This piece was a bit sweet for my liking, more like a dessert than a meal, which is how I prefer it. I also like a piece that falls apart fairly easily, whereas this one held together well. If I were aiming for dessert this would have been great, but I was hoping for a complement to my soup,and was thus a bit dissapointed.

Good thing some pickles were left (and I mean few thanks to Laura) and they were delicious, as I’ve always come to expect when stepping foot in any deli.