Remembering Great Meals: Enjoying The Perfect Pastrami At Katz's Deli

Photos by Gabe Zaldivar

I skipped the line.

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Now I have done a great many questionable and awful things in my life, but the one I am especially proud of is skipping the line at Katz’s Delicatessen, the home of a sandwich that will have you seriously considering eating nothing but pastrami for the remainder of your life.

The first and only trip I have had was during a vacation to New York City. The wife was intrigued to see the place that featured in one of her favorite films, “When Harry Met Sally,” and I was interested in having my faced stuffed with an obscene quantity of cured meat.

For those who aren’t familiar, you might recall this deli and its effects on the human female:

My experience was a bit different.

Rather than wail out of euphoria I kind of experienced labored breathing and began to fall asleep at the table with pastrami hanging out of my mouth.

So perhaps mine and Meg Ryan’s experience wasn’t too far off.

In any case, you will want to set your taxi driver to 205 East Houston Street. And you will more than likely be asked to queue up on a line that will stretch down

In any case, the wife and I, completely by accident and happenstance I might add, got to the gates of meat heaven without standing in line. We discovered this later, which explained the confused look on this deli guard’s face.

Maybe it was my pitiful face or the fact that it was easier just to let us in, but we were let through.

That’s when I meandered to the counter and ordered one pastrami and one corned beef sandwich.

Now to call these things sandwiches is kind of like saying you know what it’s like to drive a Porsche because you once rode on a bus.

These things are monstrous, and their size is only bested by their taste, which is transcendent.

Seriously, I was moved. I think I half heard an aria in the background, which may have just been a New York crazy humming an aria.

Regardless, I was blown away. The years of perfecting a recipe came through in every single bite.

WNYC chronicled that care in this behind-the scenes video:

The Food Network also stopped by to explain the process of making pastrami:

While renowned, Katz’s is hardly a lame tourist trap that is more hype than substance. You come away legitimately enthralled by the food that is served.

The only problem, for tourists, is that it’s nearly impossible to have a long-distance relationship with a menu.  

Now I said nearly, because Katz’s will ship various items nationwide. So set up a sleeping bag at your mailbox accordingly.

Now after splitting both the sandwiches, the wife and I exited the deli, a bit slower than we had entered, I might add.

Because of the meat-induced pace, we looked around the building to find… a magical queue of hungry patrons that sprang out of nowhere.

We simply missed the line on the other side of the establishment, meaning that we pulled off the best kind of heist: We ate at Katz’s with nary a wait.

The good news is that I would wait hours to enjoy the same meal upon my return, because some of the best things in life take patience—or a completely horrendous sense of direction and dedicated disregard to one’s surroundings.

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