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KATZ'S DELI...AND THAT'S ALL!
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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Ringo M. (from San Francisco) wrote, “Once upon a time in a land not so far away, a sandwich enthusiast had a crazy idea to change the world. It was ambitious and dangerous, but the sandwich lover had a firm resolve. The idea was finally realized one fateful day at Katz's Delicatessen. The world's most epic pastrami sandwich to be.”
And Henny Youngman, comedian, wrote, “I'd buy a corned beef sandwich at Solly's Delicatessen. With the sandwich, just like today, you got garlic pickles free. This was great. The corned beef was nourishment and the pickles guaranteed privacy.” (Source: “I Remember Brooklyn” by Ralph Monti)
New York City has been home to many famous restaurants and delis:
Ratner's, the Stage Deli, the Carnegie Deli, Russ & Daughters, Ben's,
Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse, and Katz's Deli. According to David
Sax, “When Mel Brooks wrote for Sid Caesar's ‘This Show of Shows,'
he and other writers, sustained themselves on food from the Stage or
Carnegie delicatessens.” Brooks said “that every Jew is a good storyteller
(“shpilmener”) and delis are bound in Jewish humor. Also, delis seem to
be happy places. I've never seen anyone weeping at a table in a deli.”
Maurice Sendak, award-winning children's book author, said that as a child
he thought the whole world was Jewish. He figured that there were two
kinds of Jews: sad Jews and happy Jews. “The sad Jewish people were
those similar to my mother and father, while the happy Jews were like my
friend Carmine's parents across the street...Why my parents ate boring
food called kosher, while Carmine and his happy Jewish parents ate delicious food called macaroni.”
(Source: “I Remember Brooklyn,” by Ralph Monti)
Steve Auerbach (The Stage Deli) wrote, “What are we? Or Carnegie? Or Katz's? We're national treasures. We should be saved. When...no... if we go, that's when people will realize it's the cashing in of an era, and by then it'll be too late.” (Source: “Save the Deli” by David Sax)
Katz's has made the headlines recently (“anumlt”), when it won a legal battle to force a Florida restaurant to change its name. Katz's was founded in 1888, and sued Katz's Deli in Deerfield Beach. They had blatently infringed on its trademark rights and tried to profit illegally from its name and reputation. “Beyde” (both) establishments sell Jewish and kosher-style deli food.
The settlement: Katz's Deli of Deerfield Beach agreed to change its name.
The owner, Charles Re, who is originally from the Bronx, will rename his
restaurant, “Zak's Deli.”
Earlier in the year, Katz's prevailed in another trademark infringement case, suing the New York-based Katz & Dogz food cart.
Katz's Deli has been seasoning their own pastrami and slicing it by “hant” (hand), to order. This, set between two slices of rye bread, is enough to make a “farbenkt” (homesick) New Yorker weep. FYI: The Yiddish word meaning “to weep” is “veynen.”
Fred Austin said, “You can tell how long a person's worked here [Katz's] by how much weight he's put on.”
Four U. S. presidents have enjoyed Katz's hospitality, and VP, Al Gore, brought the Russian Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, to lunch. And, the brisket and corned beef are known for causing “orgasmic” reactions! :-)
Shown below is a chronology of facts/stories about Katz's Deli:
1931 There were 1,550 kosher delicatessens in the five boroughs of NYC. (Source: “Save the Deli” by David Sax)
1989 Zagat New York City Restaurant Survey wrote about Katz's:
“205 East Houston St. (Ludlow St.). “Rough and ready” Lower East Side
Jewish deli; fans praise the “best hot dogs in town,” “large sandwiches”
and “old-time funny NY deli atmosphere”; dissenters say “you can't get
a decent sandwich unless you tip the countermen” and “dirt cheap” is
the right price.”
Katz's deli is the site of the historic romantic comedy, “When Harry Met Sally...orgasm.) Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal are seated at Katz's, arguing about whether women fake it. When Crystal expresses doubt (“sofek”), Ryan treats him to a loud, impromptu performance as the diners look on with embarrassment (“farlegnhayt”).
1997 The movie, “Donnie Brasco, starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp is set mostly in N. Y. Joe Pistone meets up with his FBI control in Katz's Deli.
1998 Zagat Survey, New York City Restaurants
“It's still there, still real,” an 1888 “aviator of the Jewish Lower East Side,
where the “brisket rivals mother's,” and “how about the pastrami?”; sure
it's “noisy” and “crowded,” but for hot dogs, sandwiches, and celery
seltzer, this is “deli as it should be”; PS, “I'll have what she's having.”
2001 Two mayors, Michael Bloomberg and Ed Koch have eaten at Katz's this year. Bill Clinton was a regular, and Johnny Depp has eaten there.
2006 Adam Richman dined at Katz's for an episode of the Travel Channel's “Man v. Food.” Jake Dell said, “People love seeing that he was here. They want to try those foods that they see on TV.”
2007 Katz's appears in the movie, “Enchanted” with Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams.
Katz's appears in the film, “We Own the Night.”
Katz's Deli is the site for a scene in “Across the Universe,” in which one of the main characters reveals he has been drafted into the Vietnam War.
Frank Bruni (The New York Times) said, “It's been around after all since 1888 That's longer than Cindy Adams.”
Katz's menu warns that a request for mayonnaise with a pastrami sandwich is made “at your own risk.” And David Sax's Ten Commandments of Jewish Deli says, “Thou shalt not spread mayonnaise on a sandwich, except in the case of turkey, chopped egg, or tunafish.”
2008 Nancy Nichols (“Knish This”) posted the following words in Restaurant News: “We rounded the corner and hit Katz's Delicatessen, where our very patient waiter, who introduced himself as Richard the Lionhearted, lectured my eager little shiksas, ‘Girls, you're not here to eat grilled cheese sandwiches, OK,” he said. “I'm going to tell you what you are going to eat”...In the end, they all tried potato knishes, real deli pickles, matzo ball soup, and pastrami sandwiches, but the lesson fell apart once one of them figured out that a ‘frankfurter' was ‘Jewish' for a hot dog.”
2012 In the French film, Nous York, Manu Payet and Dree Hemingway visit Katz's, where Fred Austin greets them at their table.
2013 Katz's celebrated its 125 years in business. Corned beef, which was the most ordered item a decade ago, is still popular. The eatery serves 8,000 pounds of corned beef a week.
Zagats gave Katz's a food rating of 25, and ranked it as the number two deli in NYC, after Mile End in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.
BuzzFeed names 18 foods everyone must try before leaving NYC:
#17 Pastrami sandwich from Katz's Delicatessen
Jake Dell said, that his clientele is NOT strictly Jewish. “We get everybody.
At the end of the day, pastrami doesn't care who you are.” (Source: “We'll have what He's having” by Reed Tucker, New York Post,
May 30)
2014 [from Katz's website] Each week Katz's serves 10,000 lbs. of pastrami, 5,000 lbs. of corned beef, 2,000 lbs. of salami, and 12,000 hot dogs.
Matzo Ball soup costs $5.95, and a bagel with Lox and cream cheese costs $12.50.
Katz's continues its “Send a salami to your boy in the Army” to this day.
Gift packages are sent to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Andrew S. from Campbell, CA, says Katz's sandwiches are “still the size of a Buick” and it's still certain to spike your blood-pressure off the charts for a moment.”
According to the “Top 6 Food Trends 2014”: What's gaining momentum now. The new Jewish Deli trend is a way for people to recreate foods they have never experienced in an authentic way. There are many contemporary delis attempting to do this and Katz's Deli is one of them.
Katz's Deli is now selling a chocolate egg cream scented candle for $25.
They'll go nicely with the spiffy custom engraved Air Force
sneaker. Yes, Katz's has teamed up with a custom sneaker outfit to create
a pair of Air Force sneakers. The sneakers come in a special wooden
box filled with sawdust and a salami. (Shipping is FREE!)
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MARJORIE GOTTLIEB WOLFE is a big “fresser.” She finds it hard to
believe that the average person makes more than 200 decisions about food
every day. She feels that the Rascal House in Miami Beach would run a close second to Katz's. It was one of he most famous delis south of New York. Unfortunately, the restaurant was town down in 2008.
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