New site!


Right, so back by popular demand, the restaurant review site, but in a new format. Many of these reviews are old, just haven't gotten around to posting them until now. I'll try to date them where I can. You can still check out the old site here

Unlike other foodie bloggers, I however don't own any fancy camera gear - just an old Sony digital camera that works. Maybe if it breaks I'll look at getting something else, but likely just another simple point and shoot type thing that I won't break easily!

So here we go!

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn.

To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.

Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold.

Oh, I'll accomodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a 'vegetarian plate', if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine."
― Anthony Bourdain

Friday, March 2, 2012

Katz' Deli

Katz' Delicatessen

So in my travels, I've acquired a taste for great sandwiches.  New York happens to have some of the best, according to more than a few travel guides, locals, and online foodies.   I happened to be in the vicinity of Katz', so I decided to stop in.   Yeah, I know that a lot of people prefer Carnegie, or other delis in NYC, but I went with the big tourist trap, supposedly equivalent to Schwartz (or better according to many) of Montreal.

First impression - that's a small line outside!   Compared to my trip to Montreal, there were only 6 people outside.  What I didn't realize as I got in the door, was the crazy mayhem I was about to witness.   There was what appeared to be organized chaos, all around, lines forming in whichever random directions, including a line for tables.   A lot of shouting, a lot of chaos, and security guards watching everything.   So apparently, you have to get a ticket from a guard, then go line up, order up, then either leave or sit down - never to lose your ticket, or you are charged an additional $50 for losing it - even though the ticket has no order information on it.   When you're done, and leaving, you had your ticket and order stub to the cashier, who rings you out and gets you out the door.   Pretty much similar system to Schwartz, so I don't know who might have copied who in this case.

Now, because I had a bit of time in NYC, I decided that I needed to not just try the pastrami sandwich, but the corned beef as well.   Either sandwich comes with several pickles of varying flavours, and these things are loaded.   I could swear each was close to a pound if not even.   According to some, they're exactly 13.3 oz worth of meat, but I didn't weigh it.   Due to the long weekend, the place was packed, and I knew I wasn't going to get a table, so I took the sandwiches to go, glad that I had brought a backpack and a couple plastic bags along just in case.

I will say one thing - these are not cheap sandwiches.   At $16, I was a bit apprehensive as to the cost, but I knew I wasn't going to be back any time soon, and splurged.   Eventually reaching my hotel room later on that evening after a few miles of sightseeing in Manhattan, I opened up these rather large packages to discover just how much I'd be eating.   All I will say, is I am glad my hotel room came equipped with a fridge and microwave!   I ended up trying both sandwiches - a quarter of each, along with a few bites of the pickles... and I was stuffed.

So, for taste, I happen to prefer the pastrami.  I found the corned beef a little more dry, and maybe it was the fat content that did it - but both sandwiches needed something to balance out the heavy meat flavour.   Maybe a much stronger dijon mustard?   I guess that stems from my preference of cheesesteaks with onions and peppers, that makes for a better flavour profile, and texture profile.

I also can't say that these are better, or worse, than the smoked meat sandwiches at Schwartz.   They're just different.   Both varieties melt in your mouth, are stacked like nowhere else, and are incredibly filling.   The pickles didn't do that much for me either, though it was an interesting study in just how different each pickle could be. 

Taste:   8.5 - I'd prefer something to break up the taste a bit

Presentation:  5 - it's a sandwich.   Full of meat, but it's just a sandwich.

Ambiance:   6.5 - It's an experience alright, but as I'm not a huge fan of lineups, I'll be docking a bit off this score

Prices:   $15-20 for varying menu items, though I think the hot dogs are cheaper
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