Tag Archives: deli

NYC Food Adventures: A Bagel with Cream Cheese and Lox

A visit to Russ & Daughters and Pick a Bagel

Among the many food items New York City is known for are bagels. The claim is that New York City tap water makes both bagels and hot dogs particularly delicious. My husband and I are not huge bagel eaters, as we try to watch our carbs, but we had to try one while in the City. And it had to be an everything bagel (though we ended up getting plain) with cream cheese and lox, as that’s probably the most popular bagel combination among New Yorkers.

There are a plethora of places where to get bagels in NYC, but among them Russ & Daughters holds special distinction. The small deli has been at its current location on Houston St., a block away from Katz’s deli, for over a hundred years – though in recent years they’ve open a few other branches. It specializes in smoked fish and caviar, though they also have some spreads, soups, salads and baked goods. I had read in several places that their bagels weren’t particularly good, and we had just had lunch at Katz’s and weren’t particularly hungry, so we stopped by to pick up some lox and cream cheese for later.

salmon

The genius of great lox, I was to find out, is not only how it’s cooked, but how it’s sliced. The knife skills of the cutter were phenomenal. He chose the best part of the fish from where to hand cut paper thin slices of salmon. The cutter offered Mike a taste of the salmon of his choice, and he decided on the Norway, a strong tasting lox that he loved. Still, he decided to get a 1/4 lb of the Gaspe Nova ($14) to take home, as that’s the one Russ & Daughters is best known for. We also got 1/4 lb of scallion cream cheese ($3.50) as they’re also known for it.

It wasn’t until our last morning in NYC that we were able to actually get some bagels to eat with the cream cheese and lox (just cream cheese for me, as I don’t like lox). We got the bagels at Pick A Bagel, which seems to be a chain, with a location a few blocks away from our hotel.

The plain bagels ($1.75 each) were good. I liked them, they had a nice chew and good flavor. Mike thought they were just average – then again, he doesn’t particularly like bagels, so maybe that’s at play. We ate the bagels untoasted, as this seems to be the most common way to do it in NYC. I feel that most of the bagels we get here need to be toasted to be really edible, but this one really didn’t need it. We also got a bialy ($1.75), which is an unboiled bagel topped with onions. I had it after we got home and I did enjoy it, but again, I didn’t think it was particularly remarkable. Still, I did like the chewiness and not needing to toast it.

I wasn’t as enthusiastic about the scallion cream cheese from Russ & Daughters. It was fine, but it wasn’t special. Other than the scallions, I can’t say it was better than Philadelphia. Mike, however, raved about the lox. He thought the Gaspe Nova was absolutely delicious. It did, indeed, have a mild flavor, but he didn’t mind at all. While the two types of lox he tasted were different, he isn’t able to find a favorite, he’d like them both again. And he does think these may very be the best lox he’s ever had – indeed, he thinks it’s very unlikely he could find a better lox, at least outside NYC.

So now you know, if you’re in NYC and you love smoked salmon, get some lox from Russ & Daughters. You can also order it online, but the shipping fee through Goldbelly is $55 for a pound of lox, on top of the $56 for the salmon!.

You might also try a different place for bagels, feel free to comment below on what your favorites are.

Russ & Daughters
179 E Houston St
NYC
212-475-4880, x1
M-Su 8:00AM - 4:00PM

Pick a Bagel
891 8th Ave 
New York City
(212) 582-8333






NYC Food Adventures: Katz’s Deli

Yes, we had the Pastrami Sandwich. And yes, it was as good as they said.

Katz’s Deli is perhaps New York City’s most famous restaurant. At least, it’s the one “must visit” restaurant in every list I looked in preparation to our trip to NYC. It has appeared in several movies, most famously, in the “orgasm” scene in When Harry Met Sally. Katz’s claims to be the oldest deli in NYC, and it has operating at its present location for almost a hundred years. Mike and the girls had visited it back when we last went to NYC in 2016, after the Democratic Convention in Philly, and had brought me a sandwich from there – I had been so exhausted after the convention that I barely left the hotel room. But I wanted to go myself and really savor that very famed pastrami sandwich.

As Katz’s is such a famous destination, it can also be impossibly busy – with lines which sometimes are supposed to near 45 minutes. Fortunately, it was pretty empty when we arrived before noon on a cold February day and I was able to find a seat right away.

katz ticket

Katz’s has a somewhat confusing system of serving customers, but it works fairly well. When you go in, every person is given a red ticket at the door. The cost of what you order will be written on the ticket by either the people at the counter, where you order, or your waiter if you get waiter service. When you are ready to go, you present the ticket to the cashier at the exit, and pay the amount written on it. You can put all your purchases on a single ticket, but just make sure to keep your blank ticket with you and return it to the cashier when you leave. If you don’t have your ticket, you’ll be charged $50.

Katz's deli

You have a choice of ordering your food at the counter and finding your own table where you can seat, or getting waiter service. Most of the available tables are for counter customers, but there is a small section at the back of the store (walk all the way back, and then go to the right, towards the bathrooms) where they have table service. If there is more than one of you, you can find a seat while someone goes to the counter and orders for the rest.

Katz' deli

Katz’s very long counter is divided into several sections. If you are ordering a meat sandwich – or, I presume, just meat – you go to one of the “cutters” who will give you a sample of the meats you are interested in (make sure to tip him a buck or two), for you to choose. They are most famous for their pastrami, but they also have corned beef, brisket and others. We’d been considering a combo pastrami-corned beef sandwich, but after tasting the pastrami, Mike knew that’s all he wanted. After ordering your sandwich, you can go to the other parts of the counter to order other dishes and drinks.

pastrami sandwich

Katz’s sandwiches are both expensive and huge, large enough to share as long as you are not starving (then, you might want your own or you might want to get a second dish). They are so filled with meat, that I found it easier to just eat the pastrami and forgo the bread – though Mike went for the sandwich experience. The pastrami was really very good, only slightly fatty, and just tasty and smoky (thought not overwhelmingly so). Sandwiches come with two types of pickles, full and half-sour, but as we don’t like pickles, they were wasted on us.

Getting to Katz’s on the subway from Times Square/Rockefeller Center was very easy, so it’s worth the trip, at least during those times when there isn’t much of a wait. You can algo get Katz’s goodies through a variety of delivery services, and they do ship nationwide.

BTW, there is no discount if your last name is “Katz“. We asked, as apparently lots of other people have (for those who are not in the US, Katz is a very common Jewish last name over here).

Katz's Delicatessen
205 East Houston Street

New York City
(212) 254-2246
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Friday 8:00 AM - Sunday 11:00 PM


Bara’s Deli – San Leandro – Review

Though Bara’s Deli has been in San Leandro since the ’80’s and we’ve lived here for over 20 years, I didn’t try it until recently. It’s not in “our” part of town – though it’s pretty close by -, and there were other closer sandwich places. Still, I’ve heard good things about them and when, a few weeks ago, I was looking to try a Reuben sandwich, I decided to give them a try. And then another.

So far, I’m fairly happy. These are not the best sandwiches I’ve ever tried (that distinction goes to Giugni’s Deli‘s in St. Helena where, granted, I haven’t eaten in a decade but whose sandwiches were great for the two decades before that), but they were very good anyway. The sandwiches look a bit small, but they are quite substantial and they definitely won’t leave you hungry – if you can finish the whole thing.

I’ve had the Reuben twice now, and while it’s still the only Reuben ($11) I’ve ever had, I liked it a lot. The meat to cheese to sauerkraut to bread ratio was perfect, it was a very well balanced sandwich, and made me a fan of Reubens. I just ordered the ingredients to make some myself. I’m actually not sure if this sandwich is meant to be hot – both times it came in the same bag with another hot sandwich, but it works well either hot or cold.

My husband had The Hangover from their specialties menu ($11.25), a sandwich consisting of “hot roast beef, Swiss cheese, red onions, jalapeños, mayo, BBQ sauce on Dutch crunch.” We both liked it very much, again the ingredients were well balanced.

I was less enthused by the meatballs. I had a meatball sub ($10) one time and a side order of meatballs ($6 for a small) another. The meatballs are small, are too salty and they otherwise have a very generic taste. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were commercial rather than made in house. They are a bit too dense and just not particularly tasty.

The caprese panini ($9) was better. Again, the ingredients were in the right amounts to balance each other and the bread, and the whole sandwich was tasty. My daughter – who ended up eating it – would have preferred fresh basil (in season now) to pesto, but that’s not a big deal.

A “make your own” roast beef sandwich ($10.50) was good and had ample meat.

The one real disappointment was a side of macaroni salad ($3.50) which was just a waste of calories.

In all, we’ll continue ordering from Bara and I look forward to trying other sandwiches.