The Pastrami Chronicles, Volume 3: The Joys of Yiddish Cooking

The overall history of Yiddish cooking here:

Tune in about 20 minutes in for the Pastrami discussion. Arthur Schwartz needs a little correcting: Adelman's is NOT in Williamsburg, it is on Kings Highway near Ocean Ave - right where Gravesend/Sheepshead Bay meets Midwood. A long ways away from Williamsburg. But he's right about something - order "juicy".

The Pastrami Chronicles, Volume 2: The Non-Pastrami, Toronto Edition

The Corned Beef House on the corner of Adelaide and Widmer specializes not just in corned beef but in, as much as one supposes a Toronto establishment can, the Montreal smoked meat sandwich (which is really a smoked corned beef sandwich but who's minding particulars like "meat" vs. "beef"?). A French restaurant on some corner of Bloor near Honest Ed's also boasts of this two-sandwich specialty. So the conclusion is obvious: The Montreal smoked meat sandwich is made to stand in for a pastrami sandwich. And it appears, much like its beleaguered cousin south of the border, it gets tripped up by non-Kosher infringements on its Kosher sanctity.

The Montreal smoked meat sandwich with hot mustard on dark rye, at the Corned Beef House, is tasty enough but it lacks that unexplainable whiff of Ashkenazi bliss that kosher pastrami is imbued with. It's so fatty, it's hard to dry it out yet it doesn't retain the juiciness one would think it would hold onto. That being said, it isn't that bad. It has the reminder of a good kosher pastrami on rye and that's good enough. It's something close to Katz's Deli in that regard. Next time, Pennypacker will see what the Jewish section of Toronto offers and then we'll really get down to a bissele pastrami competition on a future edition of the Pastrami Chronicles.

The Pastrami Chronicles, Volume 1: The 2nd Ave Deli

Anyone who knows Pennypacker knows that, despite his efforts at slimming down and saving money, the classic pastrami on rye remains the biggest (though occasional) poison. It's just so good. So very good. There really is something almost erotic about the aroma coming from the meat. Seinfeld was onto something.

The 2nd Ave Deli arguably reigned supreme in the pastrami wars for generations. But then it closed up. Now it's back (on toity toid and toid) and the pastrami tastes better than ever, breaking the brief reign held by, of all places, the Carnegie Deli (a non-Kosher pastrami on rye at number 1 was unthinkable yet it happened). The meat is a bit fatty but the juices flow all over the meat without getting off the rye. The spices are perfect. The meat is tender. You do not need mustard (unlike with the Katz's Deli sandwich).

And what else does the 2nd Ave Deli have over the competition (besides blessing from a higher authority, presumably)? The best matzo ball soup in the world. How does Pennypacker know? It's the only matzo ball soup to taste as close to his Bubbe's soup as any soup could.