Text 4352, 59 rader
Skriven 2006-08-15 08:08:02 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
Ärende: Picnic Day 0, part b
============================
Carnegie Deli - around the corner from Carnegie Hall, NYC
Attending: Manny Rothstein
           Dave and Lynn Sacerdote
           Burt & Shirley Ford

Foods we sampled on this visit:

Pastrami - Slightly less fatty than I'm used to (depending on your 
point of view, that could be good or bad, right?) Very good, not 
too salty, and a nice mild smokiness, but a little on the bland 
side (it could use more pepper and coriander in the cure I would 
say.) My pastrami sandwich was four inches thick in the center 
and must have had a pound and a quarter of meat. I split it Lynn.

Corned Beef - Very lean for the most part with a couple of good 
fatty pieces slipped inside. Like the pastrami it had a good 
flavor and was not too salty, but because of the leanness it 
was a bit dry. And like the pastrami sandwich, it was piled 
about four inches high with a ridiculously generous portion 
of meat.

Potato Knish - Creamy delicious potato inside a delicate pastry 
crust. Mighty fine.

Chicken soup - It would be far more honest to call this "broth" 
(there isn't a bit of chicken or vegetable in the stuff, though 
the broth itself it obviously made from scratch. I just wonder 
what they do with the chicken after the 'soup' is made.) 
Carnegie's offers a choice of noodles, matzoh balls, or a combo 
of both. the noodles are tender homemade egg noodles and the 
matzoh balls are big, fluffy, and the best I've had since I 
was a kid.

Hot Dogs - Two massive kosher "dinner franks" in soft steamed 
buns served with kraut on the side.  Didn't taste these; Shirley
says they were good.

I have mixed feelings about the Carnegie. The service is excellent, 
attentive, and friendly; the sandwiches are tasty and HUGE; as you 
are seated, the host drops off a big bowl of marvelous assorted 
deli pickles; the dining rooms have atmosphere and yet are clean; 
the food is tasty. But on the other hand, those huge sandwiches 
are bare (no kraut, no cheese, no nuthin - it's all extra, except 
for the bottles of mustard on the table); the prices are astronomical
($20.00 for a reuben?? Puh-leez); and there are no refills on the 
drinks. A strange combination of tightfistedness and generosity.

I've heard complaints that the Carnegie Deli is little more than 
a tourist trap nowadays. I don't think it's quite that bad yet, 
but it would be nice if they offered a little extra without
nickle-and-diming the customer to death with additional charges, 
scaled back on the huge portions, and moderated the prices.

[Blogged with photo at http://tinyurl.com/qhtha]

---
Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, 
minutus carborata descendum pantorum
 * Origin: Try Our Web Based QWK: DOCSPLACE.ORG (1:123/140)