Carnegie Deli

Posted by Edmund in Deli, Featured Articles, New York City, Restaurants | 0 comments

Cuisine: Delicatessen.
Location: 854 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019-5216.
Price: $15 for Hot Pastrami.

Imagine the scenario: I get into New York at 1 AM at night, starving after a long bus ride from Boston. I’m carrying a behemoth-sized backpack that constantly tugs at my shoulders, slowing me down, yet my incessantly grumbling stomach won’t allow me to turn in for the night. I begin my trek, lost in an unknown city, looking for the feast that can cure my insatiable appetite.

The solution? The legendary Carnegie Deli.

I trek to the diner. Though somewhat gaudy, it captures the feel of the Carnegie with its NY-style charm, littered as it is with pictures of celebrities and other Broadway-inspired imagery. It has a surprising amount of character for a deli. I’m more used to the LA-style, run-down variety.

I place an order for the hot pastrami. Within minutes, a hulking goliath lands on my table. I look up at my waiter confused, and he simply smiles. The sandwich is so large that I just can’t fathom how to eat it whole. Fork and knife may almost be essential, but I feel foolish tackling a pastrami sandwich without my hands. I begin to scale the colossal mountain of meat, though I already know that even my appetite isn’t enough to tackle it alone.

Unfortunately, this affair is far more quantity over quality. With so much pastrami and almost no condiments, the fattiness stands out. The sandwich is so fatty, greasy, and slick that you can practically feel it clogging your arteries. In turn, you miss the nice peppery crust and spices of the meat. You also miss the rye bread, the one absolutely amazing part of the sandwich. That rye is oiled and spiced very nicely, with a lot of fresh herbs. It leaves a refreshing aftertaste, especially after the barrage of fat from the pastrami. The pastrami unfortunately doesn’t have as much character. It’s well-prepared, but with too little nuance to matter.

I will admit, though, that when I had a second taste of this sandwich, while eating much slower, I did taste a lot more of the pepper in the crust, which gave the pastrami a slight grittiness. Still, it never blew me away.

Hence why I needed to add mustard to the sandwich. The mustard, though, tastes almost like spicy horseradish or poupon, and it’s so intense that, even with the gigantic stack of meat, it easily overpowers the pastrami. Adding mustard, then, is basically trading an evil for an even greater one.

I do give Carnegie’s credit for its great pickles, though. With every dish, it serves two different types: one reminiscent of a salty cucumber and the other a super briny, traditional pickle. A small, but nice touch.

Befitting the simplicity of the sandwich, the service is also a no-frills experience. Still, it’s nice that a hardcore deli actually has table service, unlike some of the other premium delis in town (Katz ‘s comes to mind). The waiters are nice and quick, too.

None of that matters, though, as the supposedly legendary pastrami disappoints with its blandness. I polished off what—a mere half sandwich—and departed, knowing that, while my stomach had stopped grumbling, I wasn’t nearly as satisfied as I’d hoped.

Scores

Ambience: 3.0/5.0
Service: 2.7/5.0
Value: 2.5/5.0
Taste: 3.0/5.0
Verdict: 2.8/5.0