Thursday, March 25, 2010

New York Deli Covered With Praise And Cliches By WPost

The New York Deli got a writeup in the Washington Post yesterday.  I was already impressed by the Columbia deli's corned beef, and I'm newly impressed by the amount of attention the WPost is paying to Howard County.

The WPost interviewed owner  Diane Chiaro, and it talks up the corned beef that Chiaro makes on site.  I can't actually tell if the writer ate there.  Much of the piece compares the New York Deli to stereotypes and mentions how it is "sandwiched" into a "bland strip mall."  No.  It's on the end, and that's a run-down shopping center.  But a shopping center with House of India -- far from bland.

7 comments:

  1. I've been there twice now and far from impressed. Had pastrami the first time and it was like rubber. Felt like Oscar Mayer's meat thrown in a microwave. Went back and tried the Nathan's hot dogs (which I love in NY/NJ) and they weren't the same. Lacked the crispness of a good kosher dog.

    Also, how long does it take to fix a frier? They keep saying the frier is down for several weeks now.

    Not a huge fan of corned beef although that must be the primary thing they focus on.

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  2. Wendy from ColumbiaMarch 27, 2010 at 11:37 AM

    I liked their egg salad sandwich. You get a nice portion for a reasonable price & they don't put use too much mayo, which makes egg salad so much better. The dill pickle & coleslaw that came with it were a nice touch.

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  4. I went to "New York Deli" again yesterday afternoon. They continue to not carry chopped liver, whitefish, knishes, or other basics that I would expect from an actual Manhattan deli. But OK, I ordered a corned beef on rye and a cream soda [They had A&W rather than Dr. Brown's or IBC.]

    Then, since I had a camera on me, I asked if it would be OK if I took some pictures. The lady behind the counter OKd this, and I took a few interior shots. Then my food arrived, I took it outside, and snapped an exterior shot.

    While I was outside, an older lady came out of the building and asked me why I was taking pictures. I said "I like taking pictures", or something to that effect. She said she thought I was lying. What? What did she think -- I'm trying to steal their souls with my camera? Or I'm a spook looking to do surveillance on them?

    I explained that I like taking pictures and was also trying out a new lens. I offered to delete the pictures, but she declined this and went back into the building

    Wow. Now I know why they call it "New York Deli". They don't have authentic New York deli food, so they went for a double helping of attitude.

    Not a pleasant experience.

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  5. Morty -- I once got chased from Lotte as well. How was your sandwich?

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  6. HC -- the corned beef was much better grade than supermarket, and better than other area delis I've tried. Reasonable good taste, no gristle. Also more moist than the last time I was there. Definitely not as good as Attman's. Nor is it as good as what I could make myself using a corned first-cut brisket from Wasserman and Lemberger's.

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  7. Charter deli does a reasonable job of carrying deli staples. They've got more than just corned beef -- also knishes, bagels with lox, and Dr. Brown's cream soda. Caveats: as of last week, they were having supply issues with knishes (no potato, only broccoli), and they could use better corned beef. But still -- lox and knishes in Columbia!

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