Thanks for the calories: NYC's Carnegie Deli says goodbye
First time I went there was with my wife to be Cary, in '66. This hayseed from Bend Oregon, on his first trip to NYC, had never seen anything like these sandwiches.
The last time was in 2010, with the youngest, Emily, after seeing Rent on Broadway.
Frankly, there are better delis in the city, but Carnegie's was an institution one had to pay homage at; a pastrami on rye, chocolate egg cream, and a slice of cheesecake.
It has been a culinary landmark. Were you ever at Shapiro's Deli on South Meridian Street in Indianapolis? One of the oldest "true" Delis around.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best as well.
That's a city I haven't visited, other than the airport. One of the few larger ones in the US I missed.
ReplyDeleteI spent a few days out on Long Island once, and that place is absolutely crawling with them, one per block it seemed.
Corky and Lenny's, Cleveland, Ohio. 1956 and it looks the same.
ReplyDeleteGood memories?
DeleteI took my college freshman daughter there to lunch one day, and watched in amazement as she left the table and followed the busboy to the kitchen to ask him for a date. This was 1983.
DeleteOh no! Been there a few times ....loved the aged waitresses with attitude x
ReplyDeleteOh my, john. That could be any diners in the City. In a foodomat once, maybe '65, I got poked in the ribs with the point of an umbrella by a 70'some ish woman, wanting to know if I was finished, as Cary and I lingered over coffee and bad sandwiches.
DeleteThat's sad. I've only been to NYC once, and it wasn't long enough to include this.
ReplyDeleteNYC is still 'The City', nothing else compares. I've been there many, many times, starting in '66 while on medical convalescence at Bethesda Naval Hospital. I had tried to occupy the same space as some rocket shrapnel at the same moment.
DeleteMy future wife and I went up for a week, staying in an apt on the upper west side, 76th and Amsterdam, as I remember.
Katz's in Phoenix (gone since 2008) or the famous Miracle Mile, still operating after 60 years of deli wonder. The sandwiches aren't as big as those from the Carnegie but the hot pastrami is legendary and the Straw Sandwich was my favorite for years.
ReplyDeleteI've been Katz's, sometime around 2003 at a Pfizer meeting. Excellent, as I remember.
DeleteAs rents have risen there have been a number of business closures. It's very sad.
ReplyDeleteThe days of the small cafe's, deli's, odd little businesses on Amsterdam or Broadway in the upper west are long gone, I fear. It was so much of the charm of the place. Lalo's was a favorite of mine, it's been g
Deletegone 5 years now I think. It was even in a Nora Ephrohn movie, "You've got mail"