Once upon a time (okay, the 1960’s), in a kingdom far far away (actually, Kew Gardens, Queens), there was a very famous kosher deli that was known for their smoked meat and they called themselves the Pastrami King!!!! (That last bit was supposed to be echoed for the whole kingdom to hear)
Well, I guess the king was usurped in 1999 because the deli was shut down and he sent his subjects to open a few different delis across the land. It seems the King went to the safer, more secure realm of Merrick, Long Island (where the restaurant is run by the original owners). He also spawned a Queen who serves her sandwiches to the Upper East Side in their more recent Lexington palace (okay, when I say palace I mean hole in the wall).
But enough history. I’m searching for the best corned beef and pastrami in New York. That means New York City. So since the original well-loved Queens location is no longer standing, I headed over to the more convenient Upper East Side location. Very confusing how when they moved out of Queens, they changed their name to Pastrami Queen. They should have thought about that in advance, maybe.
The first thing I noticed was the lack of any Jewish employees. That was a bit troublesome. The guys behind the counter looked Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and African American. That didn’t quite compute in my book. I was relieved to hear most of the customers cracking Borscht Belt type jokes. Almost trying to teach the staff Jewish humor. By the time I left, the owner must have showed up, and I could tell he was the real deal. So my concerns vanished.
I arrived early for dinner and the very small shop was practically empty. It did fill up as my meal went on and my waistline expanded.
Now I anticipate only eating half of these sandwiches since most of these delis only do extra, extra large portions. Especially if you want the corned beef and pastrami combo. It’s like three sandwiches in one and that’s the only way you can have it. But fortunately, you can have it with cole slaw and pickles.
I did forget to order the meat extra lean (which would have cost me an extra $4.50). Not only do I want to avoid a heart attack on this journey, but I actually prefer the taste of lean meat. The meat should have enough marbling on it to begin with that the extra fat would just get in the way and make my mouth sort of filmy. And I guess most people feel this way, since they can get away with charging almost 5 dollars for a healthier option.
So I got the full fat real deal corned beef/pastrami combo. The meat was sliced incredibly thin, which is not always my favorite. The thinner it is, the more I think of cold cuts.
The pastrami did have quite a bit of fat running through the center and I found some sort of vein or some unpleasant tissue (not the Kleenex variety). The pastrami itself wasn’t as spiced or smoky as I had hoped. And I had trouble differentiating the flavor from the corned beef – aside from that stream of fat. The corned beef fared much better (which is ironic, since this place is “pastrami royalty”) and melted in my mouth.
I couldn’t find any caraway seeds in the rye bread and while it was a nice foil to the greasy meat, it struck me as rather plain and in fact, could have been plain sourdough for all I knew.
It’s hard to say how I would have felt had I ordered the meat extra lean. Maybe the King had a better grasp on pastrami then the Queen does. She’s definitely learned a bit from her male counterpart, but the pastrami could use more intense spices and been just a tad leaner (even without the $5 upcharge). And until they spawn the Pastrami (Jewish American) Princess, I’m going to search in another kingdom.
Is Pastrami Queen the best corned beef/pastrami in NY? I give them a 6 out of 10 because they set the bar high when they anoint themselves royalty. And while some of the meat was flavorful and the portions ample, I know there is more refined deli mat out in the kingdom of NYC.
