SADLY, FINE & SCHAPIRO IS NOW CLOSED.
At the turn of the century and during World War II, the Upper West Side became a very popular neighborhood with the Jewish community. And even today, you can’t walk a few blocks without passing a synagogue. These were Eastern European Jews. You know, the ones who brought corned beef and pastrami to these shores.
I imagine at one time, this neighborhood was also crowded with delicatessens and kosher meat markets. But, of course, gentrification and urban renewal reared its ugly head and now there are only a few remnants of that history.
But even still, it’s rare to visit the Upper West Side without seeing some evidence of that NY Jewish culture. Barney Greengrass, Zabar’s, H & H Bagels. They’re all still there.
Now there is one spot that’s been around since 1927 but often gets overlooked. Fine & Schapiro is nestled on a very busy 72nd Street amidst Domino’s Pizza and Citibank. Odds are you walk by this place and you never notice it’s there. It’s nondescript and plain looking. But that’s the way it is with these old delis. Nobody’s changed in 80 years.
In lieu of drinking and stuffing myself with cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to get the original corned beef sandwich and add some pastrami. So I figured Fine & Shapiro was as good a spot as any.
I was quite surprised when our waitress arrived with a bright green sweater and an Irish accent. Did they hire this lady just for tonight? Could she be a temp? I may not have noticed on any other day of the year, but it struck me as surreal that this lass was working at a Jewish deli. But she was very sweet and had that old world charm, so as long as I was getting the combo sandwich, it didn’t matter too much to me.
When the combo arrived, the weirdness continued. This is the first time I had ever seen the combo sandwich separated by another slice of bread. So each half had a helping of corned beef and pastrami divided by a third slice of rye bread. This was like the Big Mac of deli sandwiches – just without any secret sauce (thank God for mustard!)
I had ordered extra lean and the waitress told me it would be practically fat free. Yeah, right. Is this St. Patty’s Day or April Fool’s Day? Regardless, when the sandwich arrived, the meat was still pretty fatty.
The corned beef had a shiny, iridescent look to it. I’ve done my research and know this doesn’t mean the meat has gone bad and while it gives it a pretty snazzy presentation, it strikes me as slightly less appetizing. Ignoring the strange colors, I found the meat to be chewy and rather flavorless. The pastrami had a stronger buttery flavor, but was also tough and fatty. The pickles were the highlight of the meal, I’m afraid.
Fine & Schapiro also serve as kosher caterers. Maybe they’ve gotten so entrenched in cooking for large groups of people that they forgot how to make a simple deli sandwich for one. Or maybe they were having an off night and were distracted by St. Patty’s Day (which would make no sense to me). Or maybe the customers have been coming here for so long that they’ve gotten used to mediocre deli meat. I’m not sure what went wrong. But I was disappointed and dismayed that a deli with this longevity and sense of history really missed the boat.
To me, being around for so long and representing the way the neighborhood used to be isn’t quite enough. You need well-prepared delicious food to show off why the delis were so important and influential to Jewish culture and NY cuisine. And, I’m afraid to say, when I’m on the Upper West Side, I’m going to search for my Jewish heritage elsewhere.
Is Fine & Schapiro the best corned beef/pastrami in NY? If this night was a good example of their cuisine, I can’t imagine that it ever was the king. I found it to be a cheap, flavorless example of a NY classic and for that I’m sad to say it only gets a 5 out of 10.
