NATIONAL PASTRAMI DAY (Berger’s on the Go)

It’s amazing how many great people I’ve met since I started this blog a little over a year ago. I have some wonderful followers who comment and interact with me on twitter. And I’ve also met fellow bloggers and food fanatics who’ve seen my videos. I was welcomed into the underground pizza world by Jason, Scott, and Brooks. And while there’s not as big of a community who worship deli meats, I have struck up an online friendship with Theodore Ordon-Yaussi, who heralds himself the Pastrami King of the Bay Area.

And it was Ted who IMed me one day to let me know that National Pastrami Day (January 14) was approaching. I have a tough enough time keeping track of President’s Day and Columbus Day, so you can imagine that this is the first I had heard about National Pastrami Day. I learned it was started by sandwich chain Togo’s, which is less manipulative than Hallmark’s holiday creations, but still rather silly. Regardless, I took Ted’s advice and decided to get myself a pastrami sandwich in honor of the holiday.

One of the delis I never made it to on my journey is Berger’s in midtown and since I had to be in midtown for a tour, it was a no-brainer where I should celebrate National Pastrami Day, although I bet Togo would have liked me to commence the eating festivities at one of their establishments. It’s their holiday after all. I don’t think there are any Togo’s locations in the city and even if there were, I probably would not think of them as a pastrami destination. Sorry, Togo’s.

Berger’s used to be a classic deli in the Diamond District. It catered to the kosher community for over 50 years, but unfortunately shuttered in 2006. I actually got to go to the original years ago and felt right at home. It wasn’t as extravagant or delicious as Katz’s, but it had a more modest old school charm. I was terribly sad to hear it closed.

But the good news is that Berger’s was re-born on 39th Street. The bad news is that it has none of that old fashioned character that made it so wonderful. Now it looks much like any generic sandwich chain in midtown (ie, PAX or Europa Cafe), which I imagine is why it doesn’t get nearly the amount of press it would if it maintained the feeling of a Jewish grandmother’s kitchen. Now it may as well be called Togo. The sign outside even calls it Berger’s on the Go. Where have all our Jewish delis gone?

The counter felt very sterile and I was confused as to where to order. Besides deli sandwiches, you can now get wraps, paninis, and build your own salads. I convinced the guys to give me a corned beef/pastrami combo sandwich in a half size. Even though this was a holiday, I still need to keep my boyish figure. It blows my mind how impossible it is for them to do this. I offered to pay extra, which finally convinced them, but how hard is it to make a combo half size?

The guys at the cash register seemed like they came from that old school deli world, so that was comforting. And so was the price. Even though I paid extra, the half sandwich still only cost me $6.25. That’s ridiculously cheap for a corned beef and pastrami sandwich in this town.

I took the sandwich to a nearby indoor public space (that’s the beauty of midtown). It was freezing outside, so I imagine I did a little harm to the heat of the meat. It wasn’t completely cold when I unwrapped it, but it was also not as warm as I expect. The meat still managed to melt in my mouth and impart quite a bit of flavor. The pastrami had a smoky saltiness and the corned beef had some nice garlicky savoriness.

But both meats were rather greasy. I’m not sure if it had to do with the temperature change, but there was a shiny film on the meat as if it had been soaked in fat. It even caused the rye bread to go soggy rather quickly. And as the sandwich came to an end, the meat got even colder (I was inside by now) and it felt like I was eating cold fat. This was a real shame because the flavors were strong and I enjoyed the sandwich at the beginning of the meal. I wonder if I would have had a different experience if I had ignored the restaurant’s name and didn’t take “on the go”.

All in all, it was a pretty good Pastrami Day except for the fact that I didn’t get any cards or texts or anything. I hope Ted’s holiday consisted of better deli meats and more presents.

Is Berger’s On The Go the best corned beef/pastrami in NY? I enjoyed the flavor of the meat despite some grease and temperature issues and since dining in the shop at one of the few tables might be a different experience, I can’t give them less than 7 out of 10.