The Absolute Best Pastrami in New YorkThe most essential (and contentious) New York City dish of all is served not only in delis but also in butcher shops and newfangled barbecues.
Katz’s Is Safe … for NowGiven our dire predictions, you’d think that we’d be abashed to see yesterday’s article in the Villager denying an imminent sale of Katz’s. But we’re not buying a bit of it! For one thing, everything we’ve said before still stands: The owners are out to make a load of money (we like how they were quoted as saying that they would only sell “for a stupid number — like $50 million” — you know, just in case you were wondering). These are the same owners who have gone on record saying that they’ll sell their air space to a condo if they can keep Katz’s on the ground floor. Given such heightened profit-consciousness, we still feel it’s just a matter of time.
The Orange Line
Riding the B Line: Pay Homage at the Carnegie DeliWe’re riding the B and V from Coney Island all the way to Forest Hills, jumping off frequently to rave about our favorite restaurants and food stores near the subway.
This Week: Carnegie Deli
Our stop last week should have been the last on the B line before transferring to the V and the joys of Queens, but we’re staying on this train for one more stop, efficiency be damned. Get out on 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue and visit the Federal Reserve of deli foods: the one, the almighty Carnegie Deli.
NewsFeed
Uzbek Filmmaker Fights to Commemorate Katz’s
With Katz’s future hanging by a thread, the time is right for a full-out documentary effort. And only one man is stepping up: the Uzbek-born filmmaker Yura Dashevsky, a Brooklyn resident who is trying to complete Katz’s: That’s All! A Documentary Project, a film record of the place and what it means to people.
Mediavore
Battle of the DBs in Forest Hills; JFK to Get the Gourmet TreatmentNever you been to Daniel Boulud’s new restaurant in Forest Hills? That’s because there isn’t one. But Danny Brown’s db wine bar and restaurant sounds close enough to db bistro moderne that the great chef’s copyright is threatened. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Travelers at JFK airport won’t have to get by on chili dogs much longer – a Todd English eatery, a wine bar, an oyster bar, and more high-end venues are on the way. [NYP]
Seamus Mullen is more at home with the elevated cooking at Suba than the rustic style at Boqueria: “It was like getting back to basics that I never really had.” [Restaurant Girl]
Staffers at Charlie Palmer’s Kitchen 22 found out the place was closing yesterday via a cell-phone call telling them they were now out of a job. Nice. [NYP]
Katz’s may be threatened by condo development, but pastrami still has secure fortresses in the outer boroughs. [Gothamist]
Related: Mother of Mercy! Is This the End of Katz’s? [Grub Street]