Pastrami on Rye
Oh Uncle Miltie, if you only knew!
I grew up around the corner from a kosher deli and in my house, it was one of the 4 major food groups (the others being Chinese, pizza, and diner). As with many other things, I took it for granted. I took for granted that I had this awesome old school kosher deli right around the corner from me. I didn’t realize how much so until my freshman year of college in Boston. There was no deli around the corner from my dorm and only after an exhaustive mid-November search (pre-internet days) did a fellow Jewish floor mate and I find the deli we were missing. Sadly, it wasn’t that great and I don’t recall going back much in my 4 years in the neighborhood.
In the summer of 1995, I took my first trip to Minneapolis to visit my girlfriend (now wife). My nice Jewish girl from Minneapolis also happened to live right down the street from the Lincoln Del. So when she had a hostess shift to work at Applebee’s (so much better as Burger Jones), I had to check out the famous Del. What would this Minneapolis pastrami taste like? Do they have any idea what they’re doing? The Del was fine – nothing spectacular, but totally acceptable to my spoiled palate. I specifically remember thinking that I could live with the Del.
Many years have passed and the Del has been shuttered. Now I live here. What is a Jewish guy from New York who grew up with a kosher deli around the corner supposed to do here in the Twin Cities? Where can I get a good pastrami or corned beef sandwich – one served hot, with deli mustard (not yellow) on rye bread?
For 13 years, I visited the Twin Cities – on occasion even schlepping pastrami on the plane with me. One time, I even supplied a pastrami taste test – from 3 delis in New York. I thought Zaroff’s was fair – but that closed too (Chin’s is an insult to my injury). Where else is there?
Oh wait, my mother-in-law said – we have Cecil’s! And so, I heard all about Cecil’s. The set-up was incredible. I was going to love Cecil’s and be hooked. Granted it was all the way in St. Paul – but for me, it was ordered and picked up. I was about to enjoy a Cecil’s feast and I was going to feel right at home in the Twin Cities. Nishkoshe.
After a few months living with the in-laws, we rented a place in Golden Valley. Soon after settling in, Mort’s opened and I was in heaven. Again, right around the corner for me. This will work just fine I thought. The reviews were terrible and the local Jews were not thrilled with the service or the portions. But I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I know how long it sometimes takes for a restaurant to get into its groove. And then I stopped in for breakfast one day. I asked for one of their frozen H&H bagels with lox and cream cheese. The nice, older woman behind the counter was puzzled and finally gave up. “What is a lox?” I gave up too – explaining that it was smoked salmon and then leaving for Einstein Bagels. Oh Mort’s – you had such potential!
So here is my question: Am I just a deli snob or do TC Jew folk just feel undeserving of the real Jewish deli experience?
I do realize that demographics play a part here – that there just aren’t as many Jews to support such an endeavor. But, as evidenced by this website, there is a strong and vibrant Jewish community – one that I feel deserves a real Jewish deli!
Jewish delis are a dying breed for sure and there is no denying that sad fact. But, there still are plenty all over the country – delis that are reinventing themselves to an ever-decreasing Jewish population. In a strip mall in Houston, (yes, Texas) is a Jewish deli that is packed all the time. It’s a huge space and they make all of the traditional favorites. The owner told me that if he relied on Jews to be his #1 demographic, he would have closed after 6 months. How does he do it and why hasn’t anyone succeeded right here in the TC?
Part of me thinks that the Jewish connection to food is a little lackadaisical around here. Perhaps the lack of a real Jewish deli for so long has rendered TC Jew folk satisfied with what remains. Let’s call it pastrami complacency. Does a Jewish deli need Jews to make it successful? If so, how do other ethnic restaurants stay in business?
I might be relatively new here, but I think we can do better. Who’s with me? Any angel investors out there in TC Jew folk land?
While we wait for my Jewish deli fantasy to come true, go make some stuffed cabbage and think about your grandma.
*Please use your judgment on the amounts depending on the size of the cabbage and how much you want to stuff the leaves.
For the stuffed cabbage:
1 large head of cabbage
2 ½ pounds of ground beef – use something like 85/15 or 88/12
1 ½ cups of cooked white rice
1/3 cup of minced onions
1/3 cup of minced green bell peppers
1/3 cup of pureed carrots
2 eggs
¼ cup of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of onion powder
3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
2 tablespoons of Hungarian sweet paprika
1 teaspoon of dry mustard powder
salt to taste
pepper to taste
For the sauce:
1 can of root beer
½ cup ketchup
2 cans of diced tomatoes (with juice)
½ cup of raisins
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/3 cup of light brown sugar
juice of 2 limes
¼ cup of apple cider vinegar
all-purpose flour, if needed to thicken
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1. Wrap the cabbage in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 3 days before use.
2. Boil the head of cabbage and remove the leaves as they soften.
3. Allow the cabbage to cool and dry off.
4. Brown the beef with the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, mustard, salt, and pepper.
5. Cook off the white rice in a separate pot.
6. When the beef is browned, let it cool.
7. Fold the vegetables and eggs into the beef mixture.
8. Fold the cooked rice into the beef mixture.
9. Lay out the cabbage leaves and fill each one with a portion of the beef mixture.
10. Roll the cabbage leaves tightly to seal in the filling.
11. If the leaves are particularly thin you can use two leaves.
12. Line a baking dish with the stuffed cabbage.
13. Add all of the sauce ingredients to a saucepan and being to a boil.
14. Lower the heat and let simmer until it starts to thicken up.
15. Add the flour if necessary.
16. Pour sauce over stuffed cabbage in baking dish.
17. Cover with foil, leaving an opening to vent.
18. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes @ 350 degrees.
19. Enjoy.
(Photo: adactio)
The main problem in the Twin Cities is the wholesale cost of everything from the hot dogs to pastrami.
Our local kosher food distributor charges much more money here than other distributors charge elsewhere, and has done this for years.
When I was in the kosher meat business here, I paid more WHOLESALE for kosher chicken produced in Iowa than Jews paid RETAIL for that same chicken in LA, Denver, St. Louis and NYC.
When my partner told the distributor we would bring in chicken through a Chicago-based distributor, he threatened to drive us out of business by selling kosher chicken in supermarkets across the Twin Cities at a retail price that was less than any wholesale price we could get.
You don’t have a Jewish deli of note here largely because of how the wholesale kosher meat and kosher food industries behave.
Costco, Sam’s Club and Trader Joes have helped limit the extreme price gouging that was the norm in the 1980s and 90s, but the problem still remains.
Add to that problem the fact that Americans eat less red meat now than we did 40 years ago.
And don’t forget that today’s 25-year-old was not raised on deli. I haven’t seen hard statistics but I’d bet deli customers trend significantly older than average.
All of these things make running a deli a risky thing, even in NYC, and that’s why you see so few of them.
You are absolutely right, Mort’s is a sham and a fake when it comes to a real deli, and shmarya is right, the cost of kosher meat is so prohibitive, it is no wonder many younger adults gave up trying to afford being ripped off.
Shmarya – very interesting information.
So if you’re right, it’s basically Jews putting other Jews out of business. And as a result, it’s Jews putting an end to a piece of Jewish culture – the deli.
Obviously, you’re only talking about a true kosher deli – I could live with an authentic kosher-style one, thus bypassing the greedy kosher meat suppliers you mentioned.
I hear you. I live in Marin County, the County in California with the highest percentage of Jews in the state, yet the last “New York” deli in the County that I know of recently closed. At least we have Max’s as compensation, although it’s a chain of restaurants and not a deli.
Jeff,
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I must agree that there are definitely things in Minnesota that us transplants from the coasts find we miss around here.
I do wonder whether Shmarya is right, and whether for those younger American Jews who do not actually keep kosher, a deli is enough of an attraction?
Yes, it is tradition, but once you remove the kashrut consideration and the nostalgia element, is it really all that different from going out for (admittedly really good) sandwiches?
Incidentally, just a note on the recipe for those who tend to run scared from any recipe more complicated than “shake. pour. bake.”:
You can skip the freezing and pre-boiling of the cabbage, and just wrap in fresh cabbage leaves. The leaves soften just fine during baking, and it comes out just as good (some say even better – not as over-cooked).
And if you’re too lazy, you can also skip the minced and pureed vegetables, and just use the meat and rice by themselves (onion is nice, though). The sauce provides enough flavor by itself.
Plus you’re really going to hate me for this one – you can skip pre-browning the meat, and just use the fresh ground beef, mixing it with the rice (and veggies). It will cook through just fine during baking. Just cook it a little bit longer. You do still have to pre-boil the rice, though.
And technically, while we’re at it, you could even skip the baking, and just boil the cabbage rolls. Of course, I’m not sure that’s any easier, really.
And if you *really* want to cut corners (or just have a really bare spice cabinet), you could leave out quite a few of the sauce ingredients without affecting the flavor too much. Just make sure you have enough liquid (compensate with water for anything you take out), and use a good amount of tomato paste or tomato sauce (or ketchup). Salt, pepper or paprika, and onion are definitely good. Everything else is really optional extras to taste, so you can mess with it any way you like.
So don’t ever let a complicated procedure or lack of fancy ingredients stop you from making cabbage rolls (or any other traditional food of your choice)! Anyone (and I mean *anyone*) can make these, with the barest of ingredients.
Just remember – your great-grandma didn’t have Worcestershire sauce or ground ginger in the shtetl anyway! And everything always came out just fine.
Hmm. Now I think I’ve made *myself* hungry…
No more recipe-talk before lunch.
~Jenna
Jenna,
The Jewish deli experience is much more than nostalgia and kosher food. Jewish cooking is just as viable as Mexican or Thai or any other ethnic cuisine. And of course it’s more than just sandwiches. My point is: why not here? Why can other cities make them work and our Twin Cities cannot?
While those who keep kosher might not want to hear this, a damn good pastrami sandwich served in a deli that also serves cheese is still a damn good pastrami sandwich. The cheese at the other end of the deli case doesn’t affect the deliciousness of the meat. There are many kosher-style delis that thrive because they serve a more diverse group of people. I know of several in different American cities who aren’t certified kosher because they just don’t want to deal with the kosher extortion. And I don’t blame them.
And remember, non-Jews appreciate good food too. When I was in New York a couple of weeks ago, I went to a deli to pick up some food and was the only Jew in the place.
I’ll reiterate what I said in my first reply –
If the kosher meat suppliers are to blame, then it’s basically greedy Jews killing a Jewish tradition (delis) for the sake of making money off of another tradition (keeping kosher).
And that’s sad.
Obviously, you’re only talking about a true kosher deli – I could live with an authentic kosher-style one, thus bypassing the greedy kosher meat suppliers you mentioned.
Steve,
The problem is there isn’t any really good kosher style corned beef or pastrami, so a deli owner would have to make his own.
And, as you might guess, that won’t be cheap.
Shmarya,
You hit the nail on the head! A deli that makes its own food and doesn’t have to rely on having it shipped in from various other places.
That’s it!
You want good deli, go to Crossroads Deli. Order the Dr. Stu’s Cabbage Soup and you will think you were transported back to your grandmother’s kitchen. With that soup, order a hot pastrami on rye and make it fatty NOT lean or you might as well order it on white bread with mayo! Also tell them to slice it very thin. When you go there, ask for Kevin and tell him Dr. Stu sent you, it couldn’t hurt???
I happen to like the “Kevin’s Combo”, that’s a very good deli sandwich.
Hey Jeff,
I know it’s been a few days since the last comment…but I gotta weigh-in. Brother’s Deli downtown mpls skyway is so far my favorite TC deli. And of course it’s not Kosher. I found that difficult to find even on my last trip to NYC. We moved here from Studio City and the first thing we missed were our Saturday mornings at Art’s Deli…where every sandwich is a “Work of Art”.