Arriving from Los Angeles for the third leg of the Great Deli Run, my grandson Ben and I got to Chicago too late for a proper meal, much less a pastrami and Reuben tasting, so after a fast-food dinner and a night’s sleep we were ready for the heaviest slog of all—a three-pastrami day, or for Ben, three Reubens.
We started at Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen in downtown Chicago—clearly well ahead of the Sunday morning crowd who started filling up the place before we left. And we’re back in the land of counter service and no waiters.
Manny’s has all the classic deli sandwiches, along with an unusually wide choice of bread. And a sandwich called, “What Am I, Chopped Liver?” that pairs corned beef with, of course, chopped liver. But the big surprise for me is that Manny’s meat is not only machine-sliced, it’s pre-sliced into steam-table pans for quick assembly. Unfortunately, that also means it lets it dry some, and lose some of the juicy fat.
That said, with the addition of a knish and a potato pancake, it made quite an eye-pleasing platter for Ben’s Reuben, and my soup and half-sandwich as well. The kreplach were excellent, and the rich broth outshone what I had at Canter’s in Los Angeles.
One of the thickest sandwiches of the whole trip, but not the best of the meats.
And, of course, the nostalgia display, with testimonials, reviews and more.
The report…
- Ben: Mannys very good, very large servings, good knish but I think Canter’s was better. Very good latke, sauerkraut was more sour than normal, very nice
- PH: This was the best soup, and the potato pancake had excellent flavor of onion and the frying. The meat lost texture in its thinness, and was drier than I would have liked. A pastrami sandwich shouldn’t leave you with clean hands!
And then, it was time to hit the road to Indianapolis, and Shapiro’s Delicatessen, another lots-of-tables self-service place, just off the Interstate.
On the way in we passed by a large dessert assortment, of which more later…
The sandwiches were heaped quite high, although the bread slices were smaller than most.
We indulged also in a shared slice of strawberry-topped cheesecake. To be honest, while expressing our mutual disappointment with fruit, syrup, whipped topping and even the cheesecake, we finished it.
The report…
- Ben: Shapiro mixed, great Reuben if it didn’t fall apart while I was eating it; bread became soggy very quickly. No half sandwiches, staff were not particularly friendly, cheesecake was covered in fake whipped cream and strawberries covered in strawberry syrup (only the cheesecake part of the cheesecake was good). My favorite part of the meal was drinking the Cel-Ray.
- PH: The pastrami was better than fair, although a little bit lean. But building a tall sandwich on small bread slices is a bad idea.
And here’s where the story goes off the tracks… Leaving Indianapolis, our goal was to make Columbus, Ohio by dinner time and eat at Katzinger’s. But partway there, we ran into an extremely heavy rainstorm which slowed us down and nearly forced us to stop; after it ended, we lost more time while an accident was cleared from the road. Too late for Katzinger’s!
Quickly Googling other pastrami options, we ended up at The Hungarian Butcher, which turned out to be exactly what it says, and not a restaurant at all. Not even a sandwich, despite what a couple of review said. But it did have an amazing aroma of all the many kinds of smoked and sausage-packed meats made on the premises.
But the biggest surprise was that the only pastrami available was… wait for it… marked with a label that said ‘Pig Pastrami,’ although when it was packed for us, it was labeled Pork Pastrami. Either way, quite a surprise! I’ve seen turkey pastrami at supermarket deli counters; veal pastrami is not unknown, but this was new to me.
I warmed some later in a motel microwave; it tasted more like bacon (surprised?) than pastrami and was, like bacon, much fattier. I think it might be best baked on top of a meatloaf or chopped as part of a soup base.
And so we came to what turned out to be our last pastrami-and-Reuben meal, because the next day, Jack’s in Cleveland closed while we were prowling the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Searching again for pastrami, we came across rave reviews for Frenchi’s, and headed there.
Frenchi’s is also not a restaurant, but it does make sandwiches. You’ll notice that every sandwich or dish on the menu board is ‘la’ or ‘le’ or ‘les.’ Frenchi, seen from behind in the picture is Le Chef, and il est un Français. He’s from a little south of Paris, ended up in New York, where he met his first corned beef in a bodega and fell in love with it. And he wants you to taste it and love it.
His corned beef and pastrami are house-finished and delicious. When Ben told him about our quest, he told us he was up to the competition, but wanted Ben to try the Reuben his way—which turned out to include pepper jack cheese and banana peppers. I passed up any variations from my pastrami and mustard. And yes, in Columbus, Ohio, there are people who put mayonnaise on pastrami and corned beef. Still not one of them!
While Frenchi was making the sandwiches—thin-sliced, by the way—I noticed a case of obviously house-made pastries, and in particular an assortment of nearly ball-shaped donuts. For size, think Dunkin Donut Holes on steroids. There was no choice; we had to have them. One with a caramel cream filling, and the other with an obviously house-made berry jam that was, that was, just incredible.
The report…
- Ben: Frenchi’s is incredible, very pleased with the quality of the pastrami and corned beef. The bread being soggy was a worry of mine but it was completely contained by the disposable wrap around my Reuben, which helped to keep my sandwich held together. The donuts were incredible, and the jam donut particularly had a very high quality compared to the others I’ve had. The store owner was very nice and polite, and clearly has a passion for what he’s doing.
- PH: A very nice sandwich, and just fine for the moment. Not at the top of pastrami world, but I wasn’t expecting that. I also wasn’t expecting to be completely knocked off my feet by the wornderful not-too-sweet rich flavor donuts. It’s possible to fill so-so donuts with great filling, or great donuts with meh filling, but great donuts with great filling—well, that might be worth a trip back to Columbus…
And, in fact, there’s every reason to go back to some places, not only for the missed opportunities like Jack’s and Katzinger’s, but even—sorry, Ben—Los Angeles, for another meal at Langer’s. And then there’s Schwarz’s in Montreal, Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, and… and that’s without even touching a possible tour of New York City competitors. Stay tuned…
The fact that it is a bad idea to make a tall sandwich with small pieces of bread is perfectly illustrated by the photo. Your comment made me laugh!