I Had What Sally Had (Almost)

Over the last few months, S and I have been compiling a list of all of the foods and eateries that we are just dying to try. It's affectionately (and creatively) been named The List. Determined to start actually visiting some of the places on The List, we set out on an unbusy Saturday to Katz's Deli, the famed Lower East Side eatery. Home of delicious meats, pickles, and extremely long lines, you may know Katz's by the famed "I'll have what she's having" scene in When Harry Met Sally. While I scouted a seating location, S braved mobbed lines, returning with 2 giant sandwiches for sharing - hot pastrami on rye and a reuben - a bowl of the juiciest pickles I've ever tasted, and a Dr. Brown's Cream Soda. With lots of tables and celebrity photos of the likes of Chris Noth and Bill Clinton dotting the walls, it's a rustic, cafeteria feel serving up fatty, fabulous eats.

 The wall o' meat and weigh station

Hot pastrami and swiss on rye. Add a little mustard and you've got one of the best sandwiches of all time.

The Reuben was completed with saurkraut and Russian dressing. While the flavor was impeccable, the meat itself was a little too chewy for my taste.

Giant juicy pickles that sucked the moisture right out of my mouth 

Pastrami (also known as cured brisket)...yum!

 Guys slicing meat

 Outside Katz's

Bottom Line:
The sandwiches were delicious, with pastrami as the clear winner. Perfectly greasy and flavorful, I'd be hard pressed to find another as yummy. While it was quite a trek to the LES, and the lines were quite long especially at 4pm (not quite lunch, not quite dinner), for a great, giant sandwich with authentic Old New York feel, I highly recommend. And hey, if it's good enough for for a one Mr. Bill Clinton, then it's good enough for me.