Discovering Vintage New York by Mitch Broder

Author:Mitch Broder
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Globe Pequot
Published: 2013-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

KATZ’S DELICATESSEN

205 E. HOUSTON ST. • NEW YORK, NY 10002

(212) 254-2246 • KATZSDELICATESSEN.COM

The Meat Goes On

Katz’s Delicatessen could sell tickets to get in.

Luckily, it gives the tickets away.

But you still have to take one to enter, and you have to return it to exit. If you don’t, you can never leave, which would have its advantages.

Katz’s preserves a lost tradition like no other place in New York. It’s the tradition of the boisterous cafeteria that feels like home. It offers simple but succulent food at crowded but convivial tables. It’s the Automat without the coin slots, knobs, and windows. Just the ticket.

Katz’s also preserves the tradition of the Lower East Side Jewish deli, of which it was once one of dozens and is now one of one. For many New Yorkers it is headquarters for gastronomical essentials like pastrami, corned beef, salami, frankfurters, matzo ball soup, and kishke.

Among the old Jewish delis of Manhattan, including the Carnegie, Katz’s is, at least in some ways, the most unassuming. Its sandwiches have no special names, unless you call “Katz’s Pastrami” special. Its slogan is “A Delicatessen for 125 Years,” though they change that every April.

It has walls with old photographs of stars like Dom DeLuise and old signs with observations like “Anytime is Cocktail Time.” But it has looks and charm all its own, and those make it one of the old joints that many New Yorkers care about and accept just as it is.

You get your ticket at a little stand just inside the door, usually from a guy who doesn’t seem inclined to discuss it. You’re warned by signs that if you lose it, you’ll owe at least $50. The signs don’t mention imprisonment, but just in case, watch your ticket. You can be served by a waiter or pick up a tray, walk to food stations, and order direct; the ticket accommodates either option. Whichever you choose, your items are marked on the ticket, which is your check. The tickets are printed with prices from 50 cents to $4. Those are nostalgic.

If you want table service, you have to sit at the tables designated for table service. If you don’t want table service, you have to sit at the tables not designated for table service. If you don’t want table service, you have to search for the appropriate food stations. Katz’s not only feeds you but also builds character.

Some people, intentionally or not, take their trays to the table-service tables. They run roughly a fifty-fifty chance of eviction. In the movie When Harry Met Sally . . . , Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are served at a non-service table, but they had poetic license. (Their table is commemorated.)

Once you’re settled at your table, whichever kind it is, you can take time to admire Katz’s many relics. They include the tables themselves, the neon United States, and the dangling disc bearing the better-known slogan send a salami to your boy in the army.

You can talk to strangers, and they’ll probably talk back.

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