For our final destination on our whirlwind 7-stop Lower East Side food extravaganza, we went to (where else?) THE FAMOUS Katz’s Deli. It’s been around since 1888, and every few years there is buzz of it shutting down, but I doubt this will ever happen. Not to Katz’s, NEVER! Their website boasts that it’s, “New York’s oldest and best delicatessen.” This is one of the rare occurrences that such a proclamation might actually be true.

To be honest, I was super apprehensive about going in: it was Sunday afternoon, and from my own experiences, that is not the ideal time to go. But we were on a Loisaida Umamiventure, so there was no way we could not represent. Plus, this was Paystyle’s most anticipated stop- can’t let the guy down, can we?

As imagined, we walked in and it was a friggin’ madhouse. You get a ticket at the door, which is essentially your identity within the world of Katz’s. DO NOT LOSE YOUR TICKET! You’ll be charged an outlandish $50 if you do, even if you didn’t eat anything. So staple that ticket onto your forehead if you must- DO NOT LOSE IT!

There’s wait service in the back, but if you want to real deal Katz’s experience, suck it up and get your ass in line. The lines are actually what intimidate me the most- it snakes all around the shop and you’ve got to be super assertive and know exactly what you want. Pastrami, brisket or corned beef? Fatty or lean? On rye? Pickels new or sour? Waaa! There’s an insider club language in here, and if you don’t know it, you’re screwed! Here’s an extensive, informative article from the NY Times about this particular language of the pastrami sandwich, via Todd.

This is probably why I was hesitant about coming into Katz’s- I took my parents here once and I seriously have never felt like a bigger tool of a NYer. Uhhh, what’s a new pickle??? I knew better this time around, thanks to our pickle stop. That’s the charm of NYC- it likes to test you a few times just to make sure you can hang. Bastard.

As you hop from one of the massive sandwich lines to the drinks line (below), your orders are stamped onto your ticket. No Katz’s meal is complete without a Dr. Brown’s celery soda, so make sure to get in the drinks line after you get your sandwich!

Meal of pastrami sandwich, matzo ball soup, a plate of both new and sour pickles, and a Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda.

My corned beef and pastrami sandwich. Yup, you can mix it up into one sandwich. Look at it, it’s a splendid tower of melt-in-your-mouth meat! The yellow mustard and distinct flavors of rye bread is really what makes this sandwich such an original.

Todd: Katz’s is in my opinion the gold standard for corned beef and pastrami, and it was very good that day. It has not been quite as good on other days. The rumor is that there are two key aspects to good pastrami. The first is that it needs to be steamed for quite a while- yes it’s already cooked but the steaming is what is supposed to make it tender and juicy. Steaming takes time and is also supposed to lead to product shrinkage.

The second key aspect is that Katz’s hand slices their meat, which is rumored to be better for flavor. I am not sure, I do think that hand slicing means better trimmed meat, which does make for a better sandwich, less nasty bits. I think Zabar’s makes a good sandwich: they sell made-to-order hot sandwiches, and while machine sliced, the meat is hand-trimmed.

Paystyle: For me, the true gem of the ‘hood, and the highlight of the crawl. Without question the most solid pastrami and corned beef sammys. Forget Carnegie Deli, or even Jerry’s or Canter’s in LA. This is it. One of the few tourist traps that locals also swear by, as do I. Can’t beat a Katz’s pastrami or reuben sammy with a Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda—the perfect pairing!

Thanks to everyone for making it out to this unforgettably hardcore Umamiventure. It was a blast!!! Check out all previous Umamiventures here. Thanks to Christy, Michelle, Jill and Jessie for the pictures. Make sure to join the UM Facebook group to stay updated on all future Umamiventures. Next one will be in the Bay Area- stay tuned!

From the Dumpling House, we started towards Houston Street to make a stop at Russ & Daughters (R&Ds). Full disclosure- I had NEVER stepped foot in this LES “appetizing” institution. SHAMEFUL!!! So this was a huge treat for me- why I never went is a mystery to me.

We walked past the weird bathroom building plopped in the middle of the Allen and Delancey. Do they ever open the actual bathrooms??? I always wonder when I walk by.

According to their awesomely informative website, Joel Russ opened his first shop of salt-cured fish on Orchard Street in the LES in 1914. He had three daughters who eventually joined the business. R&Ds is thought to be the first shop backended with the name “& Daughters.” Wow!!!

Today, R&Ds is on Houston, and their shop is a part of the National Register of Historic Places. Many family members- grand and great-grandchildren of Joel Russ- work there today. It’s a shop selling traditional Jewish smoked fish, schmears, salads, sweets and side dishes. They call this “appetizing.”

Here’s a bit about the concept from their website:
“Appetizing” is a Jewish food tradition that is most typical among American Jews, and it is particularly local to New York and New Yorkers. The word “appetizer” is derived from the Latin “appete,” meaning “to desire, covet, or long for.” Used as a noun, “appetizing” is most easily understood as “the foods one eats with bagels.” Its primary components are a variety of smoked and cured salmon, homemade salads, and cream cheeses… Continue here.

The interior of R&Ds is so delightful! It’s minimal and clean with their white tiled floors and all the fishes/appetizers/schmears are perfectly aligned in sparkling glass cases. Such eye-popping colors!

Caviar, roe, and schmears.

Olives and marinated fish.

Whole smoked trout and fish. Check out the variety!

Portrait of presumably the founder, Joel Russ.

Todd: In the herring and cream sauce department, I think Russ & Daughters is very good, better than the stuff from Zabar’s I bought to compare later (Zabar’s had a metallic aftertaste) . I should compare them against Barney Greenglass, my local area joint which some people think is the gold standard.

Kayoko: The cream and herring, with slices of raw onion, was unlike anything I’ve ever tried. Not unlike the flavors I remember from Sweden, though. I would never think to put these ingredients together, but the onions definitely offset the intensity of the herring.

Paystyle: R&Ds are great at what they do: smoked fish & confections. I always pick up the Turkish apricots when I go.

The “Super Heeb” sandwich: featuring a combo of whitefish and baked salmon salad and a horseradish cream cheese schmear on a bagel topped off with a spoonful of wasabi-infused flying fish roe.

Troy: This certainly made generations of bagel purists roll in their graves, but the kick of the wasabi and the saltiness of the roe added a memorable spark to an already tasty combination.

Kayoko: I had read about his sandwich a year ago in Time Out NY and have been dying to try it since. The combination of wasabi, fish and bagel was a bit bizarre, but ultimately the crunch from the roe added the right bit of zap.

Todd: I thought the sandwich was good, but even though I like wasabi, the whole thing seemed a little bit overdone and too complicated to me.

Troy: I’m salivating right now as I reminisce about this kickass sandwich. OMG. I want that sandwich right now.

Kayoko: Me too. And I love the wrapping it comes in!

Will be back tomorrow for the Grand Fucking Finale: Katz’s Deli. Of course. Check out all previous Umamiventures here. Thanks to my trusty iPhone for all the pictures. Make sure to join the UM Facebook group to stay updated on all future Umamiventures.

From Guss’ Pickles, we walked a few blocks over to Eldridge for one of my favorite spots in the LES- The Dumpling House. They’ve recently renovated since the last time I was here about a year ago, taking over a neighboring storefront to create a space double its original size. It literally used to be a tiny hole-in-the-wall, called “The Dumpling House” (the “Vanessa’s” part must have been tagged on with the renovation), with just a few stools at the counter and a dingy bathroom. There was something charming about that setup, but I was happy to see that business was still booming in their new and improved space.

It was crazy packed when we got there around 1pm- the space was dark and spacious, but the line still snaked around the restaurant. With its new facelift came some sad news: the dumplings which used to be 5 for $1 are now 4 for $1!!!! 4 for $1 is still a spectacular deal though and everyone was excited to get 25 cent dumplings, so I’ll stop complaining now.

They have these huge pans that they use for pan frying about 50 dumplings at once. You’re pretty screwed if you get to the front of the line and they just ran out of dumplings- it means you have to wait until they cook the next batch. The line is super chaotic and long so you just have to be patient here.

The pork dumplings are piping hot and crispy on the outside.

Christy: I always love dumplings, and I think the ones from here were as good as, if not better, than the ones we had in that Flushing shopping mall basement.

Todd: The dumplings were fine, but nothing special. Not worth the crazy line.

I was happy to see that the sesame pancake sandwiches were still the same quality and price, at $2. The lady still makes the sandwich in the window, taking a large sheet of pancake, cutting it down the middle, and stuffing it with beef, duck or chicken, cucumber and carrots.

Customers eagerly await their sandwich. There’s Christy and Troy!

Sesame pancake with beef.

Christy: Matt loved his duck sesame pancake (below)- that was definitely his highlight.

Order of dumplings and pancake sandwich for $3!!!

Payman: Delicious and amazingly priced—the true recession special is here in Chinatown/LES.

Will be back tomorrow for Russ and Daughters. Check out all previous Umamiventures here. Thanks to Christy, Michelle, Jill and Jessie for the pictures. Make sure to join the UM Facebook group to stay updated on all future Umamiventures.

There’s a pickle war in town, did you know? In the Lower East Side, within a two block radius, at that. Well actually, two blocks, and up to Cedurhurst, NY. I had no idea, until Todd, a UM reader who came out with us, gave us a little LES pickle history lesson, which goes a little something like this…

- Izzy Guss opens Guss’ Pickles in the LES in 1920, eventually moving to Orchard Street
- Izzy dies in 1970, family sells the LES business to the Bakers
- In 2001, The Bakers and Leibowitzs (who own United Pickle, the largest wholesaler of pickles on the east coast) allegedly decide to open up a Guss’ together in Cedarhurst, NY
- Alan Kaufman, who worked at Guss’ in the LES, opens up The Pickle Guys around 2002 on Essex Street
- The Bakers, meanwhile, sell their LES Guss’ to Patricia Fairhurst around 2004 (whose son Robert Janin worked for the shop) when the Leibowitzs turned down offer to buy it
- The Leibowitzs claims that they had bought the rights to the Guss empire from the Bakers, and accuses Fairhurst for trademark infringement; Fairhurst files federal lawsuit
- To this day, the Guss’ website solely represents its Cedarhurst location, with no mention of the Orchard Street Guss’. It slyly exclaims on the site, “Imitated but never duplicated!”

Don’t want to oversimplify it, but after reading these NYT articles (here and here) ad infinitum, I think I covered all the bases. Although I have a headache now from trying to understand it all. Please excuse me if I misinterpreted anything, but I think that’s the jist.

So anyway, we stopped in at The Pickle Guys first, and made our way two blocks to Orchard for Guss’ Pickles. Pickle Battle! Thanks to Todd for schooling us on the battle along the way.

When walking into the long and narrow Pickle Guys storefront, you’re greeted by huge red barrels and barrels of all things pickled. Turnips, tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, olives, green beans, the list goes on and on.

“Sour pickle” up top, which has been in brine for a few weeks. Bright green one is the “new pickle,” meaning it’s only been in brine a few days to a week. The third one is the horseradish pickle- I never knew they used so much horseradish in kosher cuisine, but that, I learned, on this crawl.

Okra.

Green beans.

Poster of the LES waaayyyy back in the day. Nope, don’t see the ugly blue building.

Milton, who has been pickling since he was a teenager and has been working at the Pickle Guys since it opened (and also worked at Guss’ with the owner Alan Kaufman), gave us a pickle pep-talk, which was so sweet of him.
We all huddled around him in the front of the store as he explained the history of the pickle (from Eastern Europe), difference between “sour” and “new” pickles (sours are in brine for longer), and the health benefits of drinking the brine (some think it cleanses out your system).

[Todd: In terms of drinking pickle juice, I think that is an old tradition, its got lots of bacteria and the idea is that the bacteria is the kind that is good for you. Its the same concept behind yogurt, in fact it may be the same bacteria, both pickles and yogurt contain lactic acid as a result of the fermentation process.]

I probed Milton a little about Guss’ and why he left to start The Pickle Guys. He keenly swerved the question, but did say that Guss’ was now owned by a “conglomerate” (read: Leibowitz and United Pickle).

I’ll give you everyone’s reactions at the end- first I want to show you Guss’ around the corner. Literally a 5 minute walk. What is so charming about Guss’ is that they literally bring out their barrels INTO the sidewalk, rain or shine. They are closed for Shabbat, as are the Pickle Guys, to keep in line with the Jewish tradition.

Robert Janin, who packed all the pickles the little tupperware could hold, added brine to the top, forced the lid on, put in a plastic bag, spun the top of the bag super tight while simultaneously getting all the air out of it, and knotted it two times. It was amazing to watch him, I wish I got it on video- it was like second nature to him, to pack these pickles.

Mom and owner, Patricia Fairhurst. Holdin’ Orchard Street and the Guss’ tradition down!!!

A blown-up yellowing article about Guss’.
Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the pickles from Guss’!!! But I will say that I enjoyed their spicy pickle immensely. Overall, I would go back to Guss’ for the spicies and the new pickles, which I thought were more flavorful than the Pickle Guys. Here’s what everyone else thought.

Paystyle: I’ve always went to Pickle Guys because I didn’t know about Guss’. I’d say Pickle Guys wins the battle for variety, since they have olives, pickled okra, etc. But Guss’ wins on the standards. Toe-to-toe spicy pickle battle: Gus hands down. Not sure how Guss’ is owned by a corporate conglomerate though like the guy from Pickle Guys was sayin’—seems like some competitive puffery to me.

Alex: The “new” pickles [from Guss'] were delicious and kind of reminded me of a small plate at a Chinese restaurant.

Christy: The “new” pickle from Pickle Guys was tasty as well. The horseradish one was kind of gross. I have a low tolerance for pickled items, but a small amount of pickled beans, okra, etc. is fun.

Todd: Yikes, [the pickle war] is complicated. I think pickles are a natural product and they vary from batch to batch quite a bit and different people have personal preferences as well. I did not detect any consistent difference between The Pickle Guys and Guss’. I’ve been to both place several times, I’ve always liked the service better at Guss’. I myself like new pickles, less salty and still taste like cucumbers. I also liked both the okra and the green beans.

Still Todd: There are many threads on places such as Chowhound arguing whose pickles are better, and some people claiming that Guss’ and The Pickle Guys from time to time use the same supplier. My experience with delis in NY such as Katz’s, Second Avenue etc. is that their pickles are not consistent. When I leave NYC, one of the first things I notice is that the pickles generally become garbage, soft, yellow and tasteless.

The Pickle Guys
49 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002
Tel: 212-656-9739

Guss’ Pickles
85 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
nr. Broome St.
212-334-3616

Will be back soon for Vanessa’s Dumplings (formerly Dumpling House)! Check out all previous Umamiventures here. Thanks to Christy, Michelle, Jill and Jessie for the pictures. Make sure to join the UM Facebook group to stay updated on all future Umamiventures.

The Doughnut Plant is just a few doors down from Kossar’s, so how could we not make a stop? Shamefully, as with many of the stops we made throughout the day, this was my very first time there… EVER. Why do you think I suggested to do this crawl? So many gems down there that I had never been to- after six years in NYC, it was time to explore.

The Doughnut Plant has a delightful history worth sharing. The propieter, Mark Israel’s grandfather was stationed in Paris during WWI and worked in the army’s bakery. Upon returning to the US, he opened his own bakery, and made donuts with his own recipe. Here’s a pic of him, proudly framed in the shop.

Fast forward to 1994 when Israel opens The Doughnut Plant in the basement of the LES Tenement Building, using his grandfather’s donut recipe. How wonderful is that!!! He hustled hard, making donuts by night, delivering them by day.

Today, the Plant resides on Grand Street, and has become a LES mainstay. The love has spread globally, and the Plant now boasts more than a dozen locations in Tokyo, and a new one in Seoul. Ironically, there is only the one in NYC. There’s something comforting in that, though.

FYI, the Tokyo shop makes bagels using Israel’s grandmother’s recipe. He should start that in NYC as well- why not?

The place was super packed when we were there on Sunday around noon.

The menu is divided by yeast and cake doughnuts, the yeast ones being the fluffier version. Had no idea. NO TRANS FAT!!!

Peeking in through the slits, into the kitchen.

There are benches in the window with these wonderfully colorful round rings. I’m reading on their website that Israel’s father handmakes all of them!

Alright, on to the doughnuts. They make such imaginative, quirky-flavored doughnuts, which gets so much love and press.

Todd: Every doughnut I have ever had from the Doughnut Plant has been very good and they deserve their fine reputation. I really liked the Meyer Lemon (below) and Hazelnut ones I had this time. They do get stale very fast. I don’t like buying them from anywhere other than where they are made, they tend to be stale (they have a sizable wholesale business, Zabar’s and Katch coffee among other places).

Meyer lemon cake doughnut.

Cream-filled cake doughnut. Is this the Tres Leches??

PB&J doughnut!

Coconut doughnut.

Introducing the doughnut darling of the day: Creme Brulee.

Christy: I especially enjoyed my creme brulee doughnut, it was so adorably miniature and the crispy sugar on top was a treat.

Kayoko: According to the NYTimes, he handpipes the creme into the doughnut, tops it off with sugar, and then blowtorches it, making the sugar crunchy and a bit burnt. GENIUS!

Here’s my personal favorite: The CHURRO!

The website says that Israel started making the churro in 1999 after a trip to Mexico. Again, genius. They were crispy, not too doughy, perfectly fried. Mmmmm… If I lived near The Plant, I would gain 50 pounds cause I would get this combo above of churro and coffee every morning.

Daniel with his two babies.

But hold up, not everyone was a fan. Paystyle says, “Ehh. I don’t see myself making that a destination. So-so tasting donuts, points for inventive flavors. Truth be told I’d enjoy a fresh glazed Krispy Kreme more.”

As counterpoint, I leave you with wise words from Josh: “Creme Brulee doughnuts forever.”

Make sure to check out the Plant’s website, which is chock full of great information and history. Be back tomorrow for The Pickle Guys! Check out all previous Umamiventures here. Thanks to Christy, Michelle, Jill and Jessie for the pictures. Make sure to join the UM Facebook group to stay updated on all future Umamiventures.

While it was commented by a few that it was a “safe” choice between the three, I think that everyone who showed up would agree that it was an insanely awesome afternoon of walking and cheap eating through a neighborhood that has rapidly gentrified in the last 10 years. This crawl was a tribute to the small Mom-and-Pop shops that have been around since before all the ridiculousness that has moved in (that ugly ass blue building on Norfolk that I blame entirely for killing the music venue Tonic), but are still holdin’ it down.

Henceforth coined the Loisaida Throwback Crawl, 25 of us (whoa- our biggest group ever!) walked around for SEVEN pitstops within a ten block radius. HOLLA! I’ll be posting all the stops daily- here’s our first, the famous Kossar’s Bialys.

The inside was super spacious, and was the perfect place for all of us to meet up. It’s a very sparce, with an open kitchen, the bialys stacked up on wire and wood shelving and a refrigerator stocked with various bialy condiments.

The owner was working the cash register and was kind enough to give us a little history lesson of the bialy and Kossar’s. Been around for nearly 70 years, Kossar’s is definitely an LES institution. It’s been handed around from owner to owner, and while he said that it isn’t as crowded as it used to be, it was a zoo by 11:30am when we were there.

Kossar’s makes both bialys and bagels, and are well-known for both. The main difference between the two is that bagels are boiled, then baked, while bialys go straight into the oven. Also, bialys always have ground onions.

Here’s what their website has to say: “We put just as much care into our bagels as we do our bialys. We hand roll the bagels using the finest ingredients available. Rather than substituting cheaper brown sugar, which eliminates any old-fashioned flavor and texture, we use real malt to bring authenticity back to the bagel. We allow the bagel to proof slowly over a 24-hour period and then we kettle boil each bagel prior to the final baking.”

They hand roll everything, which is so wonderful. The ovens are super old-school and they are proud that they use “little automation.”

I think we were all super curious about their onion disc. Here’s the large one, which was only $2!

Small onion disc with whitefish salad for spreading.

The disc was a bit dry, but nice and crusty. Paystyle says, “Good. I’m not an expert so I can’t say more than that, though I did enjoy the bialys,” which I have to agree with.

Michelle’s bagel:

Alright, that’s it for Kossar’s. Stay tuned for our next stop: The Donut Plant!!

UPDATE- Todd just emailed me with his in-depth thoughts on Kossar’s and bagels. Here it is:
Bialys are in my experience a bit dry–and they are never as tough or chewy as a bagel of equivalent quality.  I sometimes eat fresh bagels plain as is, like a piece of bread–I don’t do that with bialys, too dry.  My speculation is that boiling is not the only difference, I think/suspect that bialys are made with lower gluten flour than bagels.  That also makes sense given that most bagel places do not make bialys, if they used the same dough I believe many more bagel stores would make bialys.

I myself like Kossar’s onion disc/Pletzel better than their bialys, less dry I think and they can be eaten plain.  Or maybe its because Pletzels are really hard to get, so I see them as a special treat.  Kossar’s bialys are very good.  I found a web link about pletzels that you might find interesting.  http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=405

I didn’t think much of the spreads at Kossar’s, very standard commercial stuff.  I think the best spreads are probably the ones from Zabar’s.

In terms of good places to get bagels, Murray’s is good, there are two of them, one on 6th ave and 12th street and the other on 8th avenue and 22nd or so, it seems like they now have separate ownership, need to check them out.  I like Absolute Bagel at 107th and Broadway, quite a few people like their bagels. Absolute is run by a Thai family, and apparently so are several other bagel places in NYC.

A good bagel should be fairly small, with a noticeable hole, a hardish outer crust and a chewy inside, its supposed to be quite chewy.  My orthodontist feared them, bagels were a forbidden food, chewing one can apparently pull off your braces.  Traditionally, they were not a based for sandwiches, they were eaten with butter or cream cheese and perhaps lox with cream cheese, onion and tomato.  When they get bigger and more roll like and are used for sandwiches, a traditionalist would say that they are not a bagel.

Check out all previous Umamiventures here. Thanks to Christy, Michelle, Jill and Jessie for the pictures.