He always claimed that a deli, *by definition*, had lots of offerings and menu items. He taught me that it is one of the things that makes a deli, well . . . a deli. It is one of the reasons that it is so hard to create and sustain a deli. So to claim that people have no right to expect Katz’s to serve anything but good pastrami tends to fly in the face of that idea.

If Katz’s can’t be expected to have anything other than one great item like pastrami, perhaps they should stop being a deli and start being a pastrami sandwich shop.

Around Detroit, there are a few ham shops that do just that - sell gut-busting ham sandwiches and maybe ham-bean soup. That’s it. (I know this because I am not Jewish and can eat there without shielding my face.)

But Mr. Richman is right to criticize, and you are off the mark, David, to expect him not to. Either that, or you need to define what a “deli” is at the outset.

You’re absolutely right. All too many delis have a few outstanding items (specialties of the house), some mediocre dishes, and the rest is drek.

Pastrami, knoblewurst, hotdogs, and fries.
The fries were great then, purportedly containing some schmaltz in the oil. I’ve heard that they aren’t so good now.

Sometimes I got fancy and had the pastrami on club. The boiled specials weren’t better than at any other deli.

Did I ever consider having anything else there? I can’t remember for sure, but I doubt it.

And I don’t know why anyone would eat a Gabila’s knish (the square, tasteless mashed heartburn encased in deep fried cardboard) anywhere.

So what’s new, nu?

As someone who runs a deli, I know it’s hard to make sure everything is always good, but it’s not that hard to make sure everything is decent and a lot of stuff is good. It just takes care. Katz’s is a huge place, though, and you might be surprised how careful a place of that size has to be with their costs. Ideally, I think a restaurant, but especially a deli that has to work on tight margins would have to be no more than 30-50 seats to really maintain good to great quality on all items. And you’d have to have someone in charge who not only knows what good is and how to make it, but cares that the food that goes out on the plate is such.

I think that was what Ken and I did when we started out with Kenny & Zuke’s. And I think we mostly succeed in that regard still, despite not being able to see every plate that goes out. But serving 5000 people a week means we screw up now and then. 1 in a 100 bad meals would still be 50 disappointed customers. I can’t imagine what serving the numbers Katz’s does would be like.

About Richman, I’ll only say that he seems to know deli a lot better than pizza. He’s right on the mark with Katz’s.

I am a sucker, though. Every time my wife and I go to NYC (living in DC, it’s at least a couple times/year), I still drag her there, hoping it’ll be different. She adores Schwartz’s but at Katz’s she removes 90% of the meat in the sandwich and leaves just a couple of slices so that it can be bitten and chewed without getting a cramp in her masseters.

In all honesty, I’ve reached the end with Katz’s. Feh.

Yes, Katz’s is probably nothing like it was in 1953, but neither is anything else. Better to have the deli before us rather than a tribute website.