Corned Beef Battle of the Midwest

So that whole West Coast v. East Coast pastrami war set off a nice little frenzy of commenting, including that monster from my younger brother. But the most apt one came from Danny Raskin, owner of Manny’s Delicatessen in Chicago, who wrote on my Facebook page “what about midwest??”

Indeed. So often on this site I’m pastrami focused, because that’s what the major deli eating areas (New York, Florida, LA) focus on. But let’s not forget the sweet center of this nation, the glorious Midwest and Great Lakes region, where corned beef is king.

So folks, let’s hear you weigh in. Who holds the title for the finest corned beef in the land. Contenders are:

Detroit: Home of CB maven Sy Ginsberg, The Stage Door Deli, Zingerman’s, Deli Unique, Steve’s and Star

Cleveland: The land of Jack’s, Corky and Lenny’s, and Vienna’s company store

St. Louis: Where the cold corned beef at Protzel’s is still cured in barrels

Chicago: The land of Manny’s, Kaufman’s, The Bagel, Ashkenaz, Eppis Essen, 11 City Diner, and several others

What’s it going to be folks? Where is the beef corniest?