Whether you're a native or newbie to a city sometimes you have to do touristy things just to cross them off the list and legitimately be able to say "been there, did that" the next time someone suggests it. I'm not talking about going up in the Space Needle or visiting the Statue of Liberty. Those are rites of passage. No, I'm talking about the $100 brunch at Pastise (yes, we made that mistake already) or going to a luau in Waikiki, Hawaii (I grew up in Hawaii so I'm exempt from that one). You know the kind of thing that makes you wonder which end of the horse you must hast have fallen off and how hard did you hit your head when you landed. Because if you were in your right mind you would not have done this voluntarily. Right?
However there are the things you do because they are just so damn real that not only will you do them once but you'd go back by yourself and do it again alone. They capture the essence of why you are there. Such as buying fresh seafood from the only saltwater tables in Pike Place Market at Jack's Fish Spot, stopping at a Stuckey's to buy floaty pens on Route 66, or throwing coins in the Trevi Fountain in Rome because John H. Secondari told us so (and you thought it had more to do with Clifton Webb, didn't you?).
Katz Deli is one of those places for me. It reminds of what is so amazing about living in New York. It is a hold-out on a street of hold-outs, such as Yonah Schimmel's Knishery, a block from what can only be referred to as the corner of "here and now" its so hip.(Ludlow and Rivington). It's also, if you didn't already know, the location of the famous fake orgasm scene with Meg Ryan & Billy Crystal in "When Harry Met Sally". And one of those places that you might wonder why you pay to be so abruptly treated. But the moment you look up into the eyes of man who will soon make you the most amazing thing on a plate and say "I'll have a pastrami reuben on rye with a side of mixed pickles" and he puts in front of you a small deli plate with a sample of the meat you are about to eat, there becomes no question in your mind why you love this place. It is without a doubt a very real experience, of true quality and culture that cannot be duplicated. In fact it is The Real Deal.
However there are the things you do because they are just so damn real that not only will you do them once but you'd go back by yourself and do it again alone. They capture the essence of why you are there. Such as buying fresh seafood from the only saltwater tables in Pike Place Market at Jack's Fish Spot, stopping at a Stuckey's to buy floaty pens on Route 66, or throwing coins in the Trevi Fountain in Rome because John H. Secondari told us so (and you thought it had more to do with Clifton Webb, didn't you?).
Katz Deli is one of those places for me. It reminds of what is so amazing about living in New York. It is a hold-out on a street of hold-outs, such as Yonah Schimmel's Knishery, a block from what can only be referred to as the corner of "here and now" its so hip.(Ludlow and Rivington). It's also, if you didn't already know, the location of the famous fake orgasm scene with Meg Ryan & Billy Crystal in "When Harry Met Sally". And one of those places that you might wonder why you pay to be so abruptly treated. But the moment you look up into the eyes of man who will soon make you the most amazing thing on a plate and say "I'll have a pastrami reuben on rye with a side of mixed pickles" and he puts in front of you a small deli plate with a sample of the meat you are about to eat, there becomes no question in your mind why you love this place. It is without a doubt a very real experience, of true quality and culture that cannot be duplicated. In fact it is The Real Deal.
Picture perfect; pastrami reuben on rye, side of mixed pickles and a Dr. Brown's Root Beer
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Fun post. I visited NYC twice this summer and loved it. Enjoy!!
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