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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

'I'll Have What She's Having', at Katz's Deli

Katz's Deli, NYC
Photo by myself outside Katz's Deli, on Ludlow and Houston Streets, on the Lower East Side.

Katz's Deli, or simply Katz's, is a landmark on the Lower East Side. They serve up Jewish kosher food, and their sandwiches are gigantic.

Meg Ryan faked her famous orgasm there in the movie When Harry Met Sally. Yep.

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Just after the recent snowstorm, Mark and I drove by Katz's Deli to swoop up one of their signature giant Reuben sandwiches and a some mushroom barley soup. With snow comes cravings for comfort food.

Mark waited in the car with our dog Rupert, as I made the dash into the place. I'd been there a couple times but wasn't prepared for what I found, which was complete mayhem.

Katz's is wildly popular, and their set-up inside is different. You stand on line to receive a ticket, then you choose among several lines for what type of food you want, whether it be solid or liquid or whatever.

A hot dog? Go to the hot dog line. A gigantic sandwich? You stand in the gigantic sandwich line. Want to pay and leave? There's a line for that, too.

Inside Katz's Deli, NYC
At the pay and leave line, folks were looking at the sandwiches offered.

Inside Katz's Deli, NYC
'Send a salami to your boy in the army' was a slogan used at Katz's.

Inside Katz's Deli, NYC
The hot dog line was a bit more reasonable.

It was seriously so nuts, I had to leave without getting anything. But I did manage to take a few photos, after asking the employees for permission.

Here's a clip of that famous scene from When Harry Met Sally. You know the one.


Related posts: Russ and Daughters, Lower East Side, Cold Noodles and Hot Shows and The Oyster Bar, at Grand Central Station.

8 comments:

Olivier said...

THE célèbre deli, en plus on y mange bien, mais c'est vrai qu'il y a beaucoup de monde. Mais pour manger de la nourriture de l'Est, je préfère aller dans little odessa. Belles photos b&w, surtout celle de la foule, j'adore

Fredrik said...

Great picture. Looks really crowded. What are they looking at?

Kitty said...

Hi Olivier
Yes, it's the deli of delis, lol. I'm sure I've been to Little Odessa, but I don't recall the interior. I'll have to swing by!

I like Veselka too, a Ukranian place on 2nd Avenue and 9th Street.

Hi Fredrik
It was insane. I think the people in line to pay were looking at the sandwich sign.

Fashion Schlub said...

ahh, the food sounds wonderful but I also do not do well w complicated ordering systems like that - one line for this, another for that. I probably would have left, too!

Ken Mac said...

great shot of one of my face places in manhattan.

re the shot or "recovery," you are fearless

Louis la Vache said...

Next time you stop there, please get a Pastrami for «Louis» and e-mail it to him, willya?!

David Wilton said...

I like Katz, but no way it's kosher. Maybe 50 years ago. But these days they don't bother too much with the added trouble and expense. The other odd thing is that it's almost entirely staffed by Puerto Ricans behind the counter. Still love it.

Anonymous said...

Never been in here but passed by here the other day on the way to the vet's.

Paz