I'll have what she's having

When I think of New York, I think pastrami sandwich. Well, of course I think a lot of things, and moreso now, but pastrami sandwich is definitely one of the images I had in my head when I imagined New York. 

Now Katz's Deli is the place to go if you want to really know about pastrami in New York. Katz's Deli on the Lower East Side has been slapping a lot of pastrami between slices of bread and sticking hot dogs in buns since 1888 and has achieved iconic status for their very fine efforts. In fact, Katz's is so popular that each week they serve 10,000 pounds of pastrami, 5,000 pounds of corned beef, 2,000 pounds of salami and 12, 000 hot dogs. That's a lot of meat.

And when you're that popular, why change anything. So they don't. It's old school diner. And the food is simple. And good. 

The pastrami sandwich is exactly that. Pastrami...but better than I have ever tasted: smokey, moist, thick...between two slices of sour dough or rye with mustard and a plate of sour pickle on the side. Perfect.

Popularity also allows for quirky rules around paying. When you enter Katz's, a door attendant gives you a printed, numbered ticket. As you order food from the various stations - sandwiches, drinks, hotdogs etc. - your server writes a running total of the bill which you pay at the cashier's counter on the way out. If the bill is all on one ticket, but each person in your party has been given a ticket, the empty tickets must be handed in also. There is a $50 lost ticket fee to prevent customers from conveniently losing tickets which may have had items on them and failing to pay.

The "send a salami to your boy in the army" catch phrase which came about during World War II when Katz's encouraged families to send a taste of home to the soldiers overseas is still in place today. Katz's has an arrangement with the US postal system to send gift packages to troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Nice.