The Avenue Delicatessen

27 N. Lansdowne Ave.
Lansdowne, PA 19050
(610) 622-DELI (3354)
Website

Lansdowne is a town that has started attracting Philly people due to the bang for your buck on property, accessibility to the city via public transit, and the wave of new restaurants opening up. Also known as "West West Philly", there has certainly been a resurgence in the area. The Avenue Deli is part of that wave, and I had to make a voyage there to try the esteemed corned beef.

The inside pairs retro diner with modern coffee shop.

They have a packaged to-go cooler with house made pickles, and various salads and baked goods.

See house pickles below.

The specialty here is Italian Jewish fusion, which apparently takes two of America's favorite comfort foods, and covers them with corned beef (no complaints here). Below are the Reuben fries, hand cut potatoes covered in corned beef, kraut, Swiss, and Thousand Island dressing. The idea is great, sort of a Jewish poutine, and was well composed but unfortunately for me the fries were mostly limp.

The flavors were all spot on and the portion was very generous, with sharp Swiss and creamy Thousand Island smothering the corned beef that had settled in below.

The Reuben also featured the house cured corned beef, and the usual suspects of a Reuben. I may have overdone it by getting both Reuben fries AND sandwich, but I have never been a fan of temperance in any form.

The Reuben sandwich was very good. The corned beef was delicious (though I could have used a bit more), and the bread was perfectly toasted. Although not a towering meat vessel, it still had enough calories to leave me more than satisfied. Also, I had eaten a large amount of the fries, so I was pretty well topped off.

The edges of the sandwich tended to be mostly meat free, which was a shame, as the corned beef melted its savory saltiness throughout the middle. Now, I know this is common practice in the sandwich industry: piling the middle high and displaying the thick stack, while skimping around the edges – but I'd like to think that when I'm spending $14 in the 'burbs I'm getting my money's worth.

The Jewish wedding soup, a riff on Matzo ball soup and Italian wedding soup was a huge disappointment. The broth and everything with it was bland. It was like drinking warm water with a large wet carb-ball floating in it. There was no schmaltz that I could detect, and it was as though they had lost the salt. I didn't eat much more than a couple bites.

The potato latkes were a winner, however, and the perfectly crisped shell housed smooth shredded tubers. They were well seasoned and great dipped into the abundance of sauce that came on the "Amazing Egg Sandwich," below.

The egg sandwich featured fried eggs, broccoli rabe, pork sausage, pickled fresno chili cream cheese, and mozzarella on a seeded Italian loaf. The cream cheese/sauce was heavy on this one, which made it hard to eat. Overall it was pretty good, but as you will see below, the sauce kind of took over. It also lubed the inside ingredients up so they slid right out the back/side with each bite, a personal pet peeve.

The pictures below have not been altered in any way, this is how the sandwich came out.

I had some issues with a couple of the things here, including overdressed sandwiches (unusual complaint for me), only serving the outdoor tables with to-go packaging, though we were obviously eating there, terrible soup, and limp fries, but I did love the corned beef, and the DIY homemade attitude. I wouldn't rush back, but I would certainly eat there again if I were in the area and for some reason the Chipotle in Havertown was closed. Just kidding! (not really.)

Famous 4th Street Delicatessen

38 South 19th Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 568-3271
Website

The Famous 4th Street Deli is one of the landmarks of South(ish) Philadelphia. Politicians, locals, and anyone searching for Philly's answer to the famous delis that are so so overplayed by our pretentious neighbor to the north, seek it out for the over-sized sandwiches and comfort food. I usually hit the South Philly original, but they opened a shop in Center City, and I felt that it was worth a trip to see how it stacked up.

They maintain the same white and black subway tile aesthetic, and the same level of attentive service.

They also provide one of my favorite free starters of all time, a mixed bowl of pickles and vinegar slaw.

The offer a variety of half sour, and sour pickles, the full sour being absolutely delicious. This is a tart, salty treat that will set you up for the gigantic meal you are about to receive.

The whitefish salad is perhaps the best I have ever encountered. At $17, it probably should be, but it will serve two for breakfast. Even I can't eat three pounds of whitefish in one sitting, so it is probably a good idea to split, or be prepared for a significant amount of leftovers. Served with your choice of bagel (everything all day), choice of side (potato latkes), cream cheese, cukes, olives, red onion, tomatoes, and capers, its a serious meal. The whitefish itself is a smokey, chunky, creamy blend that really showcases the quality of their fish. I can't recommend it highly enough. Also, if you have never had whitefish salad, you need to go try it as soon as you can. If you like tuna, be certain you'll love whitefish.

I actually had the rest of mine for dinner the next night. Not too bad at all.

But perhaps more importantly, the pastrami needs to be addressed. The pastrami Reuben is built from the stuff dreams are made of.

Many people love corned beef, as do I, however, pastrami is the end-all in my opinion. Mostly because it IS corned beef, just with an additional step - it's smoked. Famous 4th Street is not stingy with the meat. However, they don't expect you to be stingy with your wallet, as this sandwich will set you back $16. That being said, there are about two pounds of meat on this beefcake, and you can upgrade to the double (zaftig) for another $3. Pastrami, rye, Swiss, kraut, and Russian dressing, make for an amazing sandwich.

Peppery, fatty, salty, smokey, and rich, the pastrami melts in your mouth. It's just perfect. Did I mention, there is a ridiculous amount of smoked meat on this one?

The tangy dressing and sour kraut are two of the best additions that could be made. Swiss adds some creaminess and a bit of nutty flavor, but plays second fiddle.

The macaroni salad is creamy and delicious, and another rich addition to this gut busting, calorie-laden food fest.

I "accidentally" let some of the pastrami fall out to the side of one-half of the sandwich, still leaving a much more than reasonable amount in there, and took it home with me.

I took said pastrami and made some pastrami hash for breakfast. It was delicious.

Overall, Famous 4th Street's is probably my favorite pastrami in the city, and the whitefish is among the best anywhere. Anyone disagree?

Mazaltov!

Kibitz Room

Neighborhood: Rittenhouse Square
1521 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

215-735-7305

A Philadelphia deli is no New York deli. We are so different, deli wise, that I often forget that delis DO serve corned beef and pastrami in other parts of the country/world. Most of the popular delis in Philly are hoagie joints. And unless I had a specific recommendation, I am traditionally not inclined to order corned beef cold-cuts. I have always been a fan of Hershel’s in Reading Terminal Market for my Reubens and admittedly, in Philadelphia at least, I have not been super impressed, nor sought out the best Reuben. When I lived in LA, Canter’s was always the go-to spot, plus they were open 24/7 and didn’t care what kind of shape you were in when you showed up.

Today, in an effort to do something different (and perhaps reminisce), I decided to try out Kibitz Room, which is a new addition to Locust Street, and one I noticed on the aforementioned bike ride to Locust Rendezvous. With little research, I discovered that this Kibitz is apparently not related to Kibitz in the City on 7^th and Chestnut, but rather is affiliated with another Kibitz Room in Jersey. That aside, I decided to give one of these massive meatwiches a go-around.

Upon entering, the employees were more than happy to take our order, and repeatedly asked for it, although we hadn’t yet had a chance to look at the menu. I then located a menu, and he kept asking what I wanted, though I clearly told him I would let him know when I was ready, numerous times. We decided to split a full Reuben, although I am aware most delis give you more when you order one half each than a full together. But considering it was $11 a half and $15 a whole, I was not going to find out this trip. The workers were great with the splitting, and with the order you get one side. We opted for the potato pancake served with a side of sour cream and a side of applesauce.

While walking to a table I stumbled upon the pickle bar. What’s that you say? The pickle bar? YES! The pickle bar. Literally ten FREE pickled side dishes, including (ironically) numerous kinds of pickles (Irony = pickle bar including pickles). Well, THAT certainly takes a piece of my heart. Soon enough, I had already consumed a week’s worth of pickles, and our order was called. So we stand up to grab it. But a lady comes by and tells us she will bring it over. Okay. She also asks if we are splitting, and grabs an extra plate and napkins. We certainly needed both.

The sandwich is served just like you would expect from a good Jewish deli, heaping piles of freshly sliced corned beef, on rye bread with a healthy dose of kraut, and a hearty schmear (yes I said it) of Thousand Island. It came together like a well planned Bar Mitzva. All of the ingredients played off each other seamlessly and it was a perfect (if not sloppy) melding of those involved. The real star for me was the corned beef, tender, yet held together in nice slices, and not overly salty, but maintained the salty tang one would expect from a cured meat. I was all too happy to take any and all scraps that were thrown my way by my lunch-mate. There was an abundance of meat; all of the ingredients were of great quality and served in the right quantity. I was highly pleased, and after a couple of pickles for dessert, I was ready to go back to work/take a nap.