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Carnegie Deli’s back after a 10-year absence — and not a New York Minute too soon.
Historic West Midtown without pastrami on rye was like a ballpark without hot dogs. Starbucks and contemporary eateries like Locanda Verde and high-end chocolate shop Laderach have none of Carnegie Deli’s pickle-barrel aura.
I didn’t much care when the Carnegie shut down a decade ago. It was popular mainly with schmaltz-loving tourists who wouldn’t know pastrami from prosecco.
But its surprise revival this month at 834 Seventh Ave. — once the site of its longtime rival the Stage Deli, which closed in 2012 — means a helluva lot more now. It puts a little bit of old-time magic back in fast-changing West Midtown, which needs all the retro vibe it can get.
Owner Sarri Harper looked for a new location to reopen for years. (Carnegie Deli products were available only online and at sports venues). It was only a “twist of fate” they ended up at the old Stage location, her spokesperson said.
The reborn Carnegie Deli has better pastrami and chicken soup than its predecessor did. Service by friendly waitresses is a big improvement over the crusty “whaddya have” of yore.
It all happens amidst vintage, “Wall of Fame” photos of showbiz stars that recall the films and TV shows shot at the original Carnegie like “Broadway Danny Rose.” There’s thankfully no music of the cliched “New York, New York” school, but jazz standards like Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” and numerous Miles Davis classics.
They’re sweet notes for Seventh Avenue in the 50s that’s still recovering from COVID-19. The former Wellington Hotel is being demolished for a fancy new inn. Restaurants such as Petrossian, Redeye Grill, Rosie O’Grady’s and Molyvos are gone.
The Carnegie revival — not to be confused with unrelated Midtown places called Carnegie Diner — could have been a fake-nostalgia stinker. The original Carnegie Deli sign over the entrance and the wall photos would mean zip if the food poorly channeled the past.
But Carnegie Deli dishes, which flow from a fun-to-watch open counter, aren’t the same as they were, but better.
It took a T-Rex to get its jaws around Carnegie’s signature, four-inch-tall pastrami on rye sandwich ($29). It still does, but I tried my best. The warm, juice-oozing, spiced and house-brined cut known as beef navel is thinner sliced and tastier than I remember. Four inches thick (not including the bread!) were perhaps a half-inch too many. Pastrami needs fat to be tasty but it had a little too much both times I tried it.
Homemade chicken soup with matzo balls and golden noodles was as hearty as “Jewish penicillin” ought to be. Three thick, spicy and juicy chicken sausages are a ridiculous bargain for just $9. The menu also has Reubens, corned beef, all-day breakfast dishes, noshes, hot dogs and burgers.
Pastrami is hardly scarce in the Big Apple. It’s everywhere from the Second Avenue Deli to Katz’s of “When Harry Met Sally” fame and a million others. There are fancy riffs as well. Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue offers short rib on the bone smoked Texas-style. There’s boneless pastrami suya at Nigerian-inspired Tatiana at Lincoln Center.
But there’s nothing like eating the artery-clogging original on its home turf. Just remember to open wide.
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