Katz's Deli - The Pinnacle of Pastrami

While New York is arguably the epicenter for cuisine in North America, and one can quite literally find every kind of food in the world there, no type of eatery is more iconically New York than the deli (with the lone exception of the deliciously dangerous dirty water street corner hot dog). As such, a massive sandwich at an authentic NY Deli trip was placed on our itinerary, per Kate’s exacting demands.

During my research, two names came to the top of the list: Stage Deli and Katz Deli. Torn between the two pillars of pastrami, I decided to confer with my friend and resident massive sandwich connoisseur Bill (made famous for last years recommendation of Fat Willy’s Rib Shack in Chicago). His response was prompt and to the point: “don’t go to Stage – that’s what tourists from Nebraska do”. Katz, he assured me, was the real deal and Friday’s lunch was settled.

Upon walking into Katz, you are handed a meal ticket and greeted with a rather ominous sign. “Guard that ticket with your life” Bryce sternly warned me pointing to the sign, and it was evident that the security guard at the door meant business. I still can’t deduce the true advantage for these meal tickets as opposed to regular “checks”, but I would posit they are a throwback to several generations ago. I certainly don’t remember seeing these irritating scraps of paper during the Katz Deli scenes in “When Harry Met Sally” or “Donny Brasco”.

The pastrami sandwich at Katz proved worthy of its lofty reputation. Blindingly simple in its construction, the sandwich consisted of a mere three components: pastrami, bread and a touch of deli mustard. But as you often read on this blog, perfection of the simple things are often the best. The pastrami here is carved off in luxuriously thick slabs of warm cured beef (brisket cut by the way), and piled generously high onto soft deli bread. Served warm, the meat is incredibly moist and flavorful, requiring only the slightest touch of mustard to offset the smoky saltiness. Forget about the crap you find in grocery store delis, this is what pastrami was meant to be.

Also adorning my meal were some potato Latkes, which is basically a Yiddish word for potato pancakes. Delicately fried to a golden brown the latkes were a crispy treat with a hint of onion that paired extremely well with the sour cream on the side.

I left Katz topped off for the afternoon, and reinvigorated by just how satisfying the simplest of sandwiches can really be. The only downside on the visit was a sobering reminder of the exorbitant cost of living in New York, when my “ticket” heftily punched out at over twenty five bucks for a sandwich, potatoes and iced tea.

http://www.katzdeli.com/

Thanks to Bryce and Kate for joining me at Katz’s, and waiting patiently while I hoofed it over there after a Subway miscalculation.

Hill Country Barbecue - Texas BBQ in the Big Apple

Shortly after dropping my bags at Dylan’s apartment, my lifelong friend and host for the weekend, we started running down the extensive list of dinner options. To his sheer dumbfounded amazement, I informed him that despite traveling all the way from Texas, I wanted barbecue for the first meal of the trip. Mockingly bemused, Dylan agreed, and to the subway we went. Nothing whets the appetite quite like the effervescent aroma of dank subway platform.

Though it may seem strange while in New York I wanted to get barbecue, if only for comparison sake. I wanted to see if a city that, perhaps arrogantly, claimed mastery of all forms of cooking, could match the muster of the Texas barbecue joints I have come to love so much. Hill Country Barbecue would prove the most apt choice for my trial, as they modeled themselves (quite literally) after the infamous Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas, and claimed to proffer genuine Texas Barbecue.

You can read up on my previous visit to Kreuz Market here:

http://www.pigskinpursuit.com/2009/11/kreuz-control.html

In short, I wanted to hate Hill Country NYC. I wanted to scoff mockingly at New York and their brash arrogance for thinking they could even attempt to pull off proper Texas Barbecue. I wanted to laugh haughtily at the pit master, kick his dog, and tell him there were gas stations in Texas that could smoke circles around him.

But then I tried it. And to my astonishment, it was actually pretty good. Not only passable, but actually decent by Texas standards. You can’t imagine how difficult those words are to type.

I’ll apologize in advance here for the picture quality. I forgot my usual camera on Thursday night and had to resort to the Iphone for documentation.

To be clear, it’s still not as good as the “Best” places in Texas, and I would still gladly prefer the floor scraps at the real Kreuz Market in Lockhart. From an experiential standpoint, there is no comparison to the open smokers and charred brick wall charm of small town Texas meat markets. But the fact that Hill Country was actually decent was far more than I had expected.

The sausage, which they claimed was actually flown in from Kreuz market in Lockhart, proved to be the genuine article. Naturally I opted for the jalapeno cheese variety, and while not quite as smoky, it was otherwise indistinguishable from what you find at Kreuz (pure sausage delight). The ribs were probably the most disappointing of the meal, as they lacked much smokiness and chewed a little hard for me. I don’t think they had spent enough time in the smoker. Finally, the brisket was excellent. It had a generous smoke ring, and a well formed bark. It could have been a bit smokier throughout, but still had notes of smoke and well rendered fat which told me that Hill Country pays more than lip service to proper smoking.

The atmosphere inside is modeled after, and eerily similar to Kreuz Market in Lockhart. Evidently the owner had spent some time in Lockhart, and wanted to recreate that experience for patrons in New York City. The ordering process is the same, as you order your meat at the “smoker” by the pound wrapped up in butcher paper, and then scurry over to another counter for your drinks and sides. They even offer Big Red and Shiner Beer. Finally, there are pictures of the actual Kreuz Market staff adorning the walls of Hill Country, along with old pictures of the Lockhart High School Football team tacked up in the walls of the restrooms.

In the end, it was interesting to fly halfway across the country and find the unique experience of rural Texas Barbecue in a metropolis like New York. While it certainly isn’t quite the same, the juxtaposition of a BBQ joint in a world metropolis is both interesting and tasty to say the least. It’s further proof of the old adage that “you can find anything in the world in New York”.

And I think it was just good enough to convince Dylan to make another pilgrimage down to the promised land to sample the real Kreuz Market first hand…

http://www.hillcountryny.com/

Thanks to my friend Dylan for putting up with my strange barbecue habits even in New York.

Posts are coming....

The New York posts are on their way. Obviously, with the holiday week and some of the extensive travel that I had planned, I'm a little behind. The Thanksgiving trips were amazing, to say the least, so look for those shortly.

Baylor vs Texas A&M - Sic Em' Bears!

Every conference has one. A smaller, private, more academically focused school, that inevitably becomes the beat up little brother to some of the traditional powerhouses in the conference. While they may remain competitive in the Olympic sports, and tend to even out conference graduation rates, in Football these schools are regarded as pencil necked doormats to their larger brethren. In the SEC you have Vanderbilt. Northwestern in the Big Ten, Duke in the ACC, and, until their recent smashmouth revival, Stanford in the Pac 10. In the Big 12 that school is Baylor.

This year, however, things have been different. We’ve seen and uprising of sorts from Baylor this year. As recently as two weeks ago they were leading the Big 12 South Conference, staked a claim on a top 25 ranking, and had slapped around Texas (in the Longhorns own backyard) for their first victory against the Burnt Orange in over 13 years. While they don’t traditionally enjoy the same reputation as some of the big state schools, it’s still Big 12 Football in Texas, and I wanted to make the quick 90 mile trip down to Waco to see what all the fuss was about. In town this weekend was one of Baylor’s longest rivals in Texas A&M, with the “Battle of the Brazos” series dating back to 1899. The Brazos, for you geographically challenged readers, refers to the 90 mile stretch of the Brazos River that separates Waco from College Station.

After getting the hookup on a ticket from one of my favorite Aggie Alums Allison, I barely found my seat before noticing a yellow commotion forming in the tunnel on the opposite end of Floyd Casey Stadium. I was about to be introduced to the unique tradition known as the “Baylor Line”.

After attending “Line Camp” training in the fall, Baylor Freshman are issued a yellow t-shirt and form the backbone of the spirit squad that leads the players onto the field known as the Baylor Line. Prior to the game, these freshman are corralled in the far tunnel and then unleashed, storming across the field like a pack of yellow clad hyenas. They then form the “line” a human gauntlet through which the Baylor Football team runs onto the field. Following the opening ceremonies, the Baylor Line is then herded into their designated spot in the stands, where they serve as the heart of Baylor Bears spirit. While completely new to me, I think the Baylor line is a fantastic tradition for both students and players alike. It’s a phenomenal example of indoctrinating students into the tradition of their program and making them an integral part of the Football experience with their fellow student athletes.

The game turned out to be a tale of two halves. In the first half Baylor came out roaring, propped up by a surprisingly energetic and loud stadium. Led by phenom dual threat quarterback Robert Griffin, who reeled off a seminal 71 yard touchdown run, the Bears were sitting pretty at halftime with a 30-21 lead. The second half, however, was a different story. The enigmatic Aggies finally came alive, continuously feeding the ball to their workhorse Junior running back Cyrus Gray. Gray would explode in the second half, lumbering for three of his four touchdowns on the day alone. The Aggie defense, plagued by the big play in the first half, stiffened up, holding Baylor scoreless in the second frame. All told, it was a formidable comeback for the Aggies, who walked away with a 42-30 victory and their fourth straight win.

At the end of the day, Baylor was a pleasantly surprising gameday experience. While it certainly doesn’t garner the same reputation as the bigger Texas schools, it’s still a program rich in tradition and bursting with pride. The Baylor Line is an especially excellent tradition, and I wish more schools would involve their students on gameday to this extent. If you’re looking to watch some Big 12 quality football, and don’t feel like the hassle of driving all the way to Austin or College Station, Waco is a mere 90 miles from Dallas and a Baylor game would be well worth the visit.

Special thanks to my Aggie friend Allison for finding me an extra ticket to the game, and making the trip down with her now Aggie brother to bring the 12^th man spirit to Baylor.

Michna's Barbecue

Michna’s BBQ came high on the list of BBQ joints recommended in Waco, and given it’s proximity to Floyd Casey Stadium, from a logistical standpoint it made for the perfect pre game meal. While Waco isn’t far enough South on I-35 to get into the renown barbecue triangle of Texas, Michna’s was purported to know their way around a smoker and I was eager to give it a shot.

The barbecue here is served on a buffet if you so choose, which normally raises a red flag for me. However, they also hand slice your order if you prefer, and naturally I bellied up to the counter to get some freshly sliced slabs of brisket, ribs and sausage. Upon request, the lady at counter also carved me off a prized end slice of the alluringly charred briskets and I gleefully scurried over to a table with my prize.

The sausage was a pretty standard affair, it was well spiced and reminiscent of a kielbasa type of seasoning and snap. Both the ribs and brisket though, were heartbreaking for a true barbecue lover. Both were incredibly well cooked, offering deep pinkish smoke rings, well developed crusts and had a robust smoky flavor that had penetrated deep into the meat. I could tell from experience that a deft hand had prepared the protein here, and there is substantial pride in the smoke room at Michna’s. Unfortunately, both meats had spent way too long in the warming box, and were past their prime. They were served at nearly room temperature, and had lost the tender juiciness of fresh barbecue.

In the end I was torn on Michna’s. The barbecue I was served was cold and disappointing. Perhaps it was a function of increased gameday traffic, or simply related to their buffet style of service. Ordinarily, I just wouldn’t return. However, I could tell that this was proficiently smoked fare, and as such I’m inclined to give it another shot. Michna’s has had scores of other highly positive reviews as well, so if you find yourself passing through Waco, it would certainly be worth a pit stop.

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church BBQ

I had to be in Houston on Friday, and while Houston is nowhere close to Baylor, I naturally stopped in for a couple of Barbecue meals and thought they were deserving of review. Since my reviews thus far have eluded the Houston area, I wanted to include them on the blog should you find yourself in the area with an appetite for some barbecue. This was the second joint I hit.

Also known as the “Church of the Holy Smoke”, New Zion Baptist BBQ has earned a famous reputation among Texas barbecue joints given its unique combination of dishing out both religion and smoked meats. Located about an hour north of Houston on I-45 in Huntsville, Texas, the church raises money for their parish by serving BBQ from Thursday through Sunday. Though I had heard mixed reviews about the sheer quality of the cue’, given the compelling story behind the place, I had to pull in for a first hand tasting.

Initially, New Zion Baptist Barbecue held considerable promise. As I approached the ramshackle outbuilding, I was encouraged by a heavy waft of smoke in the air. The black iron barrel smoker is proudly displayed in front of the entrance, with coals visibly glowing away in the fire box. The approach certainly wets the appetite, and I strolled across the creaky floors of the shack eager for a smoky surprise.

Unfortunately, after placing my order and minutes later hearing an audible *DING* from a microwave prior to being served my meal, my expectations quickly dropped. I still don’t know which meat came from the microwave, but it didn’t really matter because they all proved mediocre. The ribs were undercooked and a bit on the chewy side, while the sausage was standard grocery store variety. Neither had the slightest hint of smoke. The brisket was lifeless and gray, and similarly lacked any smokiness that you would have expected from the barrel smoker outside. I was starting to think the smoker was mere ornament, and I was glad to have filled up at Virgie’s and hour earlier.

In the end, you want to love a place like New Zion Baptist. It’s a great story, and certainly one of the more unique venues you could hope to frequent for BBQ. I also salute them as a church for earning income by serving something other than boring spaghetti dinners and pancake breakfasts. As heartwarming as the story is, however, the quality of barbecue is decidedly underwhelming. If you want to pull off the highway, support the church, and enjoy some barbecue in a unique environment, by all means stop in. But temper your expectations for the quality of the meal accordingly.

Virgie's Barbecue - Houston we have liftoff...

I had to be in Houston on Friday, and while Houston is nowhere close to Baylor, I naturally stopped in for a couple of Barbecue meals and thought they were deserving of review. Since my reviews thus far have eluded the Houston area, I wanted to include them on the blog should you find yourself in the area with an appetite for some barbecue. This was the first joint I hit.

Among most Texas Barbecue aficionados, the big cities – both Dallas and Houston, are considered black holes for finding proper Texas cue’. The elite barbecue game is traditionally dominated by the small town Texas markets that dot these rural mainstreets. And as it should be. Unlike Dallas, however, Houston has emerged with a handful of places that have met with approval from the more discerning taste buds of Texas chowhounds. Virgie’s Barbecue is one such establishment, so I anxiously waited in the parking lot tormented by plumes of smoke for 15 minutes before the doors opened for an early 11AM lunch.

Virgie’s is a small shanty in the Northwest corner of Houston, and judging by the prevalence of full sized domestic pickup trucks in the lot, a popular lunchtime spot for work crews. Though they don’t have an open smokeroom inside, the entire restaurant is filled with the enticing aroma of smoke, which delightfully, even permeates the restrooms. Orders are placed from a small counter, and despite craning my neck to catch a glimpse of the pits, I couldn’t get a peek. Were they not so busy I may have requested a tour, but instead I ordered up my usual trifecta of ribs, brisket and sausage.

True to its reputation, Virgie’s is a place that does it right. The sausage was a hot link style, which had a nice peppery heat to it without being overwhelming. My only wish is that places with decent sausage wouldn’t pre-slice their links, as it tends to dry out a bit. The ribs, although on the smaller side, were well cooked and infused with smoke. The brisket slices were meaty, with a perfect pink smoke ring and charred black crust. While they may appear a touch on the fatty side, the brisket was so well cooked that the fat peeled easily away leaving tender bites of moist, smoky beef.

The moral of the story is not to shun Houston from the barbecue world, because evidently there are some “city slickers” in town that know how to smoke some meat. If Virgie’s is any indication, there is some quality cue’ to be had in H-Town, and you should give it a shot next time you find yourself there.

http://www.virgiesbbq.com