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Katz's Delicatessen, a popular Jewish deli on the Lower East Side in New York City, has featured prominently in American popular culture and films such as "When Harry Met Sally"'.

A Jewish deli, also known as a Jewish delicatessen, is a restaurant that serves various traditional dishes of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. Best known for their robust sandwiches, such as pastrami on rye, they also specialize in traditional Jewish diaspora soups, such as matzo ball soup, and other ethnically-rooted dishes. Betraying their roots as retail delicatessens, most also sell a selection of their products, such as sliced meats by the pound, prepared salads, and pickles, and offer take-out.

Like much Jewish cuisine, the emergence of the Jewish deli developed in accordance with local culture. These days, while some delis have full kosher-certification, others operate in a kosher-style, refraining from mixing meat and dairy in the same dish or offering non-kosher animal products such as bacon or shell-fish, despite potentially using non-certified ingredients.[1] Others yet may serve non-Kosher "deli" dishes such as the Reuben sandwich.

Jewish delis feature prominently in Jewish culture, as well as in general American popular culture, particularly in the cities of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles as well as in Canada, especially in Montreal and Toronto. The United Kingdom has also historically been a home to many Jewish delis, especially in the London area.[2][3][4][5][6]

In the United States

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Pastrami sandwich from Katz's Delicatessen, New York City

The origins of the American Jewish delicatessen can be traced to the wave of German immigration to the United States in the mid-1800s. In the decade spanning from 1850 to 1860 nearly one million Germans immigrated to America, both Jews and non-Jews, with 215,000 Germans arriving in the United States in 1854 alone.[7] Some of these immigrants opened storefronts to make a living, and to offer culturally familiar food to other immigrants. Many of the original establishments were inspired by German delikatessens, selling beef frankfurters, sauerkraut, cold cuts, dill pickles and liverwurst.[8]

According to American author and professor Ted Merwin, the deli experienced its most significant growth not during the initial wave of immigration, as commonly assumed, but rather during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. It was during this time that the offspring of Jewish immigrants began to mark their achievements in America by frequenting delis in the theater district, where they indulged in sandwiches and cheesecake. It was the kosher deli that trailed the Jewish community as it dispersed into the city's outer boroughs, serving as a tangible emblem of its members enduring commitment to their cultural heritage.[9]

After the Holocaust, a new Jewish population within the United States would facilitate the reintroduction of these community staples. While upon their arrival many of the post-war Jewish immigrants would work in the meat industry, some business owners would transform their butcher shops into operational delicatessens, something that many modern Americans are likely to be familiar with.[10]

As Jewish delis rose in popularity in New York, they became a bridge between second-generation Jewish immigrants and their origins. They served as a cultural gathering place for the community. Merwin suggests that the Jewish deli became a secular equivalent of the synagogue for a generation of Jews who were no longer as interested in attending religious services.[11] The second generation's increased access to deli meats was a sign of growing success, something their parents would not have been able to afford when first arriving to the United States.[10]

From their roots as an extension of kosher butcher shops, delis often have a long counter and glass cases showing the meats and takeaway food offerings. Delis expanded to have tables and chairs, that being at the center of a case before the New York Supreme Court in 1910 questioning if this made a deli a restaurant. The ruling was that it did not, and that delicatessens come in all shapes and offerings without narrowing them to the definition of a restaurant.[12]

As more Jewish delis opened, there started to be an increase in "Kosher-style" delicatessens, expanding the offerings to strike a balance of the familiar of the cultural foods and the new American tastes and society; some delis going as far as offering the non-kosher foods on separate silverware and on separate dishes.[13] Some "kosher-style" delis would serve Jewish food, but the meat would not be kosher. These delis helped appeal to both Jewish and non-Jewish Patrons for a variety of reasons, including those not wanting to be seen in Kosher establishments, and keeping costs down on product[14].

Since their height in the 1930's, Jewish delis are on the decline. In New York (where there was the highest concentration of delis) there was an estimated 3,000 Jewish Delis[15], and as of 2021 in the same area there are less than 30. [16] This decline is presumed because the cost of running a deli yields increasingly lower returns, it is a labor-intensive job, and immigrant Jewish food being on the decline in cultural popularity. [16] While on the decline, the Jewish deli is not dying out entirely as successful delis have opened in the past 15 years, well outside of previous heights in popularity. [17][18]

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Food portions at Jewish Delis are known for being huge[19], and the menus are extensive, ranging from baked goods, breakfasts, large sandwiches of pickled, smoked, and cured meats, dinner plates, deserts, and more[16].

Picture of a white menu with red text from Katz's Delicatessen, New York City
Menu from Katz's Delicatessen, New York City
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Jewish delis have been featured in many instances of popular media.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "What is Kosher Style?". My Jewish Learning.
  2. ^ "Montreal's Jewish Food Traditions, Mapped". 27 February 2017.
  3. ^ Solomonov, Michael. Israeli Soul.
  4. ^ Marks, Rabbi Gil. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.
  5. ^ The Ratner's Cookbook.
  6. ^ "In St John's Wood, a 79-year-old Jewish Deli has become a culinary status symbol". 13 October 2022.
  7. ^ "The Germans in America". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  8. ^ Lalomia, Felicia (2022-11-02). "The Jewish Deli Is An NYC Icon. Here's How It's Changed". Delish.
  9. ^ "The history of an iconic food in Jewish American culture". NYU Press.
  10. ^ a b "1. According to the Customer's Desire", Pastrami on Rye, New York University Press, pp. 17–52, 2020-12-31, doi:10.18574/nyu/9780814762745.003.0006, ISBN 978-0-8147-6274-5, retrieved 2023-05-08
  11. ^ Merwin, Ted (July 28, 2022). "Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli" (video). youtube.com. Morristown Library.
  12. ^ "COURT IS MYSTIFIED BY DELICATESSEN; Justice Whitney Admits Its Status Is a Hard Problem to Wrestle With". NY Times. 29 April 1910. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  13. ^ Merwin, Ted (5 October 2015). Pastrami on Rye. NYU Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-8147-6031-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  14. ^ "Goldbergers and Cheeseburgers: Food and Particularism among American Jews". Jewcy. 1 June 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  15. ^ "New-York Historical Society Presents "I'll Have What She's Having": The Jewish Deli, an Exhibition Examining the Mouthwatering Origins and Continuing Cultural Significance of the Quintessential New York Cuisine". The New York Historical. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  16. ^ a b c Rossman, Rebecca (10 November 2021). "Will Jewish Delis Survive?". Proof. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  17. ^ "ABOUT - Mike End Deli". Mile End Deli. 26 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Frankel's Delicatessen". Frankel's Delicatessen. 26 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  19. ^ Mariani, John (1991). America Eats Out: an Illustrated History of Restaurants, Taverns, Coffee Shops, Speakeasies, and Other Establishments That Have Fed Us for 30 Years. New York: Morrow. p. 49. ISBN 0-688-09996-3.
  20. ^ Kennedy, Adrienne Katz (2023-05-11). "20 Foods You'll Commonly Find At A Jewish Deli". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  21. ^ "Canter's Deli Order Online". Canter's Deli Order Online. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Katz's Deli Pickup & Delivery Menu - Order for Local Delivery & Pickup". localmenu.katzsdelicatessen.com. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  23. ^ Ontman, Victoria (12 June 2013). "12 NYC Spots Used In Famous Movie Scenes". GuestofaGuest.
  24. ^ Hallemann, Caroline (23 December 2018). "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's Production Designer Takes Us Behind the Scenes of Season 2". Town and Country Magazine. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  25. ^ Klebe, Larisa (11 March 2019). "The Eight Best Jewish Quotes from Broad City's "Lost and Found"". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  26. ^ Galarza, Daniela (18 May 2015). "The Top Ten Food and Restaurant Moments From 'Mad Men,' Ranked". Eater.com. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  27. ^ Dev (29 September 2005). "Mort's Deli Is in the Spotlight". Palisadian Post. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  28. ^ "The Chanukah Song". Genius. 3 December 1994. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  29. ^ Fequiere, Roxanne (26 March 2024). "Homicide: New York Is Dick Wolf's Real-Life Law & Order". Netflix. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  30. ^ Sokol, Tony (27 March 2024). "What Homicide: New York Left Out About the Carnegie Deli Case". Den Of Geek. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Sex and the City - Season 6, Episode 4". Television of Yore. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
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