Although I don’t like to think of how I eat as a “diet” … sometimes that word just works.
Today, I’m sharing with you a meal I had in New York recently, where I went off the rails completely in exchange for a true New York foodie experience. Was it worth it? Oh yes. Yes, I enjoyed every devilish bite.
As you can see from the picture above, I had a sandwich. Ooooh so crazy, eh? Ha. Well, since I don’t eat wheat these days, it was very different for me. Plus, it wasn’t grass fed. But, a healthy lifestyle goes beyond just food. It involves happy experiences, family, friends, rest, fun, and so much more. And, take note, I always say that when I travel to France (some day), I will enjoy their authentic foods with pleasure in all its wheat filled glory. Same goes for Italy.
How did I choose this enormous sandwich as my food of choice for eating something I hadn’t eaten in years? As some of you know, I’m taking a local (fantastic) 6-month culinary course taught by a highly respected french chef in our area. His resume is amazing and I’m eager to share things I’m learning with you in future posts. He was telling our class one day about a deli that had to be visited if anyone went to NY. My ears perked up and I thought it’d be a fun time.
It’s the famous Katz Delicatessen (you probably know the one, even if you haven’t been. It’s where the famous orgasm-faking scene in When Harry Met Sally takes place – video below). It’s supposed to have the best pastrami in the country. Seriously.
Even though I’ve never had a pastrami sandwich, I was eager to experience it to the fullest while we were in NY. I quickly checked Yelp for reviews which I was happy to see it boasting thousands of reviews with an average of 4-stars. That’s good! So, off we went to Katz Deli for a bigger than life sandwich. When we arrived it was standing room only, not surprising. We waited a good half hour for a table. I perused the simple menu while waiting and was happy to learn they offered tongue sandwiches and a liver dish. I didn’t partake in those because I was really after the authentic pastrami, but it’s still fun to see beef tongue on a menu.
We ordered two sandwiches (they’re huge) to split amongst the three of us. We opted for the basic pastrami, of course, and we also chose the pastrami Rueben. They were delicious as you might imagine. They serve the sandwich with the freshly hand-carved meat so steaming hot that you have to wait for it to cool off. It was really unlike any sandwich I’d ever had. Totally worth it.
In some future posts, I’ll share another experience where I went off my diet for a famous NY dessert, as well as sharing the restaurants where we ate most of our meals in support of our diet. We strategically chose the apartment we rented to put us between two of our favorite restaurants… one with grass fed burgers and another with truly truly truly the best gluten free pizza I’ve ever had. Stay tuned.