We are down to our last few days in NYC, and have walked past this famous NYC institution dozens of times as it's only 4 blocks from our apartment. We're always a bit wary of the high profile landmarks, as they attract lots of tourists which tends to result in poor service and overpriced food. We finally decided to check it out.
It has been going since 1888, back when the LES was a Jewish enclave. While most have since left to other parts of the city, a few remnants of the Jewish culture remain.
First of all, the place is massive, you walk in and the counter runs along one entire side of the room. The back wall is covered with hanging salamis, and the other wall is covered with pictures of famous people who have visited over the years.
Katz is best known for their meat sandwiches, especially their pastrami. The sandwiches are huge, probably 100mm high and stacked full of juicy, tender meat. Other than bread, mustard, pastrami and the obligatory whole pickle, that's all it is. But man is it good. It's probably the best pastrami I've had (although the bulk of my previous pastrami experience originates in Coles/Woolies deli). The pastrami juices partially soak the bread, and with a side of creamy coleslaw it makes for a mean traditional Jewish-American meal.
We were bracing ourselves for a long wait, but we got straight in at 7pm on a Sunday night, and were eating 10 minutes later. It's also featured in some movie that I'm too young to have seen, supposedly had Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in it or something. Definitely worth the visit.
We visited Rockaway beach a few days ago, it's on the Atlantic coast near JFK airport, about an hour's subway ride from Manhattan.We had heard about an awesome taco place there, so I thought a quick follow up to Ottos was in order.
While the neighborhood itself is somewhat rogue, the beach is nice, and an added bonus for planespotters is that jets fly low overhead every few minutes.
This area was heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy a few years ago, and the remnants of the destruction can still be seen. Large stretches of the boardwalk on the beach its still yet to be replaced, and many buildings on the beachfront sit vacant and boarded up.
There is however this little taco place called Rockaway taco, a few streets back from the beach. Like much of Rockaway beach, the place is pretty rustic, in fact it wouldn't look out of place on a beach in Mexico. The decor is 'klepto-ecletic' with surf boards, driftwood and other beach detritus featuring prominently.
We were informed that you had to try the fish tacos, so we got 2 fish and 2 chorizo, along with some elote and pineapple juice.
Elote is this epic Mexican grilled corn smothered in sour cream, cheese and paprika. It is really good, but also really hard to eat without making a mess. Inevitably you end up with sour cream covering your mouth and hands, and your teeth full of corn.
The fish is deep fried and served with cabbage and radish, with a sour cream sauce. The chorizo is in a chipotle sauce and packs a punch. The fish is the pick of the tacos - light and fresh with the raw veggies balancing the creamy sauce and perfectly fried fish.
Its definitely worth the trip from Manhattan, if only for the tacos. Everyone knows about Coney Island, but I didn't realise there was another nice beach so easily accessible from the city. And at $5 for the return trip, its about the best value you can get on the subway as it right at the end of the line.
