Second Avenue Deli Closes

I am saddened to learn that the Second Avenue Deli has closed. To my mind, it was the best technically correct kosher non-shomer Shabbos deli in New York City, rivaled only by Futterman's Windsor Park Deli on 73rd Avenue and 215th Street in Queens. The "kosher-style" emporia such as the Carnegie and the Stage were no match for the Second Avenue Deli; their pastrami had too much fat, and was not cured in-house. I remember good times with my brother and with the rest of my family, feasting on pickled green tomatos and acidic coleslaw before the main course arrived.

It will take an entrepreneur who is also a culinary archaeologist to recreate that noble institution. Someday, I hope it will happen.

RIP, Second Avenue Deli.