Next Up for the Visiting Kentuckians: Jewish Deli

Rather than making this week all about cheesesteaks, my visitors from western Kentucky and I decided to diversify our dining itinerary. Next up – for lunch Wednesday – was Famous 4th Street Delicatessen, a century old Jewish-style deli in South Philadelphia that is probably the area’s best known and beloved purveyor of pastrami and corned beef. 

Although Famous 4th Street has been around for 100 years, it was purchased in 2005 by Russ Cowan, the closest thing to a Jewish deli guru in these parts. He changed their deli from Philadelphia to New York style. The former is sliced thin and served at room temperature or a little cooler unless requested otherwise. The latter is sliced thicker and generally served warm. While I’ve obviously got some affection and loyalty for Philly, that takes a back seat to what my taste buds tell me. I’ve preferred New York deli style since the first time I tried it at the legendary Katz’s Deli in 1997.

It was reported in the local media a few months ago that Cowan is attempting to sell Famous 4th Street while promising that it will continue to serve the same style of food and that he won’t close it even if a deal doesn’t materialize. He’s also close to opening another deli in South Jersey that must be taking up a lot of his time. With all of that in mind, I was just slightly apprehensive as to whether their standards would show slight signs of slippage going into this meal. That turned out to be a foolish notion. 

I’ve long thought that Famous 4th Street and Hershel’s in the Reading Terminal Market are Philly’s two best Jewish delicatessens. While I probably have a slight preference for the meat at Hershel’s – due in part to the fact that they hand-carve it, à la Katz’s – to get both a top-flight sandwich and an authentic deli experience, one must go to Famous 4th Street. Herschel’s is merely one of many stands at the Terminal. Famous has old-school charm out the wazoo. 

We again managed to arrive early enough to beat the lunch rush, making it a bit easier to snap photos as we were ushered back to our table. Passing by the deli counter along the way planted a seed in my head to return there after our meal to grab a couple things to go. 

The menu is a long one that includes all-day breakfast and full dinners, I only photographed the main sandwich page, but you can see the rest of it here. The prices are high, but they give you massive portions. We spotted an order of corned beef hash on a neighboring table that had to be one of the biggest piles of food I’ve ever seen on one plate. 

Louis, Kyle and I ordered regular-sized pastrami sandwiches on rye. Jimmy opted for corned beef. Sandwiches come with a choice of side and we all went with potato pancakes. 

When it comes to beverages, any good Jewish deli meal should be washed down by a Dr. Brown’s soda. Louis chose root beer, while I had diet black cherry. 

The wait for our sandwiches wasn’t a long one.

They all looked tremendous. Jimmy and Tyler were somewhat stunned by the size of them. This wasn’t Louis’ first meal at a Jewish delicatessen. He ate at Katz’s, but that was over 40 years ago. That’s a long time to go between pastrami sandwiches. 

Jimmy’s corned beef looked excellent, but I had that the last time I visited Famous and wanted to give their pastrami its due. If anything, it’s a little better than their corned beef in terms of flavor. It was moist with a nice fat ratio and tasted fantastic, even if its spices weren’t as powerful as I’ve experienced elsewhere. Sometimes a touch of subtlety works better than being hit over the head. 

Although I’ve eaten entire sandwiches in a single seating at Famous 4th Street, I didn’t have that kind of appetite Wednesday and joined my three companions in finishing only half and taking the rest to go. 

In fact, I was stuffed enough to reconsider doing much in the way of shopping at the deli counter on our way out. I still had a massive half a sandwich to get through. But I did pick up a potato knish for my wife and a couple of their chocolate chip-walnut cookies. Famous’ cookies are probably as beloved as their deli. There are Famous 4th Street Cookie stands at a couple area farmers’ markets, including the Reading Terminal. They’ve been big favorites of mine for many years.

I’ll have one more meal with the visiting Kentuckians to report on Monday, and it will be another change of pace.