“There are two kinds of people in this world: people who love delis, and people you shouldn’t associate with.” - Damon Runyon 

This is a small sampling of some of the most famous New York Jewish delis, food stores, and their mavens, past and present. I couldn’t possibly include everyone, so my advance apologies if I’ve left out any of your favorites. There are no paid endorsements here, just my own research and photos.

Let’s start where it all began: The Lower East Side

The first true delicatessen in the city was opened in 1888 on Ludlow Street, operated by Morris and Hyman Iceland. Willy Katz and his cousin Benny bought them out 1910, and Katz’s Delicatessen was born. It remains the oldest operating deli in the city, and has barely changed since then. It still uses a “meal ticket” system (take your ticket when you enter and don’t dare lose it! The staff scribbles on it, and it becomes your bill.) At Katz’s you can walk right up to the counter and tell your “cutter” (meat slicer) exactly how you want your sandwich. He’ll expertly prepare it for you, slipping you a little taste (especially if you’ve stuffed a tip into his jar). New York magazine declared Katz’s “a shrine, the soul of American Jewish culture.” 205 East Houston Street at Ludlow Street. katzsdelicatessen.com.

Polish immigrant Joel Russ opened Russ & Daughters Appetizers in 1914. Russ’s three daughters, Hattie, Ida and Anne (pictured above with daddy Joel), worked at the store, and in 1935 he made them full partners, creating the first business in the country to have “& Daughters” in its name, instead of the usual “& Sons”. These women were soon billed as “The Queens of Lake Sturgeon.” In 1979, Anne’s son Mark Russ Federman and his wife Maria took the reins. Today Joel Russ’s great-grandchildren Nikki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper are in charge, making sure that the remarkably fresh fish and other Jewish delicacies continue to satisfy their loyal customers. 179 East Houston Street, between Orchard and Allen Streets. russanddaughters.com

Yonah Schimmel’s Knishery is one of the few businesses remaining from the original Jewish settlement of the Lower East Side. Yonah, a Romanian immigrant, started selling knishes (potato- and kasha-filled dumplings) from a pushcart in 1890. He and his cousin opened the store in 1910. The place has been family owned and operated since its inception, and is currently run by Alex Wolfman, Yonah’s great nephew. The antique display case, filled with tempting, hand-made knishes of all kinds, is a sight you won’t soon forget. Yonah’s also offers cheese knishes, each one generously stuffed with cream cheese and fruit. 137 East Houston Street, between Forsyth and Eldridge Streets. knishery.com

You just can’t walk by a store with a neon sign proclaiming “Hot Bialys” and not go inside, especially if it’s the last old-school bialy baker in the city. Founded by Morris Kossar and Isadore Mirsky in 1936, Kossar’s Bialys has changed locations and ownership several times over the decades, but one thing hasn’t changed: their dedication to the nearly-lost art of bialy baking, using the same recipe for over 80 years. If you think a bialy is just a flattened bagel, think again. Softer, lighter and chewier than bagels, with an oniony or garlicy “dimple” instead of a hole, bialys are baked, not boiled like bagels, and are best eaten warm. Yeah, they sell bagels too. 367 Grand Street near Essex Street. kossars.com

By the 1920s Essex Street was known as “Pickle Alley,” with more than 80 pickle vendors selling their wares from open barrels. They’re all gone now, except for one, operated by Alan Kaufman (a veteran Essex Street pickler), with his partners William Soo and Michael Chu. They’re known as The Pickle Guys, and their bright, modern corner shop is filled with open barrels containing a huge variety of new, sour and extra-sour pickles, as well as pickled vegetables and fruits. During a recent visit I asked if I could take a picture. Alan told me “Sure, you can take that one there,” pointing to a framed picture on the wall. You need a sense of humor to be a pickler. 357 Grand Street at Essex Street. pickleguys.com

The Lower East Side once had more than 50 candy shops. Now there’s only Economy Candy, the oldest candy store in the city. It’s one of those unique places where you’re jettisoned through a time warp back to your grandparents’ world. One can imagine founder Morris “Moishe” Cohen standing outside next to sacks full of sweet treats. The store is now run by third-generation Mitchell and Skye Cohen. If you’ve got a favorite childhood candy, like Turkish Taffy or Tootsie Rolls (both invented in NYC), Pixy Stix, Pop Rocks or Pez, you’ll find them here, along with a slew of penny candies, chocolate-covered grahams, fresh Halvah, and dried fruits and nuts. It’s a happy, happy place. 108 Rivington Street, between Ludlow and Essex Streets. economycandy.com (For more, see the Candy chapter.)

Many Jewish pushcart vendors plied their wares in the Lower East Side at the turn of the century, in what journalist Jacob Riis called “the pig market.” In 1938 Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia declared a “war on pushcarts,” building indoor markets where vendors were required to take their businesses. In 1940, Essex Street Market opened with 425 vendors paying $4.25 a week to rent stalls. Over the years, as the neighborhood population shrank and supermarkets became popular, the number of vendors decreased to just 59. The situation looked hopeless. But in 2019 a dazzling, enlarged Essex Market was unveiled on the bottom two floors of a glitzy high-rise across the street. What it lacks in sentimental decrepitude is overridden by its spacious and clean surroundings. Many of the former vendors of the old market are here, and new sellers and restaurants have come on board. There are butchers, fishmongers, bakeries, groceries, and ethnic food shops galore. The graffiti-adorned shell of the old market remains one block north. 88 Essex Street, running from Broome to Delancy Streets. essexmarket.nyc

Let’s head up to 2nd Avenue in the East Village, known as “The Yiddish Rialto”: 

If you look up the word “mensch” in the dictionary, it should have Abe Lebewohl’s picture next to it (like the one above.) It means “a person of honor and integrity,” and that was Abe. He bought a 10-seat luncheonette on East 10th Street in 1954, and turned it into the world-class 2nd Avenue Deli. Abe celebrated the heritage of the old “Yiddish Rialto” with a Walk of Fame on the sidewalk featuring the stars of the Jewish stages (it’s still there). He created busts of famous people sculpted out of chopped liver. On the deli’s 20th Anniversary in 1974 he rolled back the prices to 1954. When the gas shortage hit, he replaced his delivery van with a horse and buggy. Unfortunately, Abe Lebewohl was senselessly murdered in broad daylight in 1996, a crime that remains unsolved. The entire city mourned his passing. Today, the original deli location is now a bank (don’t we need more of those?) There are two newer 2nd Avenue Deli locations further uptown, run by Abe’s nephews Josh and Jeremy. 162 East 33rd Street near 3rd Avenue and 1442 First Avenue at 75th Street. 2ndavedeli.com.

If you take the initials of Abie Bergson and Jack Heller, you get B and H, as in B&H Dairy, the shoebox-sized enclave of goodness in the heart of the East Village. When they opened in 1937 the stars of the Yiddish theaters frequented B&H for their amazing breakfasts, challah, vegetarian cutlets, and other kosher dairy delights. Today B&H is run by Fawzy Abdelwahed, an Egyptian Muslim, and his wife Aleksandra (Ola), a Polish Catholic (welcome to New York!) Try their pierogi, blintzes and latkes; their wonderful soup offerings are changed daily. If you leave a generous tip, you’ll hear the staff cry out “Jumbo Jockey!” The intimate atmosphere here fosters a warm sense of community. When a huge gas explosion occurred on the block in 2015, the restaurant had to continue paying rent for the many months it was closed. An online funding page was set up with the improbable goal of raising $20,000. It was met in less than 3 weeks. As Ola says, “We’re a small place, but the heart, it’s so much bigger than the restaurant.” 127 Second Avenue near St. Mark’s Place.

Gone but not forgotten: When Jacob Harmatz and his brother-in-law Alex Ratner opened a kosher dairy restaurant in 1905, they flipped a coin to determine who’s name would be on the sign. You know who won. Ratner’s is a fond memory for many New Yorkers. Their two locations on Delancey Street and 2nd Avenue served 1200 meals a day, and attracted the famous and infamous, such as Fanny Brice, Groucho Marx, and gangster Meyer Lansky, who ate there so often he demanded his own room (and got it.) Everyone loved Ratner’s famous onion rolls (served at every table) and their matzo brei, gefilte fish and borscht, staples of the kosher dairy diet. Ratner’s was located right next door to Bill Graham’s Fillmore East, and rock fans will remember (if they can) raucous evenings of Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix followed by plates of blintzes and potato pancakes at Ratner’s. Today the location is a supermarket; the Fillmore entrance was in the brick building next to it. 111 2nd Avenue near East 6th Street.

The current war on Ukraine has inspired many New Yorkers to seek ways to support the embattled country. Here are three excellent places, all close to each other, to show your solidarity:

By the dawn of the 20th century a large number of Ukrainians had arrived in New York, many settling in the East Village. In 1954, one named Wlodymar Darmochal established a small newsstand and candy store on 2nd Avenue, combining it with a tiny luncheonette next door. He called it Veselka, meaning “rainbow” in Ukrainian, and offered a simple menu of sandwiches, soups and egg creams. His small eatery attracted local Jews, Poles and fellow Ukrainians who loved Eastern European food. As the area transitioned into a counterculture mecca, second-generation owner Tom Birchard and his son Jason transformed the tiny shop into a beloved neighborhood fixture. It became an expanded, thriving restaurant attracting young and old alike, serving 3,000 pierogies a day and 5,000 gallons of borscht a week. 144 2nd Avenue at East 9th Street. veselka.com

Near Veselka stands an imposing building labeled “Ukrainian National Home.” Its metal-clad exterior hides its 200-year history. Walk down the long hall inside and you’ll see a windowed building-within-a-building, with a neon sign proclaiming Ukrainian East Village Restaurant. Walk right in. The ambiance is “grandma’s house,” the waitstaff is extremely welcoming, and the menu is quite unlike any you’ve seen: krokety (a pancake stuffed with mushrooms), salat olivier (potato, egg, and bologna), halusky (potato dumplings), and letcho (Hungarian goulash). For the less adventurous, there are many flavors of pierogies, blintzes and soups, and their famous potato pancakes. 140 2nd Avenue near 9th Street.

Another Ukrainian adventure lies across the street: East Village Meat Market. The “J. Baczynsky,” on the sign is Julian Baczynsky, who was raised on the Ukraine/Poland border, and started the butcher shop in 1970 in order to recreate the meats of his childhood. The market features cured hams, sausages, mustards, stuffed cabbage, and kielbasa guaranteed to thrill. From time to time they offer a “Pierogi Bar,” where different flavors of the stuffed dumplings can be mixed with various toppings, a real treat. Mr. Baczynsky passed away in 2001 at the age of 98. The shop is now run by his manager Andrew Ilnicki. 139 2nd Avenue near 9th Street. eastvillagemeatmarket.com

And over in Brooklyn:

There had been a diner run by the Rosen family at the intersection of DeKalb and Flatbush Avenues since 1929. Its proximity to the theaters, department stores and municipal buildings guaranteed steady business. In 1950, Harry Rosen reinvented it as a family-style deli/restaurant and renamed it Junior’s, after his two sons, Walter and Martin. Harry perfected the Rosen family’s secret recipe for cheesecake, which has since come to be known as “The World’s Most Fabulous Cheesecake.” When a fire threatened to destroy Junior’s in 1981, a huge crowd gathered and chanted, “Save the cheesecake!” Thankfully, they did. Harry’s grandson Alan Rosen now runs this popular joint with the red-striped awnings. It has a classic Brooklyn vibe...and an authentic Egg Cream. 386 Flatbush Avenue EXT. juniorscheesecake.com

Gone but not forgotten: the mighty delis of the Theater District:

When the theaters moved uptown, their Jewish writers, songsters, producers and actors were served by a galaxy of vibrant eateries. Glitzy and glamorous, with oversized menus, window displays of food, and brash neon signs, these delis were populated by a mix of both successful and down-on-their-luck actors, agents, gangsters and card players. The exuberant atmosphere of these eateries proved that Jews had finally “made it” in America.

Perhaps the most famous delicatessen impresario was Arnold Reuben, a German immigrant who first opened a deli on Park Avenue in 1908. Thirty years after he began, he finally hit it big on East 58th Street. At the opening of the new Reuben’s, Arnold literally threw away the key, since the restaurant would be open 24 hours a day. With its stunning neon Art Deco exterior, famously grouchy waiters, and dozens of sandwiches named for celebrities, the tourists, stars and socialites flocked to Reuben’s for after theater and early morning noshing. Contrary to popular belief, Arnold Reuben did not invent the reuben sandwich; that honor goes to Reuben Kulakovsky, who created it for his Omaha poker buddies in 1922. Reuben’s closed in 1965, and Arnold passed away six years later.

Reuben’s biggest competitor was Lindy’s, owned by another German immigrant, Leo Lindeman. Operating two locations on Broadway at 49th and 51st, Lindy’s was the most “showbiz style” of the famous delis. Leo would attend opening nights so the stars would patronize his restaurants. Al Jolson would invite his entire audience to Lindy’s for a post-theater pastrami sandwich. Gangster Arnold Rothstein did all his business at Lindy’s, controlling the city’s underworld and fixing the 1919 “Black Sox” World Series from his table. But perhaps the most famous Lindy’s legend was its waiters: snooty former actors who were obnoxious, sarcastic and resentful. Some of them planned to write a book entitled “I’ve Waited Long Enough.” The customers considered it an honor to be insulted by them.

If you think a comedian would be the perfect person to run a deli, you’d be right. Brash, rotund Max Asnas (shown above with Jimmy Durante) was an immigrant from Russia. He waddled around his Stage Delicatessen delivering his shtick in a gravelly Yiddish accent for over three decades. Called “The Sage of the Stage” and “Corned Beef Confucius,” he was known for his quick comebacks and withering insults. When a customer complained that a waiter had spilled mustard on his expensive coat, Max retorted, “You think this is cheap mustard?” He opened the Stage on 7th Avenue and 54th Street in 1937, and it quickly became known as “the place where celebrities go to look at people.” The “philosopher, comedian, psychoanalyst and pastrami pundit” died two years after he sold the Stage in 1968. The famous deli continued on until its demise in 2012.

The Stage’s biggest competitor opened the same year one block away. The Carnegie Deli was a “destination deli,” attracting scores of tourists, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who lined up to have a “taste of New York.” Clearly non-kosher, with quantity more important than quality, the Carnegie’s motto was “If you can finish your meal, we’ve done something wrong.” The co-owners were Leo Steiner (shown above), who worked the crowd, and Milton Parker, who toiled behind the scenes. Leo Steiner became the public face of Jewish food nationwide, appearing in TV commercials, feeding dignitaries at international forums, and creating a Statue of Liberty from chopped liver for the U.S. Bicentennial. The Carnegie outlasted the Stage, and closed in 2016, after almost 80 years in business.

Some favorite uptown shops, still going strong:

Born in Ukraine and arriving in America in the 1920s, Louis Zabar and his wife Lillian (shown above) worked together at a smoked fish stall in Brooklyn before taking over half a block on 80th Street and Broadway and creating the juggernaut of Jewish foods, Zabar’s. Louis’s plan for his “appetizing shop” was simple: sell only the highest quality smoked fish at a fair price, and attract loyal customers. Their sons, Saul, Eli and Stanley helped out at the store and took over when Louis passed away in 1950, turning Zabar’s into the gourmet food extravaganza it is today, selling everything from caviar to camembert to a floorful of cookware. Today, with over 20,000 square feet of space and 40,000 customers a week spending $50 million a year, Zabar’s remains the king of deli supermarkets. 2245 Broadway at West 80th Street. zabars.com

Barney Greengrass opened one of the first appetizing stores in New York, in Harlem in 1908. He moved his eponymous emporium to its current location on Amsterdam Avenue in 1929, opening a dining section in 1938. Known as “The Sturgeon King,” Barney passed in 1955 and his son Moe took over, then his grandson Gary. 541 Amsterdam Avenue between 86th and 87th Streets. barneygreengrass.com

Murray’s Sturgeon Shop was founded by Polish immigrant Murray Bernstein in 1945, who was joined by his brother Sam in 1964. They specialize in high-quality smoked fish in the charming, original surroundings. 2429 Broadway between 89th and 90th Streets. murrayssturgeon.com

Believe it or not, Pastrami Queen started out as Pastrami King in Williamsburg. In 1998 they moved to Manhattan’s Upper East Side and switched their name’s gender. It has opened a new location in the former Fine & Shapiro shop on the West side. 1125 Lexington Avenue and 138 West 72nd Street. pastramiqueen.com

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