Manhattan Deli's and Bagels
 

I'm leaving in 5 days for Manahattan, and looking for last minute favorites for Deli's and Bagels. I know about Katz's and Carnegie, any others? I plan on going to Ess-a-Bagels as it's near our hotel, though any other bagel faves are appreciated. A Manhattan friend of mine likes Murray's. I've spent alot of time on menupages.com (and done searches on Fodors!), yet I'm looking for more Fodorites suggestions.

Ess-A-Bagel is my favorite and it is yeasty.

H & H are musch sweeter and there are much better than Tal's. I am unfamilar with Daniel's/

Koassar's is THE bialy maker in NYC. They are closed friday afternoons and all day Saturday since they kosher but you should try it. On the same block is Donut Plant which extremely high quality donuts. And across the street is The Pickle Guys. Once again excellent quality

Thanks you both. Good link McLaurie, I knew of the others but not Daniel.

Ess-a-Bagel is just awesome; you'll love it. Even their plain bagels are fantastic.

Thanks Ralphie. Any Deli advice? We are staying in the East low 50's, although are open to other areas. :-)

Second Avenue Deli reopening sometime soon:

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant...d_avenue_deli/

Sarge's is another neighborhood favorite:

http://www.sargesdeli.com/

Those two look great Ellen. Thanks for the links.

Murrays bagels in Chelsea are excellent!

I think the bagels at Tal are excellent and as it's right in the East 50s I think it's definitely worth a visit. They hand-slice lox to order and it's delish. Ess-a and Murray's I could really take or leave.

The NYT mag had an article about the 2nd Ave Deli a few weeks ago that talked about how delis are a dying breed in NYC. They mentioned Katz's (good) and Stage Door (I don't like it). Maybe do a search for the article -- if you like delis, it was really interesting.

A fresh H&H sesame bagel is to die for.

Please forget Carnegie Deli. Until 2nd Avenue Deli opens after Thansgiving your best bet uptown is probably Sarge's.

Tal and Ess-a-Bagel are good for bagels but skip the rest of the food. If you want first-rate appetizing, you need to travel downtown to Russ and Daughters on Houston Street, but you cannot eat inside.

...forgot to say that Katz is the best available right now!

Thanks eks. I went to Katz's almost 30 years ago and it was the best back then. It's not very close to where we are staying, though we may try to venture over there. My daughter's never been to Katz's, and she's been to Manhattan 5 times.

Pending the re-opening of Second AVe Deli, Katz's is the best deli. Sarge's, Artie's, Carnegie, Stage are at least one to two levels below.

As a tourist, I really enjoyed BArney Greengrass on Amsterdam and 86th street several years ago. Maybe some New Yorkers can speak to it nowadays.

I was also goin to mention The Stage (seventh ave near Times Square) but I do like Katz's better and my deli experience is limited.

The thing I liked best about the Stage was our waiter Norman. He's been there forever (is he still there, God Bless Him)--classic deadpan one liners from this guy nonstop.

I know there are better places out there but anytime I leave the Stage after a deli-style breakfast I'm satisfied and don't need to eat for the rest of the day.

Another satisfactory (to me) deli place is Bloom's on Lexington near 39th or 40th. By no means superior but good in a pinch if you're in the area.

Bagels aren't my thing. But delis are.

Are there any more suggestions for delis? I have two and a half days to spare next week and want to fill them with noodle kugel.

Same as post above. I am interested in the Delis-not the bagels so much. Staying on 8th ave. 51st St. I know Carnegies is fairly close. Which other Delis?

It is not a deli with tables but for noodle pudding and other things, there are few stores better than Zabar's.

What we often do in Europe is buy food while walking around during he day and then have supper in the room. We buy cheese, wine, bread, chocolate, meat, etc. whatever is available that day.

It is fun and a way to sample what a city has to offer.

In general, though the lines have blurred over the years, delis offer mostly meat products (corned beef and such) and the bagel places if they sell more than bagels, offer what was called "appetizing" (which indeed it is): lox, whitefish, cream cheese, etc. For "appetizing" on the East side, Sable's on Third Avenue, founded by an Asian gentleman who worked for Zabars for many years, has food that just can't be beat, at an upper East Side price.
But no tables, just take out. My personal bagel favorites are at Tal's. I always though H & H good but overrated.

Katz's has/had good food, but it looks grimy to me. Sarge's is a great deli, and to my mind gave the original Second Avenue Deli a run for its money. Now that they will both be located much closer to each other, I'll just have to do some taste-testing.

Maryanne- Ralphie mentioned Stage Deli, it's at 834 7th Ave (between 53rd and 54th), not far from your hotel. By looking on menupages I see N.Y.C. Gourmet Deli at 840 8th Ave at 51st so very close to your hotel. The menu looks good and more reasonable than many of the top name deli's, but no ratings are listed and I'm not familiar with it. Maybe someone will pipe in.

trippinkpj, I don't specifically know the "N.Y.C. Gourmet Deli at 840 8th Ave at 51st" you mention, but in my neighborhood, half of the little corner stores near me have similar names! It's most likely what we called a "bodega"/convenience store, just the neighborhood place to pick up a few items. Many sell deli sandwiches, but along the lines of the stuff you can buy at any deli counter at any supermarket in America

The menu looked more than a counter, though I just mentioned it since it was close to Maryanne's hotel, I thought I would mention it.

trippinkpj, it certainly could be, and as you mentioned it is so close to the hotel!

I just wanted to send out a heads up because chances are if noone here has heard of this , it probably isn't worth a trip, and I don't want people to be disappointed.

And people mean such different things when they say "deli" here--it can mean sit down for a gigantic pastrami on rye--or just "I'm running over to the deli to pick up some beer and chips".

All the other places mentioned here are very well known and well regarded, even if we all have our favorites.

Now I'm hungry, and more than an hour till lunchtime...

I'm partial to Ben's, which is in the garment district at 209 W. 38th St. (bet. 7th & 8th Aves.). Their corned beef and pastrami are out of this world. And their potato pancakes are some of the best I've ever tasted. Lunch can be really busy, so be prepared!

If you just want to grab something and walk around, Zabar's has excellent prepared salads and some of the best lox in the city. You could get something "to go" and then window shop on the Upper West Side. Plus, if you like to poke around upscale deli/food markets, it's hard to beat.

Thanks Janie. Since it's right next to her hotel, Maryanne could just take a look. Maybe someone will pipe in about it.

I agree with Janie. Every other convenience store will have the word "deli" in the name. Those places, with newspapers, salad stuff, chemically dyed flowers, stale rolls, individual packs of aspirin, etc, have nothing to do with what New Yorkers know as true delis, which are kosher- and kosher-style meat palaces that are few and far between these days. In Manhattan, the list includes Katz, Sarge's, Ben's, Pastrami Queen, Stage, Carnegie, the soon-to-be-reincarnated Second Avenue Deli, and a few others.

None of these bear any resemblance to places with the word "deli" in the name such as the one referred to above in the theatre district.

I personally will go to Sarge's and maybe Katz's if time allows. Thanks all, very good points.

Thank you all on delis.

So it's Katz, Sarge's, Ben's, Pastrami Queen, Stage, Artie's and Carnegie. Sadly, I'll be back home before the Second Ave Deli reopens.

Much as I love Zabars, though, what's the point of having your currency soar if you end up eating grocery store take-aways in your hotel room as if you were still a student?

As the man put it in the greatest of New York films: if you've got it, flaunt it.

Much as I love Zabars, though, what's the point of having your currency soar if you end up eating grocery store take-aways in your hotel room as if you were still a student?

As the man put it in the greatest of New York films: if you've got it, flaunt it

Nice, the softer version of the football hooligan.

Well, there is a difference in quality between "grocery story take out" and Zabar's prepared food. I was thinking you could buy something for lunch, take stroll though the neighborhood and then picnic on a park bench in Central Park or Riverside Park -- both are within walking distance of the store. Nevertheless, there are tons of excellent suggestions on this thread.

Thanks for all the suggestions. The menu of the NY. Gourmet Deli looks good. Close by and looks like a good lunch. Like the menupages.com site. My son, daughter, and I will be in the city Dec. 21-23. We look forward to our trip. Love the city as I have been there before Christmas. A special time with the city in its decorative time.
Will write up our trip after our visit.

Hi Maryanne. Yes, I enjoyed my menupages.com research. Also, see if there's an Ess-a-Bagel near your hotel. I really liked my bagel there. :-)