"Not a New Yorker to be found at Carnegie".

I stopped in there to get a menu for a friend. Who were all those customers with the New York accents? Midwest actors doing a class assignment to improve their accent abilities??

Everyone I know considers the Carnegie to be a tourist deli, specifically because of its location.

The "New York accent" as people have come to know it is typical of people living in northern NJ, Long Island, and the outer boroughs. Manhattanites don't really have this accent. So when you hear the accent it most likely IS from a tourist!

Thanks for the correction, Yonah's is definitely west on Houston from Katz's. I will blame that on east coast brain freeze.

I agree that Carnegie is mostly tourist. I personally would never bother with it. And sadly for those tourists who do, I don't think it really provides the old time NY deli atmosphere that 2nd Avenue or Katz's has. They feel more like diners to me. And 2nd Avenue & Katz's are in the area of the city where the deli was born--the lower eastside. So, instead of thinking of it as 'out of the way', make an afternoon of it. Take in the Tenement Museum, take a walking tour of the lower eastside, visit the historical areas around Delancey St, and really FEEL NY. Makes the shoving & the waiting at Katz's even more worthwhile.

Don't forget that Katz's is "Where Harry Met Sally" - it's where they filmed the famous, "I'll have what she's having," scene of that film. That always makes it just a little more special for me. We go every time we're in NYC.

I can't believe I had never seen When Harry Met Sally. When at Katz' this fall, I saw the sign that says "Harry and Sally sat here" or whatever. So this thread made me curious what Sally was "having", and I got the movie last week. Too funny!!! What she was having was not the pastrami I expected!!

Katz or 2nd Avenue will both be good.

You will love the Shelburne Murray Hill. Make sure you check out the roof terrace and try for one of the roof terrace rooms.

I had to laugh when someone wrote "friendlier service at 2nd Ave Deli".

Carnegie isn't even in the same league.