Is 2nd Ave Deli BETTER THAN KATZ’s? Who Makes NYC’s Best Pastrami?

When most people think of the best Jewish deli in NYC and the best pastrami sandwich in NYC, they will think of Katz’s Deli. Katz’s reputation is well-deserved, as it not only makes one of the best pastrami sandwiches in New York City, as well as one of the best corned beef sandwiches in NYC, but it is also one of the most famous restaurants in New York. At Katz’s, expect to find a long line at any time of day after 10am, and even past midnight there will be long lines of tourists and locals (but mostly tourists) waiting to grab a late snack.

However, there are some who believe Katz’s Deli is overrated, or at least overhyped. I am not the former, but I can see the argument for the latter. It is hands down one of the best sandwiches I have ever had in my life, but that being said I am not sure it is worth the crazy line and crowded atmosphere to eat there. Those who do not want to put up with the craziness of Katz’s Deli will often flock to Sarge’s Deli, S&P Lunch, Pastrami Queen, and Frankel’s.

The name that is mentioned the most though of all of them is 2nd Ave Deli. Many pastrami fans and enthusiasts will claim that the new 2nd Ave Deli location, as they moved and are no longer on 2nd ave, is the best pastrami in the USA. Or they will at least say it is more worth it due to the less hectic nature of eating there!

Today we will put 2nd Ave Deli to the test. I am always one for a great pastrami sandwich, so let’s see if this is the one that will finally top Katz’s in NYC!

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Restaurant Deets:
2nd Ave Deli
162 E 33rd St, New York, NY 10016

Hey guys and welcome to another episode of UA eats I’m UA and I am back in New York City on the hunt for a great Jewish deli I just happened to be in the city you know getting a annual dental checkup but for some reason Dental appointments

Uh really work up an appetite for me and when I’m hungry what I really want is a nice hot pastrami sandwich now we’ve eaten lots of places on this channel we’ve even gone outside of New York such as California and even outside of the country in Montreal for some p

Sandwiches or in Canada called smoke meat sandwiches here in New York though I would say cats’s Deli is widely regarded as King of New York when it comes to best pastrami sandwich in the Big Apple including by Yours Truly though of course cat’s Deli is so hyped

Up now that some people think it’s overhyped some people think it’s a tourist trap and at the very least some people think that it’s not worth the crazy weight now I’m not one of those people I think Kat’s Deli is indeed pretty good although you know I do think

The price is a bit High and the uh you know the line and the waiting as good as it is for a sandwich end of the day H yeah I guess it’s a little bit overhyped but I don’t think it’s overrated I do think catas is very good the place

That’s mentioned most amongst people who claim that Cates is not all bad is the place behind me Second Avenue Deli now amongst pastrami fans people who say ctis is not the best a lot of people say Second Avenue Deli is the place to go they say this place is as good as cats’s

If not better and without any of the lines we’ll have to see about that I mean cats’s Deli hyped up as it is tourist destination as it is with its crazy lines it is still objectively a very good sandwich regardless of what you may say about the hype or the price

But if people are saying places like Second Avenue Deli Top Cats is and are better then you know I got to try that so I’m in New York so let’s check it out Next pleas anybody next want to go okay guys so we are seated at Second Avenue Deli uh you know no Wait Unlike cats at Deli you just walk right in here I’m not sure if it’s more crowded during uh more PE time but the difference between here and katad Deli is that at

Katad Deli unless you go like once they open and for breakfast I’m not against pami for breakfast but maybe I’m not most people but here you know I just walked right in unfortunately there wasn’t really any seating left but they were able to get me a nice seat at the

Bar here there is bar seating here like right facing the kitchen so not a bad deal let’s take a look at the menu though I’ll just do a pastrami sandwich pastrami perfect and a mo ball soup you got it anything to drink that be can I

Hold on yeah of course do you want anything to drink um yeah I’ll do a Dr Brown soda Dr cream soda yes thank you so yeah here at the bar pretty simple setup but it’s nice that we have like a view of the kitchen right in front of us

Some very delicious looking oh thank you so much some very delicious looking black and white cookies a staple here in New York always hit the spot for me simple yet beautiful in their Simplicity and you got a nice view of the kitchen uh you know a little bit obstructed over

There but uh yeah nice view yep so I ordered earlier and they brought me my soda my cream soda but I just want to show you the menu real quick so this will be my first time here uh I kind of already knew what I wanted but I figured

I would just show you guys what they have anyways cuz regardless I was going to try the Pastrami and it’s a cold day so I wanted get a m ball soup to warm up as well but as you can see while this place may not have the hype of cat’s

Deli the the prices are relatively similar you know 26 to 28 bucks oh thank you so much thank you look at that similar to cats’s they give you some slices here or I don’t know if they just did that for me but nice that they kind

Of give you some of the excess trimmings to nibble on anyways uh the food is coming Fast and Furious so I’ll just fly through the rest of this just take a look they have some three Decker sandwiches here they have some big sandwiches that I hear car Deli was

Famous for although these are quite expensive you kind of get what you pay for here you’re definitely paying for that extra volume but these are relatively similar to the sandwiches above they’re just bigger and then they have some interesting items as well like a instant heart

Attack I guess this is supposed to be not particularly healthy they have tenderloin steak in the entree section very very interesting and then this side looks like a lot of Jewish deli options as well as some Eastern European options like stuffed cabbage kishes and the like and yeah this all looks interesting too

But we already knew what we wanted and we ordered already let’s dig right in now this is the matab ball soup and it’s looking pretty good I mean just look at how clear this broth is oh W this broth is so clear that I thought this was the

Bottom but the bottom is actually on top look at that it’s like an infinity pool but like the opposite just look at this oh my goodness just look at this white and completely pure piece of moo just look at that oh my goodness does that not look delicious or not and it comes

With some noodles not just soup and uh some carrots you know some root vegetables but other than that not too much else otherwise looking like a pretty traditional Moz ball soup in that it being like a very pure light chicken soup we can’t wait for this to cool down

Let’s eat it while it’s piping hot wow just look at this clear broth it’s clear like like tap water that hasn’t been filtered wow of all the matab Bal soups I’ve had at all the places we went to SES S&P all the places we’ve been to this is hands down the best delicious

Not only does it just visually look clear it tastes very pure like you kind of just taste like the essence of the chicken and not too much else not much filler uh none of that like I don’t know like oily excess chicken fat you really just like taste the best part of the

Chicken in this like if you were sick I feel like this would be the perfect way to heal cuz it’s just completely filled with the nutrition from the chicken and not much else you want as soon as possible outstanding we obvious viously have to try the mat ball that we cut off

Earlier right oops got some noodle on it there you go I hope it’s not too soggy because I you know amputated it from the rest of the meatball or the matah ball okay what kind of pickle you like wow it was indeed soggy because like you know I reduced its surface area

And I I let it absorb more of the broth but I don’t care like it’s just soaked up that chicken broth and it just tasted so incredible oh my goodness absolutely delicious like it’s pure and light Moab Bal not too chewy not so light like I’m eating like Styrofoam it’s like the

Perfect texture like kind of like the way sifted flour is supposed to taste like back in the day white bread was for Rich folks people who could pay people to sift the flour and separate the starch to the top and discard all the wheat bread stuff nowadays it’s kind of

The opposite like you know poyer toyer folk like to eat wheat bread because they’re like oh it’s healthier and it’s trendier but no back then white bread was how you showed you were a boss and I feel like a boss eating this number three like a really pure starch in mat

Form and now in ball form outstanding let’s try some of the Noodles okay the noodles are only okay to be honest the noodles kind of just taste like normal noodles uh you know like normal noodles that you can get from the grocery store and the noodles are actually a little bit you know they’re not exactly alente they’re a little

Overcooked I think and a little bit mushy so not a super Pleasant texture and not really much taste like even less taste than plain pasta tends to have I guess let’s try one of the carrots even though I’m sure it’s just a carrot right I mean it looks like a fresh

Carrot but I mean carrots are just carrots in my opinion should I pretend this is so delicious like most food vloggers do wao no just kidding I mean like I was saying it’s just a normal carrot nothing wrong with that because you know this is a really nutritious soup a beautiful in

Its Simplicity soup a very pure soup like they go well you know they basically are just a good change of pace I guess you know if I’m going to be nitpicky it would be nice if they had like like seasoned them maybe a little bit you know just to give them a little

Bit of flavor but it’s okay I mean uh they’re healthy and I’m okay with that very very good all right let’s wait for our pami sandwich oh actually I don’t have to just sit and wait cuz they slice some of the fresh pastrami for me so let’s just nibble some of these with

Our fingers why don’t we and just looking at it it’s already looking very super paper thin really reminds me of the Italian beef sandwich in Chicago how paper thin it is love the color on it and I love the even bark all across so let’s try It you know because I ate the M ball soup first which I think I was right to prioritize this has gotten a little cold so I think that really impacted its flavor and you know besides texture heat is really important to food but if we

Ignore the coldness of it um it is very soft it comes apart pretty easily in your mouth I really really like the color on it and I like the even bark all the way across on both sides o and the rest of the sandwich is here thank you

Perfect timing when I was just complaining about it not being the right temperature and now I get a fresh one right away but yeah last thing I want to say is just that I like the color I like that I taste that spicy bark all the way

Across I do think it’s missing like a bit of a oomph that I’ve had at other places like catches and langers I feel like this pastrami is a little bit leaner than some other places I’ve been to like those two Elite joints I think due to that leanness that’s probably why

They have to slice it so thin like cats is famously has thicker Cut pastrami probably because of the fattiness and natural leanness of their meats but maybe the temperature does play a big role and now we have our full Second Avenue deli sandwich and one that’s not

Cold and does that not look like a thing of beauty how delicious does this look is this good enough for a thumbnail picture maybe this is good enough for a thumbnail picture but just look how delicious this sandwich looks I mean I just love this color it’s got a great

Deep color that I love and I love the natural bark as mentioned on all sides this one almost looks a little different from the pieces they gave me like this one almost looks a little bit crispier than those while these look less crispy and more soft and similar to another

Joint sares it look looks like they don’t mustard it for you but they do have mustard on the side here if you choose to apply it but we’re going to take a bite first without mustard That’s no but even though it does not fit cut it does look delicious does it not like just layers and layers of delicious pastrami remember what a great man once said Shrek to donkey ogres are like pastrami they have layers that’s the quote right I kind of remember it

That way but yeah let’s just try this delicious and warm looking Second Avenue deli pami sandwich rival the catches maybe even better thank you so much pleasure you have many years help for you thank you so much Happy Thanksgiving oh wow oh wow that is outstanding for my name on

My oh man oh that was so good ohn what corn beef thank you so much wow they brought me some complimentary corn beef so friendly of them and it looks pretty good that’s a mean looking corn beef this is an excellent sandwich this is definitely one of the best pami

Sandwiches I’ve ever had I’m being serious I realized the gravity of that statement as well I mean it’s not thick cut like cats’s it’s thin cut which is you know like the typical thin Cut pastrami sandwich but every layer is just fatty and Juicy and Delicious and

Filled with that spice bark flavor and you know how I complain about those pieces they gave me as being too lean definitely not lean look at these other pieces I guess they just cut off some excess I mean this is some fatty pastrami in my opinion lean and pastrami

Does not really mix it’s got to be a little fatty at least a little bit okay so it doesn’t quite come apart like cats’s does cat’s like almost melts in your mouth this one has more of a chew and that makes sense you know why

They would cut it so thinly and stack it as opposed to cutting thicker slices this one does not quite come apart see look I grab it and it is a little bit rubbery there like it doesn’t quite melt in your mouth but that’s okay I mean

Chewing can be fun and when you chew it really lets you Savor meat in a different way excellent I mean what the sandwich May lack in tenderness it more than makes up for it in flavor outstanding let’s not make the mistake we made with the pastrami pieces though let’s try some of the

Complimentary corn beef that they were so kind to let us try wow this is some yummy looking corn beef just look at that this is already looking like some of the best corn beef I’ve ever seen or tasted know I’m put those together you know interestingly enough

The corn beef is actually more tender than the pastrami but I think that’s just coincidental I think it’s just you know with their pieces of what I assume to be brisket meat is probably just luck of a draw for which cuts are being used in which sandwich and which are just

Naturally more tender and more tough but this is an excellent corn beef it’s got that great brine flavor really yummy really really like it and I would say this is among the top corn beefs I have had well ctis has a mean corn beef as

Well I would say this is up there with Cates it’s pretty similar uh but similar to the difference between these two places it really is just thin cut versus thick cut so if you want a thicker cut corn beef go to cats’s if you want a

Thinner cut corn beef you know come here I think for me personally I mean this is 100% just my preference I generally prefer pastrami to corn beef because you know I just like the spice rub on pastrami like I like the process of making pastrami just like I like the

Flavor I like the yummy bark to me pastrami also tends to just taste fattier I don’t know why maybe at least just to me but if you like corn beef um you know you’re not going to be disappointed by this I’m just going to g g absolutely excellent so so tasty and so

Far I am liking everything I’m eating wow okay let’s knock out more of the sandwich why don’t we but this time we’re going to change it up this time we are going to try their second avenue brand mustard and see if this adds any flavor Dimension just the

Bar okay we’re not going to cover the whole sandwich in the mustard just in case we prefer it without so that at least on the edges we have some non- mustard Parts all right let’s see if the mustard offers any change up at all we could yeah don’t th

That okay so I can see why at this place the mustard is more optional I actually think this place is very very similar to S’s Bell where that also utilized a thin sliced Pastrami and the pastrami was also more chewy but great flavor and you know great flavors stacked on top of

Each other like kind of concept this place uh I don’t know something about the way the pastrami is like the mustard flavor you can’t really taste it like it kind of gets covered up a little bit so I mean you really really got to add a

Lot I guess if you want some mustard flavor but I really don’t think it needs it mustard here really completely optional so don’t worry about it unless you’re a mustard fanatic cuz then you’re going to have to add a lot to really taste it but guys I think that’s going

To be it for this video I know the reputation of this place precedes it but it lived up to all the hype for me and more it was it was outstanding I would say that it definitely belongs in the conversation as cats is like cats is

Might have all that hype and all that tourist appeal you know like hour 2our lines this place you know it doesn’t have a l out the door around the corner but I would say the food is definitely on par it’s it’s pretty good now as for which of

Them I prefer catas or Second Avenue Deli for me I would say I still prefer Katz’s at the end of the day like I still like the pastrami that’s thicker cut I like the show Associated I like that they cut it and slice it and I like

That it’s like fattier and it melts in your mouth more and it really disintegrates easily so if I had to pick one it would be cats’s but I will say this with cat is it might be good but you’re definitely paying for it and not just paying with money you’re paying

With your time unless you go for breakfast like for breakfast there’s no line but pastrami for breakfast I don’t mind that but even for me that’s a little intense but if you want your best bang for your buck second AB is the way to go I was able to just walk right in

And unannounced and just sit right at the bar like here you know completely unimpeded so I would say based on objective taste in my opinion I’m going to go catches but when it comes to everything else combined all other factors it’s hard to beat Second Avenue

Deli but anyways guys thank you so much for watching I hope you like my vids as much as I love this pastrami sandwich and can’t wait to devour this I am not going to you know let this Moab ball soup become a leftover I am going to mop

This up so let’s eat this while it’s still fresh and relatively warm what’s your favor favorite pastrami sandwich or Jewish deli in NYC or in the world you know anywhere in the world Canada North America Europe Japan I don’t know whatever let me know in the comments

Because great minds eat Al like if you like my videos make sure you like And subscribe that way you stay up to date whenever I post another video until next time I’ll see you Later