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- Char No. 4
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196 Smith St., nr. Baltic St., Carroll Gardens; 718-643-2106
Katz’s, clearly, this is not. But while that deli mecca continues to fight the good overstuffed-sandwich fight, we see no reason not to reward progress elsewhere in the cured-meat community—even, heretically, in a Brooklyn whiskey bar renowned for its house-smoked bacon and deep-fried pork nuggets. Chef Matt Greco is a barbecue-loving Texan whose food reflects his heritage as well as time spent in the kitchens of Café Gray and Café Boulud. His idea of pastrami (and ours, of late) is a Colorado lamb shoulder, brined and smoked in house, the succulent meat impossibly tender, pink-tinged, boldly seasoned, and sliced into gossamer ribbons. Greco paints a plate with coriander aïoli, arranges the warmed meat on top, and garnishes it with house-pickled onions, sprigs of cilantro, and grilled rye bread. It’s the most delicate pastrami we’ve ever tasted, which is meant entirely as a compliment, oxymoron or not.
See Also
More of the New Brooklyn Cuisine From Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2009
Best Pastrami
From the 2009 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine
Our mission this year: to hunt down not just the best but the best values in the eating, shopping, drinking, and general-consuming universe of New York. It’s quite the process, this, requiring eating and shopping and drinking (all in the name of research), followed by heated but civil discussion, and heated but less-civil discussion, until a winner emerges in each category.


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