Carnegie Deli in NYC is Closing!

By Jtmichcock at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6736581

Say it ain’t so.

I just read on NBC 4NY that the Carnegie Deli – a NYC landmark – known worldwide for it’s heaping deli sandwiches, many named after famous actors, will be closing at the end of the year.

Just looking at that photo makes me hungry! After 79 years in business, Carnegie Deli today announced that the famous NYC location will close at the end of the year. Branches of the deli will continue to operate as will online cheesecake sales.

Here’s some fun information about the Carnegie Deli, care of Wikipedia:

The deli’s corned beef and pastrami, celebrated by smoked meat connoisseurs nationwide, were cured in the store’s cellar using Steiner’s own recipe in a two-week-long curing process. The Carnegie Deli used a half-ton of brisket to prepare a week’s supply of corned beef by the time of his death. Steiner admitted, “You could eat it after seven days, but if you wait until the 13th you’re in heaven.” The Carnegie Deli was the favorite hangout of comedian Henny Youngman, and Adam Sandler included a reference to the deli in “The Chanukah Song” in 1996. Steiner was eulogized by comedian Henny Youngman as “the deli lama”.

The walls of the deli are nearly completely covered with autographed pictures of celebrities who have eaten there. Menu items have been named after famous patrons, including a corned beef and pastrami sandwich named after Woody Allen after the deli served as a filming location for Broadway Danny Rose. A number of items on the menu feature Broadway themes and Yiddish vocabulary, including dishes like “nosh, nosh, Nanette” (after the musical, “No, No, Nanette“) and “the egg and oy” (“The Egg and I“). There are also some humorous items in the menu, like the famous liver sandwich named “50 Ways to Love Your Liver” after the Paul Simon song “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” It is a place many reporters in the city frequent, including staffers from Black Rock (aka the CBS Building) like Bob Simon.

What else can I say?

To quote Meg Ryan in the film When Harry Met Sally, I’ll have what she’s having.  Oh, wait, wrong deli.