Carnegie Deli
Encyclopedia
The Carnegie Deli is a restaurant located in midtown Manhattan
on 7th Avenue
between 54th and 55th Streets and was opened in 1937 adjacent to Carnegie Hall
. Now in the third generation of owners, the Parker family's delicatessen
is among the most visited restaurants of its type in the city, according to the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau. USA Today
has called the restaurant the "most famous" deli in the United States
. It is operated by Sandy Levine, whose business card indicates he is the "MBD" = Married Boss's Daughter, namely, Marian Parker.
The restaurant offers pastrami
, corned beef
and other sandwiches containing at least one pound
(0.45 kg) of meat, as well as traditional Jewish fare such as matzoh ball soup, potato pancakes, chopped chicken
liver
s, and smoked salmon
. The restaurant also offers other, non-Jewish (or at least non-kosher) food such as ham
, sausage
, and bacon
. Available for order are cheesecake
portions of over a pound per serving. The restaurant's motto
is: "If you can finish your meal, we’ve done something wrong". In addition to the large servings, the restaurant is also known for its surly waiter
s, who allegedly try to impart some of the stereotypical gruffness of New York to visitors.
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. 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
.
Owner Milton Parker
, who died in 2009, had written a book (with Allyn Freeman) called How to Feed Friends and Influence People: The Carnegie Deli, providing the history of the family's ownership. The book is sold at the cashier's station.
The deli opened several branch locations in the 1980s, including two New Jersey branches in Secaucus and Atlantic City and one in the Washington DC suburbs in Tysons Corner. However, most of these branches have since closed and are no longer in operation. One, in Beverly Hills, California
, was financed by oil billionaire Marvin Davis
and designed by restaurant designer Pat Kuleto
at a cost of $4 million to be the "best deli in the world," in response to Davis' complaint that the delis in California were not as good as those in New York.
Currently, the deli operates a second location in Las Vegas, Nevada
, which opened at The Mirage
in 2005. A third location opened in 2006 at the Six Flags Great Adventure
in New Jersey
and serves as the "healthy choice" restaurant at the park; however, the menu is smaller and only has the restaurant’s most popular items. A fourth deli, limited to corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, is at Foxwoods Resort Casino
. The fifth location is at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
and opened November 22, 2009.
In addition to the retail operation, the restaurant sells cheesecakes and merchandise such as t-shirts and baseball caps online.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on 7th Avenue
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
between 54th and 55th Streets and was opened in 1937 adjacent to Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. Now in the third generation of owners, the Parker family's delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
is among the most visited restaurants of its type in the city, according to the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau. USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
has called the restaurant the "most famous" deli in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is operated by Sandy Levine, whose business card indicates he is the "MBD" = Married Boss's Daughter, namely, Marian Parker.
Pastrami
Pastrami , is a popular delicatessen meat usually made from beef and, traditionally in Romania, also from pork and mutton. In Israel, "Pastrama" is the term used for sliced chicken and turkey. Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before modern refrigeration...
, corned beef
Corned beef
Corned beef is a type of salt-cured beef products present in many beef-eating cultures. The English term is used interchangeably in modernity to refer to three distinct types of cured beef:...
and other sandwiches containing at least one pound
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(0.45 kg) of meat, as well as traditional Jewish fare such as matzoh ball soup, potato pancakes, chopped chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
s, and smoked salmon
Smoked salmon
Smoked salmon is a preparation of salmon, typically a fillet that has been cured and then hot or cold smoked. Due to its moderately high price, smoked salmon is considered a delicacy.-Presentation:...
. The restaurant also offers other, non-Jewish (or at least non-kosher) food such as ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
, sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
, and bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
. Available for order are cheesecake
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit , pastry or sponge cake. They may be baked or unbaked...
portions of over a pound per serving. The restaurant's motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
is: "If you can finish your meal, we’ve done something wrong". In addition to the large servings, the restaurant is also known for its surly waiter
Waiter
Waiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...
s, who allegedly try to impart some of the stereotypical gruffness of New York to visitors.
History
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Henny Youngman
Henny Youngman
Henry "Henny" Youngman was a British-born American comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners", short, simple jokes usually delivered rapid-fire...
, and Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
included a reference to the deli in "The Chanukah Song
The Chanukah Song
"The Chanukah Song" is a humorous song written by comedian Adam Sandler with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on December 3, 1994. Sandler subsequently performed the song as part of his...
" in 1996. 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
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
after the deli served as a filming location for Broadway Danny Rose
Broadway Danny Rose
Broadway Danny Rose is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen. It was screened out of competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.- Plot :...
. A number of items on the menu feature Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
themes and Yiddish vocabulary, including dishes like "nosh, nosh, Nanette" (after the musical, "No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play My Lady Friends...
") and "the egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
and oy" ("The Egg and I
The Egg and I
The Egg and I, first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state...
"). 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
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
song "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" is a 1975 hit song by Paul Simon, from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. Backing vocals on the single were performed by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson and Phoebe Snow.-Creation:...
." It is a place many reporters in the city frequent, including staffers from Black Rock (aka the CBS Building
CBS Building
The CBS Building in New York City, also known as Black Rock, is the headquarters of CBS Corporation. The building, opened in 1965, was designed by Eero Saarinen. It is located at 51 West 52nd Street, at the corner of Sixth Avenue . The 38 story building is tall and measures approximately 872,000...
) like Bob Simon
Bob Simon
Bob Simon is a CBS News television correspondent.From 1964–67, Simon served as an American Foreign Service officer and was a Fulbright Scholar in France and a Woodrow Wilson scholar. From 1969–71, he served a tour in the CBS News London bureau. From 1971–77, he was based in the London and Saigon...
.
Owner Milton Parker
Milton Parker
Milton Parker was a co-owner of the Carnegie Deli, located at 55th Street and Seventh Avenue next to Carnegie Hall in the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the behind-the-scenes preparer of towering pastrami sandwiches while his partner Leo Steiner was the tummler who entertained...
, who died in 2009, had written a book (with Allyn Freeman) called How to Feed Friends and Influence People: The Carnegie Deli, providing the history of the family's ownership. The book is sold at the cashier's station.
Branch locations
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, was financed by oil billionaire Marvin Davis
Marvin Davis
Marvin H. Davis was an American industrialist and philanthropist...
and designed by restaurant designer Pat Kuleto
Pat Kuleto
Pat Kuleto is an American designer, restaurant impresario, builder, innkeeper, and winemaker, credited with being the first American to bring recognition to restaurant design as a distinct form of interior design...
at a cost of $4 million to be the "best deli in the world," in response to Davis' complaint that the delis in California were not as good as those in New York.
Currently, the deli operates a second location in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, which opened at The Mirage
The Mirage
The Mirage is a 3,044 room hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States.The Mirage is connected by a free tram to Treasure Island. The marquee in front of the Mirage is the largest free standing marquee in the world.-History:The Mirage was built by...
in 2005. A third location opened in 2006 at the Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and serves as the "healthy choice" restaurant at the park; however, the menu is smaller and only has the restaurant’s most popular items. A fourth deli, limited to corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, is at Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel-casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States. Together with the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, it is one of the largest casino complexes in the world in terms of floor space for gaming. The entire resort comprises of space. The casino has over 380 gaming tables...
. The fifth location is at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
and opened November 22, 2009.
In addition to the retail operation, the restaurant sells cheesecakes and merchandise such as t-shirts and baseball caps online.
External links
- New York homepage
- Las Vegas homepage
- Pennsylvania homepage
- nthWORD Magazine, The nthWORD Guys Hit the Road – Issue #7, August 2010