Pastranomy in Napa

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
#21

As i duly noted they are Cleveland style sandwiches. But yeah, I agree, mayo is a no no. That said, his sandwiches are amazing. Large enough that eating one by yourself could mean the end of your day because of the food coma.

#22

The beauty of any food discussion is “opinions.” Some people still love Katz’s, others like me, feel it is living on reputation. Personally , I agree with Brian’ s point…If “Pastronomy” is good, it doesn’t matter if it is better than Katz’s ( or any NY deli for that matter)… Good is good and there is plenty of mediocre pastrami in New York.

Cheers!
Marshall

#23

Was chatting with someone the other day about how every time you share something here someone has to one-up it and say theirs is better. Like Marshall said, I was just sharing a new eatery. I’ve never been to NYC and may never be. Whether the deli food there is better really doesn’t matter to me that much.

Hey Hammer, I ask for extra mayo on my deli sandwiches. [middle-finger.gif] The messier the better.

#24

Oye vey. [swoon.gif]

#25

It’s killing me to not post on this thread. But given all the trouble I have gotten in this week, I’m just going to have to pass. Sad, really. Just have to stick to reporting on the weather - my claim to fame. That and warning people about pine-nuts.

#26

As unlikely as it seems, there’s this restaurant in the Zagreb airport that has the most amazing pastrami - better than Katz’s or 2nd Ave or anywhere else. They only use local Boskarin cattle (which are known more as a draft breed than for being that good to eat). But they’re kept in special sheds were they’re hand fed individual blades of grass by elderly women for about 10-12 hours a day. Once a week, they’re draped in flowers and marched to the local church were they’re blessed by the local priest and splashed with holy water. The restaurant only chooses certain of these animals and have a secret brine using Adriatic sea salt, herbs that are grown special for them in Cyprus and Malta (which they say are sweeter from the Mediterranean sea air as opposed to the ones grown locally in Croatia), and then a blend of spices from a Zanzibar merchant who’s actually distantly related to Freddie Mercury. They cure the meat according to lunar cycles and then smoke it lightly over a mix of local oak and imported Kentucky hickory. They soak the wood in water mixed with jaggery to add a sweetness to the smoke that’s otherwise missing. They serve the pastrami on 3 day old rye bread because they say it’s sturdier and absorbs the meat juices better. Because the bread starts out a little hard and dry, they recommend that you let the sandwich sit between 17-20 minutes after it’s made and before you start to eat it, and that really does make a difference. It’s simply the best pastrami in the world. They even won the pan-Balkan Pastrami Open 7 of the first 9 years that competition was held.

Full disclosure - it’s purely fictional…

#27

Rachel, and here I was wondering how a Vegan knew so much about Pastrami… :wink:

#28

They also make a great, albeit fictional, vegan version. The same old women who feed the blades of grass to the cows do a traditional dance to thresh locally grown wheat that they use to make seitan that gets the same brine and smoking regime as the beef version.

#29

Staying in character. [welldone.gif]

#30

The Reuben

#31

Sounds like biodynamically grown Pinot Noir!*







*Not that any of my Pinot making friends actually speak this way about their oh-so-arduous winemaking techniques. rolleyes

#32

Leenda, do you want me to bury a cow horn for you?

#33

Only if it is in the biodynamically appropriate corner of the vineyard.


Uh oh- what if the vineyard is circular? [shock.gif]

#34

Even circles can have corners. newhere

FIXED!

#35

You mean…the vineyard is swan-shaped? That’s even MORE difficult! newhere

#36

Photo FAIL. FIXED

Even circles can have corners.