Tommy Pastrami
This is my first whole-hearted attempt to write a food review. I wanted to supplement my post with pictures, but I wasn't thinking about reviewing this place before I went there. Otherwise, I would've taken my camera.
It's hard to find a decent pastrami sandwich in Orange County. The Hat, in Brea and Lake Forest, is a popular pastrami joint that seems to be the current de facto place for pastrami. However, I never really accepted The Hat's pastrami. The meat was pale and shaved, and it never had that dark, beefy, peppery bite that real pastrami has.
I went to Tommy Pastrami near the Santa Ana-Costa Mesa border on Harbor Blvd. Self-described as a "New York Delicatessen," it's in the middle of a business park. Because of that, it's only open during normal office hours--Monday to Friday, 6AM to 4PM; Saturday, 11AM to 2PM (the website shows longer Saturday hours, but I think it's outdated).
Inside, it looks nothing like what a New York deli would look like (I'm imagining Rupert's "Hello Deli" on Letterman's Late Show). Instead, it looks like a plain, urban business park interior. Very clean, not too large. I went during the lunch hour and it was busy, but not packed to the extreme. There were sturdy plastic tables and chairs outside--no cheap white plastic tables that can barely fit one tray.
The menu (see .pdf menu) is large and it has your basic deli sandwiches. The deli also has something that seemed less New York like, but more Californian: an expresso cafe. It makes sense though, since it's serving to the office working crowd.
Standing inside, I saw people picking up their whole pastrami sandwiches. They were huge and stacked high with pastrami (probably 4 inches high). I decided to get the half sandwich because I wasn't that hungry, but hungry enough to scarf down that delicious pastrami in about 90 seconds.
You had your choice of rye or French roll. Of course, I chose the classic rye. I paid $7.25, which is pretty steep for only a half-sandwich. Yes, there's plenty of meat on the sandwich, but $7 worth of meat? I doubt it. I got my food in about 30 seconds and went outside to eat.
Surprisingly, the sandwich didn't automatically come with mustard, which I thought was standard on any pastrami sandwich. I picked up a bottle of mustard and squirted it on my plate. Fortunately, it wasn't the plain yellow mustard, but a mild, but more flavorful brown deli mustard.
I dipped my half sandwich into the mustard and took only a small bite since the sandwich is too big for a real bite. The warm thin-sliced pastrami was fatty, beefy, and peppery. The rye bread was soft and aromatic. This was simply the best pastrami I've ever had. I managed to keep on eating without ever dropping the sandwich on the plate. Bits of pastrami were falling out only later to be eaten afterwards.
The only complaint I have is the half-sliced pickle they gave me with my sandwich. Half soft, half crispy, it was somewhat room temperature and it tasted like an old shoe. Personally, I enjoy a cold, crispy mild pickle. This pickle was pickled to the core and the flavor was--how should I say--to the extreme?
Tommy Pastrami is definitely an awesome pastrami place. The price is a little too much though, but I guess it's worth it considering your other alternative places for pastrami (Quizno's and Subway). Maybe if we get some more real pastrami places up, some good ol' capitalism will drive these prices down.
Tommy Pastrami
3751 S. Harbor Blvd., Suite B
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 540-2700
Click here for a Google map
It's hard to find a decent pastrami sandwich in Orange County. The Hat, in Brea and Lake Forest, is a popular pastrami joint that seems to be the current de facto place for pastrami. However, I never really accepted The Hat's pastrami. The meat was pale and shaved, and it never had that dark, beefy, peppery bite that real pastrami has.
I went to Tommy Pastrami near the Santa Ana-Costa Mesa border on Harbor Blvd. Self-described as a "New York Delicatessen," it's in the middle of a business park. Because of that, it's only open during normal office hours--Monday to Friday, 6AM to 4PM; Saturday, 11AM to 2PM (the website shows longer Saturday hours, but I think it's outdated).
Inside, it looks nothing like what a New York deli would look like (I'm imagining Rupert's "Hello Deli" on Letterman's Late Show). Instead, it looks like a plain, urban business park interior. Very clean, not too large. I went during the lunch hour and it was busy, but not packed to the extreme. There were sturdy plastic tables and chairs outside--no cheap white plastic tables that can barely fit one tray.
The menu (see .pdf menu) is large and it has your basic deli sandwiches. The deli also has something that seemed less New York like, but more Californian: an expresso cafe. It makes sense though, since it's serving to the office working crowd.
Standing inside, I saw people picking up their whole pastrami sandwiches. They were huge and stacked high with pastrami (probably 4 inches high). I decided to get the half sandwich because I wasn't that hungry, but hungry enough to scarf down that delicious pastrami in about 90 seconds.
You had your choice of rye or French roll. Of course, I chose the classic rye. I paid $7.25, which is pretty steep for only a half-sandwich. Yes, there's plenty of meat on the sandwich, but $7 worth of meat? I doubt it. I got my food in about 30 seconds and went outside to eat.
Surprisingly, the sandwich didn't automatically come with mustard, which I thought was standard on any pastrami sandwich. I picked up a bottle of mustard and squirted it on my plate. Fortunately, it wasn't the plain yellow mustard, but a mild, but more flavorful brown deli mustard.
I dipped my half sandwich into the mustard and took only a small bite since the sandwich is too big for a real bite. The warm thin-sliced pastrami was fatty, beefy, and peppery. The rye bread was soft and aromatic. This was simply the best pastrami I've ever had. I managed to keep on eating without ever dropping the sandwich on the plate. Bits of pastrami were falling out only later to be eaten afterwards.
The only complaint I have is the half-sliced pickle they gave me with my sandwich. Half soft, half crispy, it was somewhat room temperature and it tasted like an old shoe. Personally, I enjoy a cold, crispy mild pickle. This pickle was pickled to the core and the flavor was--how should I say--to the extreme?
Tommy Pastrami is definitely an awesome pastrami place. The price is a little too much though, but I guess it's worth it considering your other alternative places for pastrami (Quizno's and Subway). Maybe if we get some more real pastrami places up, some good ol' capitalism will drive these prices down.
Tommy Pastrami
3751 S. Harbor Blvd., Suite B
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 540-2700
Click here for a Google map
1 Comments:
Quality and preparation are essential when it comes to pastrami. Tommy Pastrami only uses the best meat and takes pride in preparing it correctly. Tommy Pastrami sandwiches are in a much different ball park than "subway like" sandwich shops.
Its All About The Meat.
By
Devon, at 9/07/2008 1:16 PM
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