A Fantabulous Night to Eat Sandwiches

My favorite musician is Van Morrison. i think i came to that realization about four months ago. I was all stoked on "tupelo honey" and "youre my woman" when i went to my sister joslyn's graduation from BYU Idaho. So, i was listening to my favorite Morrison songs while i was driving my family to dinner in idaho. let me take a minute to explain the day a bit--

I drove up from provo to idaho to see my sista graduate and hang with my family that had all showed up to celebrate the first graduate in our family (mom, she beat you by a few weeks, and jeff youre about as graduated as a killer whale is a whale ((they're not, everyone! they are dolphins!)), i guess kelly got her associates but i wont consider her graduate until she can cut my hair legally). Anyway, no one in my family had been in montecore yet (my car, named after the white tiger that mauled roy from the famous duo of sigfried and roy) so i took my family for a joy ride and we wound up driving to cafe rio where i paid homage to my car's namesake and mauled a burrito. this was an interesting experience since i dont think i had ever driven my dad anywhere. i wonder if he liked my driving...

--i digress. anyway, we listened to van morrison on the way. my dad was like "andy, i like your taste in music." then i promptly said "ya know, i just can't get enough of this guy's slurred lyrics and gravelly voice, one of the few musical personalities i feel ok singing to". then kelly, not wanting to seem un-cool said from the back seat "Dad, i liked Van Morrison way before Andy!" a conversation then ensued about how i had listened to the Van way back in high school but that it was mostly "brown eyed girl" and "moondance" and that she was still busy losing her soul to NSYNC back then. Anyways, this leads me to wonder, why does it matter who liked van morrison first, he is a classic... people have liked him since way before i was just a twinkle in my mom's eye.

Why couldn't kelly and i just realize that we were two of like a kabillion van morrison fans. it is because we always want to feel like we have found something new... that we are pioneers or something... like we are lewis and clark in the exploration of our own monroe doctrine... we are afrika bambaataa and the rest of the world is just simon and garfunkel or something. I'll relinquish my claim that i discovered Van Morrison because i can now replace it with a new doozey, i have discovered a rad sandwich place--Katz's Deli, and i found it first!

Pastrami Sandwich: Katz's Deli
F.A.L.C.O.N. Rating
9/10 falcons

This place was founded in 1888 and i dont understand how they could still be in business since i didn't discover them until 122 years later... and i found them first. i know you have never really heard of it before so let me help out their struggling business and tell you that their sandwiches are worth trying and they could definitely use your help to stay in business.

I went with my buddy chad. He got the Reuben (a sandwich that taught me the hard way that the sum can be less appetizing than the taste of its individual parts) and i got the pastrami. while you wait for them to make your sandwich they cut you a couple of pieces of meat to nibble on. when i put the pastrami in my mouth it seemed to disolve in my mouth it was so tender, like a meat alka seltzer tablet. the pastrami was like a miracle healing at a baptist church, cured to perfection.

The sandwich was simple enough in appearance, two pieces of rye containing some deli mustard and about two handfuls of meat heaven... i think they get katz's pastrami in apex predator heaven. Much like my previous pastrami sandwich that i blogged about from stage deli, this sandwich was massive and required some maneuvering to get it in my mouth. but once i did the meat just liquefied and made teeth nothing more than a luxury... i know a few hockey players that would have no trouble eating this sandwich.

this sandwich blew my mind into little tic tac sized bits. I dont think i have ever had pastrami quite like this (step aside togos #9, you have finally been dethroned in the a massive meat coup). I know i have made a fuss about how sandwiches need more than just meat, that it is a food of love and condiments, well this sandwich had all the love of a karate robot; replacing kisses on the cheek with drop kicks into blissful oblivion.

I know you have never heard of Katz's deli. I know the place is just trying to stay afloat since no one has ever been there before, but trust me, dont let the long lines trick you... this place is good. Try it out. In fact, it is so good that i was casually talking with chad through the internets trying to figure some things out on twitter when chad articulated something that had been on my mind everyday since our trip to katz's.I took the liberty to screen shot our conversation so you could see what im talking about. reading this chat message again i envision chad sitting on a mound of gold coins, like uncle scrooge from duck tails. His family, friends and like 500 coppers all shot to death at his feet and his life in shambles after years of drug trafficking and an addiction to gambling. He looks to a painting of his long dead, handsome, business partner (me) on his wall. a lonely tear forms in his left eye and he mutters under his breath "i want another katz sandwich" the movie then fades to black and you hear the voice of the dead business partner reply "me too..."... then the movie ends and the credits roll.

Katz's Deli, a real meat diamond in the rough.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLY!