Pike Place Market: I Love NY Deli

If you're going to blow your diet, go big, right?

There are five foods I grew to love while living in New York:

1. Hamburgers-- Lunchbox Lab and Red Mill can quench my desire

2. Ramen-- Thankfully I live a couple of blocks from Samurai Noodle

3. Lobster Rolls-- From what I can tell, they don't exist here in Seattle

4. Cupcakes-- Cupcake Royale and Trophy are both excellent

5. Pastrami Reubens-- Here is where I had big problems... until today

The I Love New York Deli, a tiny stand, next to that mini-donut place in the market, just made me, uh, take a break from my diet. As I walked past, I saw the woman making a corned beef reuben. It actually looked like a sandwich you could find in NY: big, sloppy, delicious. I HAD to have one.

I ordered the Pastrami Reuben and waited for it to be built. The wait was definitely worth it. The light rye bread was nice and the pastrami and kraut were piled high. The Swiss cheese was melted perfectly, the Russian sauce delightful. I could only half the sandwich, but man it was good.

Add to the sandwich, Wise potato chips, found everywhere in the northeast, and for 15 minutes, I felt like I was back in New York. At $10.95 for the sandwich, even the price felt like New York.