Ben's Kosher Delicatessen in NYC, New York

I love delicatessen food and New York has quite few good places like Junior's or Second Avenue Deli, without forgetting the world renown Katz's (world renown for the movie When Harry Met Sally rather than for the food). So, I noticed Ben's deli on my way back from Bonchon Chicken and we decided to try that place. 

Interesting decor to say the least, resembling more to a place coming straight out of a comic book rather than a traditional deli with all these flashy colors. 

It started well: when the hostess sat us at a booth, she got yelled at by the waiter who told her in a nasty way that he had enough work. Not very professional for sure. So she apologized and sat us in a different section where at least the waiter was nice, but I hadn't that the service was overall slow. 

As we were looking at the menu, they brought us some pickles:

And some coleslaw. 

I love that and it was good that we got it because it took a while for our order to be taken. The good also took some time to come. Then, finally! 

Jodi ordered two dishes: the matzoh ball soup.

And the knish. 

Both were subpar compared to what you can eat in other restaurants. The soup lacked flavor and the outside of the knish was a bit tough. The inside however was delicious. 

On my side, I could not resist ordering the pastrami burger. 

It was a beef patty with some pastrami on top between a toasted challah bread. 

It was served with homemade fries that were skin on. The fries were unevenly cooked. However, the burger was pretty decent, the meat being cooked as ordered (medium) and it was juicy. The pastrami however was a bit tough because thin and overcooked. Not sure it was of the best quality anyway, but for sure a heart attack on a plate that I ate with Russian dressing...

This was definitely a disappointing dinner and clearly Ben's Kosher Delicatessen does not measure up with Junior's, Second Avenue Deli or Katz's.

Enjoy (...)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!