First impressions of a well known eatery/deli/cafe. Georgetown/DC

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

So after hearing about Stachowski for years and recently hearing about his Market/Deli/Butcher Shop in Georgetown I decided that since I was in the area for a beautiful autumn day I would take the opportunity to stop by. I did not want to drive in DC (even though they have been kind enough to send me a photo of my car the last couple times I visited), so I took the Metro to Foggy Bottom and walked up Pennsylvania Avenue to 28th. Very nice walking area. The market is in a nice unassuming brick building and when you open the door you get the feel of a well thought out use of space with lots of excellent choices of cheeses, soups by the quart and salads.
I have never liked the use of the word “curated”, but…

Having heard about the Hot Pastrami the most I order one, albeit after a bit of sticker shock. I stalk the store for a bit taking in the items offered which are on a par with the first impression, but more so. I was hovering out of traffic and heard someone coming in from the back of the house who immediately announced, “Smells good! … Smells Great!” And of course it was Stachowski, who gave a bit of a start when he spotted me off to the side. But he grinned a bit and kept on storming out of the place, in a good way. LOL!
I guess that is the main reason I posted this, it connects a place to its roots when the owner actually makes an appearance. I have read about Stachowski for years, it was cool to see him in his current fiefdom.
Then the story takes a turn for the mediocrity, because that sandwich was huge, smelled great and looked like a million bucks, but it was only ok. The hot aspect of the sandwich was a large part of its downfall, it was kind of a liquid flowy chunky mess, not the firm, thinly sliced pastrami I am used to from New York. I am not sure if this is how Stachowski’s Hot Pastrami is supposed to be, so I will enclose a photo of it.

Anyway, I think I ordered poorly, the 4 Meat Grinder is only $18 and it too looks like a 2 meal sandwich. The Hot Pastrami was $24 and though it was a lot of sandwich, it did not really show its best game. I have to admit that it actually tasted better the next morning, cold. It firmed the pastrami chunks up and made it into a chilled hors d’oeuvres of sorts.
Anyway, my one big regret? I did not get one of the pickles out of the barrel. It is a serious failure on my part and I will understand if the rest of this post is ignored due to my inability to recognize the true object of desire in the market.

It was a beautiful day in DC so all was not lost. When are they going to refill the canal?

So the sandwich was ok, but having actually seen Stachowski taking an interest in the place, not just plastering his name on it and waiting for the money to roll in, makes me more likely to go back and try that 4 meat grinder.
Anyone else have an experience with the owner of a place making it more (or less?) interesting of a visit?

[Steve (from DC)]

I have tried the place a few times. No. Just no. Not a pleasant sandwich. There’s usually a tough knot of something in the sandwich, and I don’t know what explains it… The rest is just salty and not tender enough.

I have had great, great pastrami and corned beef sandwiches that were mammothly thick sliced. They looked perplexing but were as tender and lovable as a puppy. It can be done, but this is not it.

I can think of lots of places where the owner is also there and cooking the food. If the food is good, I look forward to getting to know something more about the food and them.

And I’ve tried 4 other sandwiches. The others are good, but not worth the price.

[GretchenS]

@ZivBnd

they have been kind enough to send me a photo of my car the last couple times I visited

You are too funny!!

[BKeats]

I love a thick cut pastrami sandwich. But that picture perplexes me. I can’t quite make out how that was cut. Cutting is important but the picture is a mess.

For contrast this was a smoked meat sandwich from Schwartz’s in Montreal last fall.

[Steve (from DC)]

Schwartz’s is fantastic. Had one recently. No comparison. Yes, it’s thick cut, but not nearly the monstrosity of Stachowski.

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

Steve, I am sorry to hear that you have tried four other sandwiches there and they were not worth the price. I had hopes for the grinder.

Gretchen, I may be beating a dead horse on the speed cameras in DC issue, but it still irks me a bit. Pity, I used to live in DC and loved my years there. Great place to be a 20’something person, tons of stuff to do every day.

BKeats, yes, that is not a great photo but I figured a poor photo is better than no photo when I am trying to describe why I thought the sandwich was only mediocre. It was not bad, it just had an odd consistency and the bread kind of self destructed as I tried to eat it. I have saved Schwartz’s to my Google maps “go to” list.

I actually like the feel of Stachowski’s Market, the staff were excellent and the market appears to have other items there that look really good.
I think I ordered poorly, but I had warnings so the fault is my own.

[tcamp (Tamara)]

I have never had a Stachowski sandwich but do enjoy the sausages (to take home) they sell at the Falls Church Farmers Market.

[johntannerbbq (john tanner)]

The very best pastrami sandwich in the DC area is at 2fifty on Thursdays. Meltingly tender and it comes on truly outstanding rye bread. Shown below) in progress. Silver and Sons has very good pastrami, but it’s on challah. I really liked the pastrami with mustard on rye at HammerDown (Steve didn’t like it in a Reuben format). The best cold smoked in the area is at Corned Beef King

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[TheLibrarian28]

I am definitely no expert, but years of cooking briskets makes me think that pastrami was cut in some weird way other than across the grain. Sad!

[Steve (from DC)]

I have bought them from time to time, but nowadays I go for the Kiolbassa brand smoked sausages sold at Harris Teeter.

[tcamp (Tamara)]

I’ll give them a try. I enjoyed The Fermented Pig sausages but I guess they are gone for good.

[johntannerbbq (john tanner)]

I thought their braunschweiger was very good, except for the presence of sweet pickles. Drop them or place them with onion and you have a fine sandwich for $13.

I was thinking about going there for an Italian Sausage with peppers and onions ($9).

Of course, for smoked sausage, you can’t beat Conecuh Sausage.

[FlemSnopes (Doug Herbert)]

I have had several meals at Stachowski that I have enjoyed a lot, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been there so the details are lost in the mists of time. I’m pretty sure I’ve never had the pastrami, however.

I don’t know if it’s still the case, but for years several of Stachowski’s sausages have been carried by local Harris-Teeter grocery stores.

Jamie is a big personality, by all reports, with a trail of busted partnerships over the years. He and his wife ran Restaurant Kolumbia at 19th and K in the District in the mid-aughts (it closed in maybe 2007). It was right across the street from where my office was at the time, so I ate there pretty often. It was a very good, underrated place, with a continental, Polish-leaning menu.

I remember it most for the truly epic online flame wars that Jamie would get into with any customer who dared to make even the mildest criticism of Restaurant Kolumbia.

What I’d love to see is a joint venture by Jamie Stachowski and the now-absent Michael Landrum, of Ray’s the Steaks, who was a notable customer brawler himself.

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

I enjoyed both Ray’s the Steaks and Ray’s Hellburger, but i loved the crazy flame wars Michael got into from time to time.