I’m bringing this reply over from Red Bank Redux.
I saw a cryovaced Hebrew National in the meat case as I was waiting for a sandwich on Friday.
I went there hoping you people were all lunatics and it was the best Jewish deli to open. Sadly you are not lunatics. The pastrami was average, almost what I would expect from any deli/diner touting a hot pastrami sandwich. It needs to be better than average, and I’m going to guess that is going to start with the purveyor. Heck, the pastrami from World Market is infinitely better than this. The chopped chicken liver needs work also, weirdly devoid of flavor.
And yes, the price to quality/value ratio is off. I won’t pretend to know the economics of running a new sandwich shop in Red Bank, but $12 for that seems out of line. Adding $5 for a measly amount of (bland) chicken liver on the sandwich seems way out of line as well, certainly given the proportion added to the sandwich.
So, don’t get me wrong I thought it was a good sandwich, not bad. But if you are a new Jewish deli I think you need to be better than average and work your way up from there. Everyone seems nice, and they were very busy on a Friday afternoon. I truly wish them the best and hope, for me, that some things change in the future.
