Jerry’s Deli offers the taste and feel of New York

Kathy Mader

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: New York cuisine has a lot

to offer Southern Californians, and Jerry’s Famous Deli seems to be

making it its business to offer it all -- all at once, and all in the

same place.

Jerry’s Famous Deli on Park Center Drive, near the Orange County

Performing Arts Center, has the biggest menu I have ever seen, and

believe me, I have seen -- and ordered from -- a lot of them! I tried

counting the number of items, no extras and no sides, and quit when I

hit 100 and hadn’t left the upper left hand corner of the menu. I

think it would be a fair guesstimate and no exaggeration to say there

may even be 1,000 items on this menu.

The menu itself is almost 2 feet high and even longer in width.

The menu quotes and seems to live by the words of Los Angeles Times

writer Max Jacobson: “Some is good, more is better, too much is just

right.”

If this seems daunting to you, follow this game plan: Think of

something you want and order it. Short of Romanian skirt steak -- oh

wait, that’s on there -- Jerry’s will have it.

Now, I have eaten at a deli and a diner or two in New York, and

following the menu’s massive lead, I will say that four or five of

these diners could fit into this Jerry’s. It is a huge restaurant,

and I am thinking that this is where the California influence lies:

sheer bigness, like Home Depot big. ... Well, not quite, but you get

the picture.

Speaking of pictures, the decor of Jerry’s is based on when New

York City was the moviemaking capital. Giant old-time movie posters

adorn the walls, and roller-coaster-like track lighting with bright

colored lamps runs throughout the deli, up and over the red leather

booths. Like New York City itself, Jerry’s is big, noisy, bright,

busy and pretty expensive. You either love it or hate it.

If you love items like gefilte fish, chopped liver, kreplach and

pirogen, Jerry’s is your place. And you can get them all to go! These

aren’t just novelty items at Jerry’s either. This is standard fare.

You are also in luck if you love 8-inch high chocolate mousse

cakes and carrot cakes, fresh bagels and brisket, knockwurst Reuben

sandwiches, classic Monte Cristos and the Brooklyn egg cream, which,

as luck would have it, has no egg in it.

I just took another look at the menu, this time the “To Go” menu,

which is just as big, tried to count just the headlines of each

section, and stopped at 20 on the front side. After hot dogs, pizzas,

ribs, smoked fish platters and “nosh,” I just couldn’t go on. It is

all there. You can order from any section, any time, and again. All

of it is available for catering or to go.

But how is the food? you ask.

This trip was a big success. The last trip wasn’t. The trip before

was, so like New York itself, it can be a little touch and go.

But the crowds love it, and the old-fashioned chocolate sodas

alone make it worth it. Jerry’s has 10 locations, none in New York,

one in Florida.

I believe the wait staff trained in New York, anyway: somewhat

friendly, but efficient as all get out. If you don’t know what you

want, they’re gone. With a menu that reads like the movie credits in

“Gangs of New York,” you probably won’t know what you want the first

two times they ask.

Failing to get in the adventurous spirit and anxious to please my

server with a timely choice, I ordered the chili cheese omelet

($8.65), which was just great, served with fried potatoes and your

choice, mine really, of toast or tomatoes. I ate it all.

Brian had the corned beef hash ($9.65), which he could have had in

an omelet, and there was no mistaking this for that nasty canned

stuff. This was shredded corned beef, fried up with potato and onions

and served scrambled eggs and the same choices I had. This was just a

touch greasy, but sometimes on a Sunday morning after a 1-year-old’s

birthday party, that’s just what the doctor ordered.

A Jerry’s Famous Deli original is the breakfast pizza with your

favorite egg dish served on a pizza crust. While Jerry’s is somewhat

expensive -- sandwiches cost from $9 to $13 -- the portions are big,

and if it is an authentic pastrami, chopped chicken liver and onion

sandwich that you want, that is what you get.

* KATHY MADER’s dining reviews appear every other Thursday.