RESTAURANT REVIEW: Deli offers food with New York flavor

It seems more often these days I pine for New York City, and when I do there are certain comfort foods that take me there.

Don’t get me wrong; I was born and raised in Southern California and will never leave the beach, but there is something about New York that has always attracted me.

I visit there frequently and would love to be able to live half the year there and half the year at the beach.

Until that happens, I must take comfort in the places and foods that remind me of the city.

One of those is Arnie’s Manhattan Restaurant and Deli. The deli is one of the most authentic I have found and the minute I walk in, it reminds me of a true NYC deli.

It opens at 10:30 a.m., though pick-up orders are being called in and picked up 90 minutes earlier. I like to get there early so I can assure myself of getting one of the booths. Then I can spread out my newspaper while I enjoy my Dr. Brown’s cream soda.

The atmosphere is tranquil when the deli first opens. The peace exists temporarily until about 11:30 a.m., when workers from the nearby office buildings take advantage of early lunch times.

By noon it is swamped, and most of the tables and booths are occupied, with a lot of men in shirts and ties and women in business suits. They nosh on the whole dill pickles housed in plastic jars on all the tables.

The pickles are refreshingly mild, the bite much more mild than some delis where they are so tart they curl nose hair.

Most of the people are there for the sandwiches, an Arnie’s specialty. There are 18 to choose from, including staples such as pastrami, roast beef and chicken salad.

There are more esoteric selections, though I haven’t had the nerve to try the tongue, or liverwurst and onions.

The ones I have had are outstanding. The taste of the corned beef on sourdough stayed in my mind until dinner. The meat was so lean and free of fat I didn’t even need bread to enjoy it.

The pastrami, though, is my favorite. Served simply on rye by itself, it needs no dressing, though Russian dressing, tomato, onion, lettuce and mayonnaise are available, as is deli mustard, which is already on the table.

There is no need to clutter these meats with anything else. The pastrami is lean, with minimal fat, and the flavor is quite strong. Get it on traditional rye bread the staff bakes itself. The bread is thicker than most ryes and envelopes the meat.

One sandwich I have taken a liking to is the prosciutto and provolone, though its popularity has caused shortages on a couple of visits. When they do have it, I like it on a kaiser or French roll with lettuce and onion and will ask them to drizzle it with oil and vinegar.

The deli offers a junior sandwich and super sandwich. The junior is six ounces of meat for $8.50 and is more than enough for lunch. If hungrier, 10 ounces of meat in the super sandwich is available for $10.95.

Now if you haven’t eaten in a couple of days, they have the skyscraper sensations, which are 12, 18 or 24 ounces of meat.

The hot sandwiches shouldn’t be neglected either. The Reuben is really good and can be ordered either with corned beef or pastrami. If you ask nicely, they might even put in turkey pastrami. My only gripe is I wish they added more sauerkraut, but I’m sure they would comply if I asked.

One visit, I chose Jewish delicacies instead of a sandwich. I ate bagel and lox, which was very good, then followed it with a potato knish and a bowl of matzo ball soup, both of which were very tasty.

On this visit, I ended my meal with cheesecake, but could have done without it. It was good, but it isn’t baked on the premises, so it wasn’t anything special.

My experience, though, was and usually is good every time I go. Arnie’s makes me think, even for a moment, I am back in New York City, and that is never a bad thing.