it’s true. there’s a love in my life that is now moving in on her territory. i’m cheating on my girl with: pastrami. yes dear readers, it’s pastrami. that delicious variant of corned beef (which oddly enough after a lifetime of hating i am starting to enjoy). i’ve had a love affair with pastrami for some time now but only now is it really creating a stronger food-hold on my heart. oh i could profess my love for pastrami endlessly but i will share a brief foray into the factory store of a popular meat business instead.

i was hungry, really hungry and my blood sugar was dropping. before i let it go any further i pulled my car over into the parking lot of the factory store of vienna beef. brushing past the bitter cold outside i enter into a slightly humid and delicious smelling environment that i bet few have actually seen. the air smelled of garlic, black pepper, all spice, clove and other smells that i couldn’t identify but were distinctly familiar. i meandered my way to the warm sandwich counter and ordered what was to be a life-changing sandwich. it was simple in both the number ingredients and architecture but the flavor was bold, sweet, sour, spicy and mild all at once.

i ordered it with just one topping: mustard. that’s it. just mustard. anything more would have ruined the delicate balance of flavors. the sandwich itself was piled with just about 1/3 pound of meat and cost me $7, but hey, small price to pay. i couldn’t get home fast enough without endangering myself.

once i did get home after taking the picture above (sorry, i would have staged it better but i was too goddamn hungry) i dove in head first. the bread was hearty, soft and sweet. the pastrami was bold tasting yet delicately shaved paper thin. the mustard tied all elements together with its pungent vinegar base and fluorescent color. the one thing i will say though was that the fat was a bit stringy and got stuck in my teeth a bit. again, this was a small price to pay and subsided after a couple of bites. the texture of the pastrami was melting in my mouth as i began chewing. i can only imagine that it had been cooked for something like 12 hours.

upon finishing i wanted another and another. i could eat these all day but, unlike the rich, i don’t have a cardiologist on staff 24/7 and i do (sometimes) have to watch my cholesterol. will i get this sandwich again? you bet for damn sure. was it worth the $7 price tag? you bet your ass. there’s plenty of other delicatessens in the city to choose from and i look forward to enjoying them all. however as a ‘jewel-in-the-rough’ goes this is high up there on the food chain. check ‘em out if you can.