re: Are New York City roast beef sandwiches overrated?

Friend,

Absolutely not. Brooklyn styled roast beef sandwiches are probably the most underrated and unappreciated part of NY cuisine that most New Yorkers do not realize is part of their heritage.

The history extends back to the Irish immigrants who moved to the southern end of Brooklyn between 1900 and 1940, part of the suburbanization of that land before World War II. New York is always a decade or two ahead of the rest of America, and this was true with the Irish second generation building out from city centers, escaping the abject poverty of previous Irish strongholds, like Hells Kitchen.

Brennan & Carr is the best known and in my opinion the best example of the Brooklyn roast beef. The waiters still dress like soda shop fountain workers and the inside has a dark wooden old New England feel to it. The neighborhood around it has modernized, but I doubt Brennan & Carr has changed much in the last 75 years.

Always order the KFJ — it’s the equivalent of ordering a roast beef poorboy with extra, extra gravy or ordering a Portillo’s Italian beef double dipped. It’s so moist you are supposed to use a fork and knife to eat it. Would I take a KFJ above a Portillo’s Italian beef (I had the latter last night at the Portillo’s in Lake Buena Vista)? If you’re just giving me beef and bread and gravy, I would take Brennan & Carr. But if you get the sweet peppers on the Portillo’s, the peppers give the Chicago sandwich the edge.

Roll and Roast and Original John’s both also have famous Brooklyn roast beef sandwiches, and they too are good. The original John’s is no longer owned by the original family. The family has opened a new shop called simply John’s Deli and it is down near the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights. I’m not a fan of their gravy. It is too thick and almost artificial flavored, with too much either flour or corn starch.

Yes, the Brooklyn roast beef sandwich is little know and even less appreciated. There are many sandwich shops in southern Brooklyn that have the sandwich, but the above locations are where they specialize in the sandwich.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

P.S. If you were underwhelmed by a Portillo’s Italian beef with peppers double dipped, you will be disappointed with all Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago because Portillo’s is the clear front runner for that sandwich.

I have no clue why this became a conservation about pastrami. If we are talking NY pastrami and not first mentioning 2nd Ave Deli and Sarge’s, the conversation needs to turn.

You've been eating too many good pizzas lately. As a long time fan of 2nd Ave Deli I can tell you that it is now confirmed to be terrible. Their pastrami has shown on 3 straight trips to be barely edible.

A beef, juicy, with hot peppers (or hot oil only) from Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park, Illinois is the finest sandwich I've ever had.

I would take a roast beef po-boy from R&O's over any other Italian beef in Chicago, including Al's, which is pretty good.

Portillo's is a Walt Disney version of Chicago fast food, and bears the same relationship to Johnnie's as Taco Bell to a genuine taqueria in Mexico.

Johnnie's Beef is supreme. Their second location in Arlington Heights has none of the charm of the original; but the food is just as good.

Friend,

My apologies for your experience there, but my last visit to 2nd Ave was superb, as good as ever. Next time we are in town, we should visit together and compare notes.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

P.S. we should also make the trip to Brennan & Carr. That’s ideal roast beef sandwich for which Arby’s strives.

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Philly cheesesteak, NOLA poboy, Chicago Italian beef, etc. It’s just another regional sandwich that gets hyped up bc you can’t get it everywhere. And if you find a good one, it’s worth it bc it’s probably delicious.

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True. The etc..also includes Baltimore Pit beef