How much meat is on a sandwich? Crowning New York’s best pound-for-pound pastrami: Liebman’s, 2nd Ave, Katz's, & Pastrami Queen

When you remove the bread all that’s left is... meat

If you don’t remember (or have an actual life), we recently wrote an investigative report detailing the best matzo ball soup from these same four delis (a pound for pound value, what else is there?).

Now that we’ve completed our slurping duties, it’s time to get to the meat of it. Get it? Our office visited four of NYC’s most important Jewish delis to find the most optimal pound-for-pound pastrami value – sides not included. 

Katz’s pastrami, not bad!

Recap: 

Post 1 Deli summary: https://oldjewishmen.substack.com/p/pastrami-salami-and-other-meats-worth 

Post 2 Matzo ball soup analysis: https://oldjewishmen.substack.com/p/can-matzo-ball-soup-be-considered 

Let’s go Meats!

If you think pastrami sandwiches are pricey, wait till you see how much the hat goes for

Pastrami Sandwich Report

As you can see, Katz’s and Liebman’s are the clear value winners. However, it should be considered that Katz’s is the only non-Kosher deli in the group, which means it has a built-in cost advantage. 

A sandwich at Liebman’s, which costs $21.95 for 9.6 oz of meat is the best total value. A sandwich at Katz’s is $27.45, which makes it the most expensive, but it comes with a whopping 11.4 oz of meat. 

The numbers:

How much does bread weigh?

Two slices of sandwich bread at Katz’s weighs 2.9 oz, which is considered “industry light'“ when compared to the sourdoughs and baguettes of the world. Oddly enough, this means that the meat-to-bread ratio at Katz is almost too big – a whopping 4.0. Where’s the coverage? On the flipside, Pastrami Queen comes with 6.6 oz of meat on 3.4 oz of bread (less than a 2.0 to bread ratio). Liebman’s and 2nd Ave seem to get the meat-to-bread ratio just right: 2.6-2.7 oz of meat per slice of bread.

Maybe Liebman’s is worth the schlep?

Pastrami Queen pastrami

Katz’s pastrami

2nd Ave Deli pastrami

Liebman’s pastrami

What about the fries?

Alas, the French Fries Report:

These days the going rate for a side of fries is around $9. That ain’t a typo, folks. What kinda world are we living in where you can either opt for nearly two Costco rotisserie chickens ($4.99 a piece -- for now), or a side of fries. 

Pastrami Queen presents the best value at $8.73 per pound of fries – a generous 16.5 oz serving – while the others are in the ~10-13 oz range. 2nd Ave Deli comes in last with 10.1 oz serving at $14.18 per pound. 

Pastrami Queen fries

Liebman’s fries

Katz’s fries

2nd Ave Deli fries

Half Sandwich Half Soup:

Liebman’s does not offer this, but the other three delis do:

2nd Ave Deli Half Sandwich Soup: $24.95 

• Full sandwich: $25.95 (equivalent half sandwich: $12.98)

• Soup: $12.95

• Normal total price: $25.93

• Savings: $0.98

• Percentage savings: 3.8% 

Pastrami Queen Half Sandwich Soup: $23.00

• Full sandwich: $24.50 (equivalent half sandwich: $12.25)

• Soup: $11.00

• Normal total price: $23.25

• Savings: $0.25

• Percentage savings: 1.1%

Katz’s Half Sandwich Soup: $23.95

• Full sandwich: $27.45 (equivalent half sandwich: $13.73)

• Soup: $9.95

• Normal total price: $23.68

• Savings: $0.27

• Percentage savings: 1.1%

In other words:

Get a full or half sandwich depending on hunger level. Even the OJM Value Desk can’t be swayed by a one percent savings.

BYOB (Bring Your Own Bread) 

Ok so there’s no value in the half sandwich soup combo, but is there another loophole? Well, what if you want to self-assemble your own sandwich?

These are the per pound pastrami at each deli:

1. Liebman’s: $42.99 by the pound, $36.58/lb in sandwich

2. 2nd Ave: $48.00 by the pound, $51.25/lb in sandwich

3. Pastrami Queen: $46.80 by the pound, $59.39/lb in sandwich

4. Katz’s: $40.00 by the pound, $38.53/lb in sandwich

At Liebman’s and Katz’s it’s cheaper to buy a sandwich than meat-by-the-pound, not to mention the free bread and pickles. At 2nd Ave and Pastrami Queen, it’s a better deal to purchase by the pound and BYOBread – as expected. 

Overall Analysis

Yes, somehow it now costs in the fifty buck range to get a bowl of matzo ball soup, pastrami sandwich, and fries in New York City. We’ve been whining about it for years and don’t expect it to change. Remember, complaining is a human right.

A complete meal at Katz’s

These days the only real value are the free samples at Katz’s. Unlike at Costco, you can’t loiter for hours rotating between free samples and $1.50 hot dogs, but it’s not insignificant value. It’s an opportunity.

Free meat? We’ll take two.