Manny's Coffee Shop

1141 S. Jefferson St., Chicago, IL - (312) 939-2855

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Posted By Skip Becker on 7/27/2006 10:36:00 PM

I brought three foodies to Manny's: a NYC deli owner, a food critic, and a restaurant supplier. The first person ordered a hot dog with loads of sauerkraut (a NY dog), a knish, cole slaw, and a pastrami sandwich. The critic had a pastrami sandwich, chopped liver, and matzo ball soup and a potato pancake. The third person chose a corned beef sandwich, an order of kishke, and matzo ball soup.

The pastrami was inedible. It had been sliced ahead of time and was sitting in an aluminum pan. The sandwich man grabbed a hunk of it and placed it between two pieces of rye bread, cut it with a big knife and handed it over. The meat was dark brown and curled up, a sign that it was allowed to cool and then warmed up, not freshly sliced. There was way too much of that thin rubber band-like strip of fat. No slices at all. All scraps... terrible. None of the four of us could eat it.

The chopped liver had an oily sheen across the top and was a little loose, but otherwise wasn't too bad. The matzo ball was tasteless. The kishke was dry - the thick brown gravy made it edible. The only half-decent food we tried was the corned beef. The potato pancake was cold and dry.

Perhaps if you come at 1:30PM like we did, the food is less than fresh and dried out. I've been coming to Manny's for over 40 years. Last time, we arrived at 11AM and the food was fantastic. The pastrami was fresh and red, with whole peppered slices. As close to NY quality as you can get. What I had this time shouldn't be served to prisoners.

Scorecard

Overall: Won't Eat Again

Rate this place

"For $9.95 you get a massive corned beef sandwich with a single potato pancake on the side and, of course, a couple of dill pickle spears."
Michael Stern

"No human jaw can stretch wide enough to eat this pile of corned beef between slices of bread like a normal sandwich. We watched it sliced, and it was still good and warm when we slathered on the mustard and started eating with knife, fork, and fingers."
Michael Stern

"Beyond its delicious flavor, the joy of a corned beef sandwich at Manny's has a lot to do with Gino, the man who slices the beef and piles it into bread with the sleight-of-hand of a master magician and the wise cracks of a stand-up comedian."
Michael Stern

"This is an oh-so-sweet pastry known as an 'apple slice.' It was good but, frankly, we were a little jealous of tablemate Bill Daley, who got vanilla pudding and declared it 'the real thing!'"
Michael Stern

"When Manny's opened near Maxwell Street just after World War II, it took over a space that had been a restaurant called Sunny's. To save money on the sign, proprietor Jack Raskin simply replaced the SU with MA ... and Manny's was born."
Michael Stern

"Matzoh Ball Soup: a wonderful way to begin a meal, especially on a cool day."
Michael Stern

"Manny's sells blintzes by the piece. One or two make a side dish for meat; three or four, with sour cream and apple sauce, are a dandy meal."
Michael Stern