"A close-up of the pastrami showcases the juiciness of the spice-edged smoky meat."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"At its best, Harold's pastrami is as good as it gets. This is half a large sandwich. The other half is hidden behind it."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Here's what you came for!"
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"We think of blintzes as breakfast food, but as we enjoyed these we were saying how they would make a great dessert for two or three people. As we got ready to leave, a table of four next to us were served a plate of blintzes for dessert."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"The giant kasha knish is filled with well-onioned and oiled smooth-textured cereal. True Jewish soul food!"
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Here is a bowl of seriously satisfying chicken soup with noodles."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"A serving suitable for a family; the terrific kasha varnishkes are loaded with deeply-browned onions. Ignore the bad and irrelevant gravy."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"There are boxes of ruggies for sale at the counter as you pay your bill. They are crunchy and fruity and make a satisfying zweet for when you get home."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"The cheesecake is dense and creamy. The picture doesn't show it, but a slice will feed three generously."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"This is the small Reuben. It comes in a large version, too. Yes, underneath that tidal wave of melted (good) Swiss cheese is a pile of Harold's incomparable pastrami, along with some mild sauerkraut and sweet Russian dressing. There's even rumored to be some rye bread at the bottom."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Fried kreplach come with ultrasweet, long-cooked onions."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"This "small" corned beef was ordered lean and, sure enough, it had barely any fat at all."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"A potato knish is sized to serve three or four as a side dish. It would also be suitable as a monomaniacal entree for one. Filled with smooth potatoes dotted with browned onions. They also serve a version filled with kasha."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"The table next to ours was kind enough to let us photograph their triple-decker sandwich. When the waiter brings it, the sandwich is standing erect, about a foot-and-a-half high. He then lays it down on the plate. This one has turkey, Swiss cheese, and what looks like pastrami. "
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"You can pick up extra slices of the chewy-crusted fragrant rye bread at the pickle bar. Be sure to take some extra to bring home with your leftovers."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"The health salad (or Claremont salad) from the pickle bar is a perfect example of this deli favorite."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Towards the bottom right you can see ONE (!) eclair. Below that are single apple turnovers."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"The pickle bar holds sour pickles (lower left), dill pickles (lower right), and half-sours (top). There are also pickle chips and slices and pickled tomatoes and sauerkraut."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Harold’s matzoh brei (broken matzoh bread scrambled with eggs) is a truly unique dish in theory, though the result was rather tasteless and dry."
ayersian
"We are especially fond of the health salad, not visible in this shot."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Part of the pickle bar; the health salad is terrific."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"On this colossal breakfast sandwich, the Taylor ham was tender and juicy, and the melted cheese sloughed off the sides in large gobs. Fork and knife required!"
ayersian
"This “side order” of pastrami hash is enough to feed 5-6 people, and every hunk of meat and potatoes was bursting with flavor."
ayersian
"Bright, noisy, crowded, and casual - just what you'd expect."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Order a piece of cake and you get a wedge, two feet top to bottom, cut from one of these. We haven't tried them all but in our experience they have too much frosting to cake."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"From top to bottom: rugelach cheesecake, napoleon, and plain cheesecake (the best dessert in the house). That rugelach cheesecake is so over-the-top but one day we're going to give it a try (and we expect to say that it's good but the plain is better). We do not like the napoleon at all."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Harold's is a classic NY-style deli."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Rumanian steak can feed three NFL players comfortably. Mostly hidden beneath the beef is a mountain of well-cooked onions, mushrooms, and garlic. All highly recommended!"
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"Regular entrees come with your choice of potato. Ask for potato pancakes and you get two foot-wide, inch-thick manhole covers of spud. They are finely textured and a little sweet and, like all restaurant potato pancakes, not nearly as good as good homemade latkes."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"A small brisket sandwich is a nice change of pace if you eat here frequently, but if you come here once you should stick to the cured meats."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
"The dish listed as Mushroom - Egg - Barley is like a moist, mushroomy pasta-based stuffing, along the lines of matzo farfel and kasha varnishkes."
Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
