Kornblatt's Delicatessen

Posted By Michael Stern on June 17, 2003 4:42 AM

Kornblatt’s is Portland’s New York style deli known for mile-high sandwiches, smoked fish platters, pot roast with potato pancakes, and cheese-filled blintzes served with sour cream and apple sauce.

We love breakfast here, whether that’s as simple as an excellent chewy bagel with a schmear of cream cheese or the kitchen’s estimable matzoh brei, a traditional Jewish dish that is vaguely like smooshed-up French toast, but eggier and made with unleavened matzoh crackers rather than bread. Corned beef has aficionados will definitely want to sample Kornblatt’s version. It’s the real thing.

At lunch, corned beef stars in sandwiches on good rye bread; matzoh ball soup is soothing; and borscht is sweet. Noodle kugel is particularly noteworthy. It’s like bread pudding but made with egg noodles: not quite dessert, not quite a side dish, but great to eat any time.

Overall Rating

Matzoh Brei

Corned Beef Sandwich

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Posted By tom deimling on January 29, 2012 8:32 PM

I never have been impressed with this place. Having grown up on the east coast I have idea regarding what deli food should be and it should be better than Kornblatt's. I ate there once during the holidays and saw that latkes were on the menu. I thought why not? When they arrived I discovered why not. They were serving hash browns! I mentioned this to the waitress who responded "What, are you a Rabbi?" At least that was authentic.

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Posted By Michael on May 16, 2011 12:37 PM

I ordered a New Yorker sandwich and they didn't know what I was talking about. There is no way this dive should be called a New York deli.

Chicken soup was tasteless and the pickles and coleslaw (which was brought to me after my sandwich was half gone) were a 1 1/2 out of 10. The server came from who-knows-what-planet. She didn't even bring me the correct sandwich. I ate it anyway so as not to have to wait some more.

Get a life, Portland, you're not even close to saying you have a NY-style deli.

Overall Rating

Corned Beef Sandwich

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Posted By Van Kovacs on March 12, 2007 6:55 PM

My wife and I recently visited Kornblatt's. She ordered a French Dip sandwich; I, a corned beef on sourdough. My san arrived on thin-sliced white bread. The meat was lukewarm and tasteless. Some of it got stuck in my throat. I washed it down with their watery root beer.

The condiments were better than the sandwich: succulent sauerkraut (all two spoonfuls of it) and their delicious mustard. The French Dip roll was soggy, if not sponge-like. The meat was undercooked; several slices were semi-raw. The coleslaw, however, was edible.

The bill came to $22. We left hungrier than when we walked in, wondering if we'd have to fly to Times Square to get some real lip-smacking food. This place is cozy enough and the waiters are attentive but, alas, the food is mediocre. They need to find a new source for their bread -- and a new cook. I might have tried their pastrami-on-rye except that they don't serve French fries. On a scale of 1-10 - ten being best - I give it a one.

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