Iconic Saturday

So as I was saying, Parham and I decided (poorly) to check out a few iconic places in the city The first being the original Katz's deli. While we have Katz's in Texas (a favorite late night spot during college in Austin since it is open 24 hours), this was the original, truly authentic deli. This place was a madhouse. There was a line...yes, a line!!!...wrapping around the side of the building. A large bouncer...yes, a bouncer!!...was standing outside letting people in to the place one small group at a time. There was a sign that stated bags were subject to search...wha??? And we received a ticket that was our pass out of the deli with a $50 charge if the ticket was lost. Where were we? A club? So then there was a long line to get a sandwich, another line to get french fries, another line to get drinks, a line to get an appetizer, and yet another line to pay. We were packed in like sardines, and there was no way to sit at a table without getting bumped a million times by the people walking by. Granted, the food was fantastic. I had half a pastrami sandwich and really enjoyed it despite not being a huge meat/pastrami fan. Parham had a ruben. The sandwiches were served on fresh rye with a pile of high quality meat the size of a New York high rise loaded on it. The potato cakes were nothing short of wonderful. They serve them with sour cream and applesauce. I wasn't sure what to think when ordering them, but I have to say that I enjoyed them as much or more than the sandwich. So after surviving the zoo called Katz's and its inhabiting animals, Parham and I left more stressed than we were going in.

We headed to a place called Doughnut Plant a few blocks away. Again, a very iconic place in New York since it has been featured on Food Network and the Travel Channel. We had tried to go to this place previously only to arrive 10 minutes after it closed.  This time, we got there while it was open but waited in another half hour line just to get in.  We tried an assortment of donuts included cocunut cream filled, peanut butter raspberry filled, creme brulee, pumpkin, and apple cinnamon. NO, we did not eat these all at once. Don't judge. We really wanted some coffee but after our strenuous eating experiences, we decided to enjoy the donuts at my place and brew some coffee there. They were pretty amazing with the coconut being my favorite. Mark Isreal, the owner of the Doughnut Plant uses his grandfather's recipe and adds his own twist. All the ingredients are homemade and fresh down to the jams, and Mark has somehow developed a method of making a square donute that has filling throughout the whole thing rather than just in the middle so every bite includes a bit of filling. So. Good.

Again, we run into the loves and hates of living here.  I wouldn't be able to try these things if I didn't live here, but when you have to wait half an hour just to get IN, you start getting a little grumpy.  Of course, you can always be smart and not go on a Saturday morning. Eh, like I said, poor decisions.  You live, you learn.