Courtesy of The Sacramento Bee - in case you missed this on Friday!
Counter Culture: Pastrami at Mulvaney's and Capitol Dawg is the real deal
Published: Friday, Dec. 10, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 44TICKET
Before we chomp into two luscious versions of the pastrami sandwich, let's do a definition.
Real pastrami is fatty and juicy and shares the throne with corned beef at Jewish delicatessens throughout New York. It's the brisket cut of beef cured by brining in seasoned, salted water, then rubbed with the likes of coriander, allspice, cloves, garlic and their cousins, then smoked (and often steamed afterward). Slice it, stack it on rye bread, top it with deli mustard and/or horseradish and you've got a classic.
Every now and then, readers call in search of that pastrami sandwich. The sad truth is, we don't have a local Saul's (Berkeley), a Canter's (Los Angeles) or a Katz's (New York, since 1888). So when diners have asked for pastrami recommendations, I've pointed to the Plaza Hofbrau (2500 El Camino Ave., Sacramento; 916-482-2175) and Sam's Deli (8121 Greenback Lane, Fair Oaks; 916-726-7267).
I used to include Max's Opera Cafe, late of the Galleria in Roseville and Arden Fair mall in Sacramento. They're history, but the Bay Area-based chain opened a Max's (no more "Opera") in Auburn in August, with the same menu (110 Grass Valley Highway; 530-888-6100; www.maxsworld.com). Its pastrami is made according to the recipe from the legendary Carnegie Deli in New York City (since 1937), said Max's founder, Dennis Berkowitz.
Now I've got more pastrami recommendations, at two disparate restaurants within a block of each other. These pastramis are, as they say, the real deal. Words to describe them include juicy, spicy, smoky, chewy, tender, crispy, messy. In Yiddish, the word is "m'chaiah."
Some context: About a year and a half ago, Capitol Dawg owner Mike Brown created the River Cats Dog. He topped it with pastrami, Swiss, sauerkraut and ballpark mustard. His pastrami was supplied by a friend, restaurateur Patrick Mulvaney, and was smoked at the nearby Mulvaney's B&L.
For business reasons, Brown switched to a Bay Area purveyor a year ago. Its pastrami – "Made in the East Coast style," Brown said – is brined, hand-rubbed with spices and smoked for hours over hickory-wood coals. On Monday, Brown broke with Capitol Dawg's wiener tradition and added a pastrami sandwich to his menu.
"We slice it, grill it and put it on a sesame-seeded French roll," Brown said. That's it: the purity of brisket and bread for $6.39. If you want toppings, choose from more than 50. We stopped by Wednesday for a taste.
We swooned and ordered another one.
A few days before that, lunch pal and author Tim Comstock ("Reunion in Carmel") and I gorged on pastrami at Mulvaney's B&L, a white-tablecloth restaurant in a building dating from 1872.
"We use Niman Ranch brisket," Mulvaney said. "We brine it for eight days, rub it with a secret spice blend and slow-smoke it over almond wood."
The pastrami was heaped on grilled rye from the Bread Store on J Street and served with a salad. We left off the cheddar cheese and cabbage but kept the spicy dressing. We swooned again and got a second one to go ($13).
Capitol Dawg: 1226 20th St., Sacramento; (916) 444-1226, www.capitoldawg.com.
Mulvaney's B&L: 1215 19th St., Sacramento; (916) 441-6022, www.mulvaneysbl.com.
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