Blogtown, PDX

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Food Kenny and Zuke’s

Posted by Alison Hallett on Tue, Oct 9 at 3:01 PM

I went to a “training meal” at Kenny and Zuke’s last night, a New York-style Jewish deli opened by Nick Zukin (aka extramsg, I’m sure he’s around here somewhere) and Ken Gordon—basically an expansion of the weekly deli they used to run out of Ken’s Place. The new restaurant is at the corner of 11th and Stark, right by the Ace. Work on the space isn’t finished, and it’s not open to the public yet, but it’s pretty promising, great windows, purty wood floors. I promised not to write anything review-y about last night’s dinner, but I’m sure praise will be accetable: My sandwich was great—a “Ken’s special,” pastrami, coleslaw, chopped liver. I was skeptical about the chopped liver, having never had it (West coast baby), but it was totally good—it’s a sort of pate made with liver, onions, and hard-boiled eggs, which I am sure everyone else already knew but was news to this kid. Also got a peek at the huge downstairs kitchen where bagels and bread are baked.

There was a menu available for perusal but I didn’t take notes, too busy shoving pastrami in my face, so from a post by Ken on portlandfood.org:

We will be doing latkes, and they’re really crispy and pretty grease free. Also blintzes, knishes, kreplach, pot roast, matzo balls, stuffed cabbage, bagel dogs, Sabrett hot dogs, Empire Kosher salami, egg creams, a dozen different root beers, Anchor Steam on tap, corned beef hash, lox onions & eggs, pastrami burger, Reubens, chopped liver, Rumanian tenderloin steaks, bagels and bialies, 5 different schmears, smoked whitefish spread….

Look for a grand opening by the 23rd of this month, if not sooner.

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Comments

Mrs.Davis is already raging about this place. RAGING! In a good way...

I think with the New York Times being so orgasmic about Portland's food scene, it's ironic we don't have anything to rival Katz's or the Carnegie Deli. The chopped liver at Kornblatt's is okay. But Woody Allen wouldn't set a movie in there.

Posted by Matt Davis | October 9, 2007 3:32 PM

11th and Stark on the west side or the east side?

Posted by The Mo | October 9, 2007 3:37 PM

west!

Posted by Alison Hallett | October 9, 2007 3:58 PM

I had the pastrami burger at the old location and it was so good I wept when it was all gone.

Posted by rico | October 9, 2007 4:42 PM

I had a bite of the pastrami burger the other night and I could have wept, it was so good.

Posted by vj | October 9, 2007 8:10 PM

Sounds great, but SABRETT dogs? Why? These are not the worst (by far), but it is kinda like paying double Seattle's Best coffee when they are giving away Stumptown for free.

Posted by freekaleek | October 10, 2007 5:24 PM

What's your idea of the worst, and the best? Not having had one myself, I can't comment. But Jason Perlow, who I would consider pretty authoritative on emulsified forcemeat, gave Sabrett pretty high marks.

http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/07/03/the-great-off-the-broiler-hot-dog-tasting-of-2007/

Posted by The Guilty Carnivore | October 10, 2007 10:58 PM

Thanks for the kind words Alison -- and others.

We chose Sabrett after taste-testing several others, including Hebrew National, Vienna, Chicago Red Hot, and some local dogs. We liked the slightly stronger spicing of the Sabrett and the natural casing that gave them a snap.

Posted by extramsg | October 10, 2007 11:36 PM

Sabrett is a very good choice for deli hot dogs. Its the same brand used by Katz's Deli in NYC, and also the same used by Papaya King and Gray's Papaya, the two most famous hot dog stands in Manhattan. It is also the most popular "dirty water" dog served in NYC pushcarts.

There is a difference between the commercial/restaurant style Sabrett and the one you buy in the supermarket. For starters its a smaller weight per pound dog, so it takes well to griddling, which is how it is served at Katz, Papaya and Grays. However the ones you buy in the supermarket are a heavier weight per pound dog and I feel they do much better when boiled.

Congrats to ExtraMSG and his new deli. I'm always happy to hear about the tradition being carried on in foreign countries like the Pacific Northwest. I'll be sure to stop by on my next Portland consulting gig.

Posted by Jason Perlow | October 11, 2007 6:38 AM

I can't wait for this place to open!!! The Pastrami Burger is fantastic. Love the bun they are serving it on, too. The fries are crisp and light.

Also, I claim to strongly dislike bagels, but they'll be serving up a different breed at K & Z's. There hasn't been a good bagel in this town since back in the 80's...till now that is. I got to try one the other night and it was amazing. I swear to God I've hated bagels for years, but I just know when the deli opens up I'll be ordering bagel with cream cheese and lox. There is something special about these bagels because they actually taste good and don't have a nasty, rubbery texture!

Best regards,

Amanda

Posted by Amanda | October 11, 2007 6:57 AM

Open the damn place already!

Posted by Ikealutefisk | October 11, 2007 7:34 AM

What he said!

Posted by Snarky-J | October 11, 2007 8:25 AM

Amanda,
If you are from Portland (or elsewhere in the west) you likely don't hate bagels...you hate what is commonly passed off as a bagel. I'm looking forward to Ken's bagels, as well as getting back to the pastrami, which makes, hands-down, the best sandwich I've EVER had!
Good luck Kenny and Zuke's, I'll be seeing you soon. -Tony

Posted by Tony Pereira | October 21, 2007 9:07 AM

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