Why go: North and South converge at this combination New York deli and soul-food café, where white collar meets blue collar and black mingles with white. Rarely can you find a pastrami sandwich this good south of the Mason-Dixon Line—or one that can be served with a side of grits.
What to get: Pastrami—rich and moist—on rye; mildly spiced corned-beef sandwich; thick-cut roast-beef sandwich, the house-roasted meat still warm from the oven if you get there early enough.
Best for: Transplanted New Yorkers in need of a pastrami fix and anyone who loves people-watching. Customers include hat-wearing matrons, Bluetooth-bearing professionals, paint-spattered construction workers—all likely drawn by the warm smiles of the ladies behind the counter as well as by the food.
Insider tip: Three decades on, this old-school deli still doesn’t take credit cards.
Open weekdays for breakfast and lunch.
See all 2008 Cheap Eats restaurants
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
