Out at Pastrami Jack’s with Dave for lunch. A favorite location of his that’s normally outside of my lunchtime driving range he suggested that I try it out today. After looking at the menu online I was definitely ready to try this place out. Always interested in trying something new, I hoped that the items were as good as they sounded on the menu.
Well, I certainly wasn’t disappointed! Immediately after walking in, the smells of good corned beef and pastrami filled my nostrils and reminded me of my days eating back on the East Coast. The first thing I laid my eyes on was a childhood favorite of mine, Joyva’s chocolate covered raspberry jellies. Candies that are many times imitated but never quite the same. I snatched one of those yummy confections and proceeded to pick up my phone-in order. Dave, also loving the candies, paid for and then crammed four of them into his pockets with a huge grin spreading across his face.
Dave had placed an order ahead of time by phone to save some time for an enjoyable meal after arrival. Right as we walked in the door one of the owners asked if we were the ones with the pre-orders — they were all ready for us. Nice touch.
I chose their egg salad on pumpernickel lunch special which included a “side salad”. Dave went with a “Reuben”, with no sauerkraut, and an order of fries. Their “side salad” was more like a large dinner salad and after dumping the dressing on a waitress immediately walked over and asked if I needed another… I sure wasn’t about to pass that offer up :) The egg salad was firm, tasty, and laying on a bed of lettuce and tomato. It was overflowing from the bread. After every bite I had to replace the toothpicks to keep it all together — now that is a sandwich!
Dave’s sandwich was equally as impressive. Literally bursting at the seams and smelling like it was worth a million dollars. These guys know their stuff and know how to bring that authentic East Coast Jewish deli feel to suburban Minneapolis. Too bad Kim wasn’t the one eating the “Reuben”, I couldn’t exactly steal bites of his sandwich without him biting my hand ;)
The first bite of my sandwich had me already knowing that this would become a regular lunch spot and a place I just have to bring Kim back to. I was absolutely thrilled with every aspect of the place.
After finishing our lunches, one of the owners asked if we had a couple of minutes… Of course! He brought over a *slab* of homemade cheesecake for us to share. Now, this wasn’t your typical chain restaurant $3.50 piece of cheesecake smothered in canned fruits to hide the crappy imitation cheesecake flavors… No, this was an honest to goodness *slab* of cheesecake. Now this guy knows how to make and keep customers. A great big thank you goes out to Jack.
After a chat about how they came about finding such a great lunchtime location and what research they did to make their restaurant so authentic, we said our goodbyes and took off to relish in our lunchtime ownage.
I called Kim on the way home to tell her of the great experience I had and promised her that we would return, this weekend, for cheesecake. Her response, “Why would you tell me that?! That’s so mean!” Poor girl, has to wait three whole days for that special lunchtime treat. She’ll live, I promise.
So, if you’re looking for an extra tasty treat in what I consider to be as close to an authentic Jewish deli as you will find in Minnesota, then I *highly* and *seriously* suggest that you check out Pastrami Jack’s located at 6407 Shady Oak Road in Minnetonka. Make sure to give them a call at 952-942-9510 if you’re in a rush and need to make the most of your lunch break.
You will NOT be disappointed.
See all the pictures from today here (mobile).
Related posts:
Loading ...
