What’s Philly’s best pastrami? I tasted and ranked them all

Pastrami is one of the cornerstones of the Jewish deli canon. It’s the steamy cousin to corned beef, in that they’re both first pickled in brine, but pastrami has the extra Romanian swagger of smoke and a peppery black spice crust, and often a good bit more marbling. The zesty art of pastrami is having a Philly moment as chefs of all sorts across the region have embraced the challenge of its lengthy, multistep process — sometimes several days long — as a way to express craft and personality.

I’ve tasted most of them, from the region’s best Jewish delis to more wide-ranging sandwich shops and restaurant menus that take every detail seriously. These are four of my current favorites after tasting them side by side.

One of the most heavenly places to stand in Philadelphia is the pole position at the pastrami-slicing counter station of Hershel’s East Side Deli in Reading Terminal Market, where every sandwich is hand-sliced to order in a flash of long blades and beefy steam. I’ve long coveted this pastrami, which has ties to a longtime former employee of the legendary Katz’s on New York’s Lower East Side (Hershel’s owner’s uncle), with 10 spices in the mix and a long overnight cook. On direct tasting comparison, however, this was the least complex of the group, its pepper- and garlic powder-forward profile unmasked by a light smoke. A midmorning hunk might also have used an extra hour in the steamer box. This was also the least tender of the batch. But I’ve had better from Hershel’s.

📍Hershel’s East Side Deli, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19107; 📞215-922-6220; 🌐 readingterminalmarket.org

Few places put as much work into the pastrami as Middle Child. Chef Edwin De La Rosa sources the meat locally, a chuck roll from KP’s Fine Meats, brines it for two weeks in a garlicky brew infused with toasted mustard seeds, allspice, ginger, and clove, glazes it with molasses, and then dusts it with a spice blend of multicolored peppercorns, fennel, and garlic before smoking it for three hours over fruit wood. The end result is a richly flavored, tender, deep red meat, albeit more subtly seasoned (and noticeably less salty) than the others. A great pastrami, though, can go wrong at any moment. And had it not been carelessly handled in the kitchen — shredded to bits, rather than more carefully sliced for my West Coast-style Reuben — it might have landed higher on the list.

📍Middle Child Clubhouse, 1232 N. Front St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19122, 📞267-858-4325; 🌐middlechildphilly.com

I enjoy the crackle and chew of Bart’s New York-style bagels so much, it took a moment to realize that chef Ron Silverberg’s house-smoked meats are also top notch. The pastrami for Bart’s Reuben is most notable for the depth of its eight-hour hickory wood smoke, which gives the meat’s mix of lean and fattier brisket cuts a long savor woven with coriander, garlic, and sweet smoked paprika spice. I grew up on the delis of Metro Detroit, where Bart’s sources its pickled briskets from legendary meat purveyor Sy Ginsberg, so it’s no wonder I gravitated toward this sandwich. Bart’s pumpernickel round is the obvious bagel choice for this meat. My only complaint is the overly modest portion.

📍Bart’s Bagels, 3945 Lancaster Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104, 📞215-596-515; 🌐bartsbagels.com

Local deli savant Russ Cowan, who recently sold Famous 4th Street to open this new deli in Cherry Hill, switched to the fattier deckle cut of brisket a few years ago when the usual navels became increasingly inconsistent due to supply chain shortages. His meat is now so beautifully webbed with marbling that, once it’s brined for five days, encrusted with pepper and coriander, smoked, and then given a slow morning ride in the steamer, is so tender with fast-basted savor, I’d put a shear-cut slender ribbon of it dabbed with a schmear of brown mustard up against anyone’s fancy Wagyu. There are flashier pastramis, but Radin’s manages boldness with balance and full-flavored consistency as the local gold standard of the classic style.

📍Radin’s Delicatessen, 486 Evesham Rd., Cherry Hill, N.J. 08003,📞856-509-5492; 🌐radinsdelicatessen.com