In this charming little video from Saveur, 2nd Avenue Deli manager Steve Cohen and counter man David Gonzalez—who's been working there off and on since 1978—reveal what goes into the construction of the deli's famous pastrami sandwich. Did you know that at least a half a pound of pastrami gets piled onto that bad boy? And that customers who want to soil it with mayo tend to place their orders "very quietly because they don't really want to be seen by the others"? Also, according to Cohen, this sandwich is the key to peace in the Middle East:
Toward the end of the video, Cohen explains, "A pastrami sandwich is the great equalizer. I see CEOs, people who are on social security, people whose happiness in life is a pastrami sandwich. Israelis can sit with Arabs when they have a sandwich... They don't reach for a fist, they don't reach for a knife. It's a microcosm of what's right in the world. And pastrami is the glue that holds it all together." And can you imagine what a wonderful world this would be if we followed the pastrami with a black and white cookie?
At some point this spring, a second 2nd Avenue Deli will open on the Upper East Side, ending decades of strife over the Second Avenue Subway construction.
