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Spencer: There's nothing more New York
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than a pastrami on rye,
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and no one does it Katz's.
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I've tried to eat deli all over the world,
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but the only place to have it is New York City.
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I have to have it at Katz's.
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Hey, guys, it's Spencer,
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and I'm outside Katz's Delicatessen.
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This is legendary places in New York City.
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It's been here 1888.
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So I'm gonna go try their famous pastrami
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and see if it lives to the hype.
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Katz's Delicatessen
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has a New York institution for over 130 years.
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The deli is like a living museum.
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is it the oldest Jewish deli in New York,
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it's one of the only delis of its kind
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still in operation at all.
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Jake: Coming to Katz's is a .
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It's a in time.
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It's being connected to your parents, to your grandparents,
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to your ,
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to your
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'cause they all came here.
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We do not believe changing pretty much anything
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from the walls, to the neons,
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to the pictures, to the staff,
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to the food, the recipes.
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We don't really believe in changing it.
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You come here because you want that nostalgia
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and that tradition and that food that you know and love.
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Spencer: food dates back
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to the late 19th and early 20th centuries
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when Eastern European Jews
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immigrated to New York's Lower Side,
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bringing traditional Eastern European foods
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like and vegetables along with them.
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Delis became a meeting ground
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where tradition blended with new American culture.
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At one time, delis like
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Katz's were ,
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but thanks to things like
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and changing food trends,
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Katz's is the only one that's been able to survive the ages.
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Part of its success is exposure.
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, Katz's nostalgic setting
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has the for countless movies and TV shows,
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the of which is Meg Ryan's iconic scene
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in "When Harry Met Sally."
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The scene with Meg Ryan, it's one of my favorite scenes
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in all the movies we've ever seen.
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You can reenact it now, right?
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Oh, not right now, thank you.

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Movie scene: Yes, yes, yes.
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what she's having.

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Spencer: Hollywood fame aside, Katz's success is
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also thanks to their food
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is really just that good.
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The menu has all the classics you'd expect
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from a Jewish deli,
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but most people for their
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legendary pastrami and corned .
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Can you describe what their pastrami tastes like to me?
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Heaven.
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It's the only place in the world
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to get a pastrami sandwich.
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I mean, I wouldn't have it anyplace else.
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It's about treating the piece of meat
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like you would a child and knowing what to do with it
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and how to take care of it from start to finish
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that makes it so special.
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We cook it anyone else.
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We cook it so long that it would fall apart
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if you try and put it in a slicer.
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So it's so juicy, so tender, that you have
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to carve it .
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Spencer: Their approach
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means each sandwich is expertly carved to order.
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To keep the crowds moving, Katz's is
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multiple carvers at multiple counters.
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And let's just say, you better be
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prepared to order when you get in line.
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When you walk in, you're gonna get a .
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That's our system, we've been it
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the same way 131 years.
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Feed me.
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Be prepared because if you get all the way
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to the front of the line and don't know what you want,
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you're gonna .
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I would like pastrami on rye.
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But you already know what you want.
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You a pastrami. You want some latkes.
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You want some ball soup.
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You're good, no problem, don't worry about it.
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So that was the easy part.
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Finding a is the hard part.
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I don't know.
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I might have to eat it , which I would.
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All right, so we have here the pastrami.
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It's just classic, juicy, perfect, fantas...
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You can't go wrong.
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Do you have any tips for digging
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into this monster of a sandwich?
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Just do it, just embrace it.
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Just go for it.
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Yeah.
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.
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Cheers.
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All right.
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Oh, my God!
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Go for it, don't let me stop you.
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All right, I'm gonna take another bite.
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That is .
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It's really good.
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Oh, man, hand me one of those napkins.
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I gotta fix my face.
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So this is pastrami I've ever had.
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Thank you.
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How is that possible?
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One years of practice,
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that's how it's possible.
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All right, there you go.
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Eating that sandwich was a religious experience.
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I'm talking perfection.
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Even still, it almost took a back seat
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to the actual experience of just being
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in that noisy, chaotic room,
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literally surrounded Katz's history.
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Photos from everyone who's come before
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and signs from a era,
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all of it a reminder that Katz's
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will always be here for you,
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just as it always has.
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in a city barreling toward the future.
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There's nothing like nostalgia.
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I mean, there's nothing than those traditions.
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I can't believe that this is my life
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and this is what we get to do for a living,
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is to preserve a tradition and make people happy, hopefully.
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It's , and it's a wonderful, wonderful place to be.