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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, July 29, 2005

Portion sizes overshadow taste at Kaimuki deli

By Helen Wu
Advertiser Restaurant Critic

Damien Boone brings a meal to Tom Reed of Kaimuki at A Taste of New York.

Photos by Rebecca Breyer | The Honolulu Advertiser

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A TASTE OF NEW YORK DELI MARKET

1137 11th Ave., Kaimuki
737-3354 (DELI)
Open 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
Metered parking in municipal lot
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A reuben sandwich — with hot sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing — costs $14.95. It's huge.
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A TASTE OF NEW YORK DELI MARKET

1137 11th Ave., Kaimuki
737-3354 (DELI)
Open 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
Metered parking in municipal lot
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Whenever I hear the word "deli," Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Mich. — considered by many to be the best deli outside New York — is the first place that pops into mind. The No. 17, known as Helen's Have Another, made with Stonington smoked salmon and scallion cream cheese on pumpernickel, is still on the menu and has been my favorite since grade school, when I first discovered that ultimate, mouth-melting, smoky combination of Nova and cream cheese.

In Manhattan, it's another story. On a recent trip there, I asked some New Yorkers to name their quintessential deli, and the overwhelming response was Katz's on the Lower East Side. Opened in 1888, this is where Harry met Sally, and is the last deli in New York to hand-carve pastrami and corned beef, representative of the eateries established by Jewish Eastern European immigrants in this country.

So when A Taste of New York unveiled itself in the old Sis Kitchen spot in Kaimuki, I was a little verklempt to find not a single knish or bagel on the menu. But, vat? No lox and cream cheese either? This is a menu must for any New York deli worth its weight in pastrami.

I could see how matzo-ball soup and gefilte fish might not be big sellers in the middle of the Pacific, but you can find bagels at local supermarkets these days and the smoked salmon-cream cheese duo now appears on Island menus from luxury hotels to my neighborhood sushi grab-n-go.

OK, enough kvetching already. What A Taste of New York does offer, besides a mouthful of a name, is food not meant for noshing. Never mind sumo-size, Texas-size and super-size, the portion sizes here might even make Sam Choy blush.

We're talking 11 ounces of meat in the classic New York sandwiches ($10.95 to $13.95) on a choice of rye, pumpernickel, wheat, white or sourdough bread. They also have triple-decker sandwiches ($12.95 to $16.95) named after famous personalities "as served at Stage Deli in New York."

And if you can top that, you can attempt for dessert the smooth-like-buttah Empire State cheesecake ($9.95 per slice, $80 whole cake, $45 half cake). A single wedge is 5 inches long and its filling is about 4 inches high. (I measured.)

Don't even think about going to this place alone. A single sandwich could probably feed a family of four in a Third World country very comfortably for a day.

Although I'm considered to be a capable eater and always bring hungry backup assistance on my visits, we struggled to consume a whole sandwich, much less two, and carried leftovers home from every visit. I wouldn't recommend this place for a first date, when it might feel awkward to take a bite out of something several inches high.

In spite of their impressive size, most items on the menu turned out to be ordinary tasting. There was nothing special about the cubed chicken salad and chewy, cold bacon in a triple-decker Sara Jessica Parker ($13.95) with lettuce and tomato. I didn't find anything exciting about a half-pound, 11-inch hot dog ($7.95) either.

I had better luck with a regular pastrami sandwich ($11.95) served slightly warm on decent rye bread that held the heaping, thinly sliced layers of meat together. Although A Taste gets its meats mostly from Chicago, if I closed my eyes and concentrated really hard, Katz's tender, smoked homemade version didn't seem so far away.

For a dollar more, you can have homemade coleslaw and Russian dressing slathered on your sandwich. Another dollar means extras such as cheese or another helping of meat for a combo. But if you're going to these lengths, you might as well order a reuben ($14.95) with either pastrami or corned beef. The hot sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on this grilled sandwich give it a real boost.

I wouldn't bother with the two soups ($7.95 bowl, $3.95 cup) since neither is made in-house. And if you come here for a salad ... well, I won't go there.

What folks seem to like at A Taste of New York is the novelty of the place. Nina Simone sings in the background and you can sip a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda ($2.50). The tubs of big pickles at each table add to the atmosphere, and large sides of homemade potato salad and coleslaw help make the sandwiches go down easier. But for what you pay for a meal here, you could be eating at some fine-dining restaurants, and that is definitely hard to swallow.