Pop Culture and the Jewish Deli

Elvis. Guns n’ Roses. Harpo. Harry & Sally.

Visit “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli before it closes on September 1 and discover the many pop culture connections to Jewish delis, from NYC to LA, past and present.

There is no definitive answer as to why the deli has inspired generations of Jewish filmmakers, comedians, musicians, and writers. Perhaps it is because so many Jewish creatives got their start in New York City, where they frequented Jewish delis and later infused these experiences into their work. Or maybe it is because the Jewish deli is one of the most public secular environments in Jewish American life.

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Iconic delis in New York City’s Theater District, such as Carnegie Deli, Reuben’s, Lindy’s, and Stage Delicatessen became hubs for Broadway types and theater patrons. As business boomed, these restaurants set the scene for schmoozing and networking, working on material, or grabbing a pre- or post-show meal with friends. Celebrity caricatures graced the pages of the menus and signed headshots crowded the walls. Reuben’s tapped into the power of celebrity by naming sandwiches after stars of the day, a practice that other delis later adopted.

“During the day I had a choice of two homes-away-from-home, Lindy’s or Reuben’s. The cheesecake was ambrosia. The talk was old, familiar music. A lot of yucks. A lot of action. Home Sweet Home.”—Harpo Marx

The Kibitz Room, a bar adjoining Canter’s Deli, serves up corned beef sandwiches and homemade pickles alongside martinis and manhattans, and has hosted some of the biggest names in music, including Fiona Apple, Jakob Dylan, Guns N’ Roses, HAIM, Joni Mitchell, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Some scenes from Elvis Presley’s last movie, Change of Habit (1969), co-starring Mary Tyler Moore and Ed Asner, were filmed in Glassman’s Deli and Market. Learn the back story of this photo from the Bonar Family’s blog: https://bonarhistory.wordpress.com/gruenberg/elvis/

When Harry Met Sally (1989) is an enduring romantic comedy about friendship and love written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. It stars Meg Ryan as Sally, and Billy Crystal as
Harry—two friends with long-standing romantic tension. One of the movie’s most memorable scenes takes place in Katz’s Delicatessen, which is on New York City’s Lower East Side. In the scene, Harry and Sally bicker over sex and relationships, an argument that climaxes in Sally’s mock ecstatic moans over her sandwich. The commotion stops all conversation in the deli and
provokes wide-eyed stares from patrons and staff. The silence ends when an older woman, played by Reiner’s mother, looks up at her waitress and delivers the famous line: “I’ll have what
she’s having.”