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Second Avenue Deli

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Coordinates: 40°43′46″N 73°59′12″W / 40.72954°N 73.98674°W / 40.72954; -73.98674
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Second Avenue Deli
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Second Avenue Deli is located in Manhattan
Second Avenue Deli
Location in Manhattan, New York City
Restaurant information
Established1954 (1954)
Owner(s)Jeremy Lebewohl
Food typeKosher Jewish delicatessen
Street address162 East 33rd Street (between Lexington and Third Avenues), in Murray Hill, Manhattan
CityNew York, NY
CountyNew York County
Postal/ZIP Code10016
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°43′46″N 73°59′12″W / 40.72954°N 73.98674°W / 40.72954; -73.98674
Other locations1442 First Avenue (at East 75th Street), in Upper East Side, Manhattan, NY 10021
Other information
Website2ndavedeli.com

The Second Avenue Deli (also known as 2nd Ave Deli) is a certified-kosher Jewish delicatessen in Manhattan, New York City. It was located in the East Village until December 2007, when it relocated to 162 East 33rd Street (between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue) in Murray Hill.[1][2] In August 2011, it opened a second branch at 1442 First Avenue (East 75th Street) on the Upper East Side. In November 2017, it opened a cocktail lounge called 2nd Floor above its Upper East Side branch.[3]

In 1998, the deli won an America’s Classic Award by the James Beard Foundation.

History

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The delicatessen originally opened in 1954 on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and East 10th Street (the address of which is 156 Second Avenue) in the Yiddish Theater District in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan.[4] This location currently houses a Chase Manhattan Bank branch. By that time, most of the Yiddish theaters of the prior half-century had disappeared.[5][6] The sidewalk at the original location has plaques with the names of about fifty Yiddish theatre stars embedded into the sidewalk, similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is known as the Yiddish Walk of Fame.[7][8] Some of the honored stars are Molly Picon, actor Menasha Skulnik, singer and actor Boris Thomashevsky (grandfather of conductor, pianist, and composer Michael Tilson Thomas), and Fyvush Finkel (born Philip Finkel).[5][9]

The delicatessen closed briefly following the murder of its founder Abe Lebewohl, a survivor of The Holocaust, during a robbery on March 4, 1996. The crime remains unsolved.

On January 1, 2006, new owner Jack Lebewohl closed the delicatessen at its original location in the East Village after a rent increase and a dispute over back rent.[10] On July 31, 2007, Lebewohl announced that the delicatessen would reopen at a new location in the fall of 2007. It reopened on December 17, 2007, in Murray Hill with Jeremy Lebewohl, the nephew of its founder, as its new proprietor.[11]

The delicatessen's specialties include matzoh-ball soup, corned beef, pastrami, knishes, gefilte fish, cholent and other notables of Jewish cuisine. Despite the deli being under kosher supervision,[12] most Orthodox Jews will not eat there because the restaurant is open on Shabbat. The restaurant is certified by the International Kosher Council and all meat is kosher but not all is glatt kosher. Pareve items are prepared on meat equipment.[13]

The original restaurant had a separate room decorated with memorabilia of Yiddish theatre actress Molly Picon, including posters, song sheets, photographs, etc. The new location has pictures of her on the walls for approximately one half of the dining area.[7][8] The deli's original iconic neon sign is now installed in the City Reliquary in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The deli is one of the few Jewish restaurants in the United States that still serves p'tcha (jellied calves' feet). Given the small and dwindling customer base, p'tcha is made to order upon request.[14]

Ranking

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In 2013, Zagat gave it a food rating of 23, and ranked it the 9th-best deli in New York City.[15] It is rated 3 in the top 5 delis in New York.[16]

In 2021, the Financial Times ranked it as one of the “50 greatest food stores in the world.”[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Thorn, Bret (December 12, 2007). "Return of a Classic". The New York Sun. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  2. ^ Chan, Sewell (August 1, 2007). "Something to Nosh On: Here's the Skinny on Jewish Delis". the City Room blog at The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  3. ^ Simonson, Robert (November 22, 2017). "A Deli Where Rye Comes in Slices and in a Glass". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  4. ^ Newman, Andy (January 6, 2006). "Hold the Mustard, Maybe Forever". The New York Times.
  5. ^ a b Gusoff, Adrienne (2012). Dirty Yiddish: Everyday Slang from "What's Up?" to "F*%# Off!". Ulysses Press. ISBN 9781612430560. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  6. ^ Horn, Dara (October 15, 2009). "Dara Horn explains how ethnic food goes from the exotic to the mainstream. Then the nostalgia kicks in". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Simonson, Robert (March 19, 2006). "Where Have You Gone, Molly Picon?". The New York Times. Article access requires website registration.
  8. ^ a b Siegel, Jennifer (March 24, 2006). "Stars Still Shine on 2nd Avenue Walk of Fame Survives Deli’s Demise but Its Fate Is Unclear". The Forward. Archived November 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Rosenberg, Andrew; Dunford, Martin (2012). The Rough Guide to New York City. Penguin. ISBN 9781405390224. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  10. ^ Witchel, Alex (October 21, 2007). "A Counter History". The New York Times Magazine. Article access requires website registration.
  11. ^ Sullivan, Eve (December 17, 2007). "Back for 2nd's — Famed Deli Reopens". New York Post. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  12. ^ "Kosher Certification". 2nd Ave Deli. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  13. ^ Staff writer (undated; circa 2008?). "Why Is the 2nd Avenue Deli Not on 2nd Avenue in New York City?" Archived December 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Top Restaurants New York.
  14. ^ Bello, Grace (April 24, 2012). "A Disappearing Delicacy". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  15. ^ "2nd Ave Deli". zagat.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  16. ^ "The 5 Best Jewish Delis in New York City". Kveller. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  17. ^ Auld, Tim (May 18, 2021). "The 50 greatest food stores in the world". Financial Times. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
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