PrintWho Makes A Great Roast Beef Sandwich? A Butcher Named Schatzie, of Course
Nobody knows beef like an old-fashioned butcher. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that one of my favorite roast beef sandwiches is made by Schatzie (with only one name he's like a butcher supermodel), in a postage stamp-sized butcher shop in Carnegie Hill (a neighborhood I like to call the upper, upper east side).
His roast beef sandwich is a model of simple beefy deliciousness. Schatzie roasts a prime top round roast until it's perfectly rare. When you order a roast beef sandwich the counterperson takes that mass of red meat goodness and slices a whole mess of it onto a piece of Orwasher's rye bread. Oh yeah, before he puts sliced beef to bread it gets a squirt of some bottled thousand island dressing. Purists and locavores may shudder, but once they take a bite all will be right in their world.
Schatzie's Prime Meats
1200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10128 (nr. 87th Street; map)
212-410-1555
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11 Comments:
Ed - looks great. The dressing indeed makes me shudder. How does the Roast Beef stack up against Fairway?
harrison at 10:58AM on 07/31/08
you still need to make the reasonable trek to Hoboken for Fiore's (House of Quality):
http://www.philly2hoboken.com/blog/archives/2007/05/fiores_spectacu.html
Best RB sandwich in the game, bar none.
Abe Froman at 11:07AM on 07/31/08
Abe, Fiore's sounds so good. I want one of those sandwiches now, but according to the post you sent me the roast beef hero is only available on Saturday. Is that so?
Ed Levine at 11:20AM on 07/31/08
that looks delicious. i am definitely going to have to get me one of those!
ceforrester at 11:22AM on 07/31/08
I have only had it on Sat, but it may be available one other day during the week. will poke around. I usualy try to get there at or before 12 to beat the big rush. line can run out the door (for sandwich orders only). Also worth going early because they will run out eventualy (usualy the bread goes first). Recomended course of action is to cab or walk to the spot from PATH then walk back to the waterfront parks to eat.
During the week they have a couple other worthwhile specials including an italian tuna and a ham (w/ a nice mustard sauce), both with the same in house fresh mozz as the RB.
Abe Froman at 11:51AM on 07/31/08
Looks great & will give it a try. The dressing doesn't make me shudder, if you are in Washington & go to Old ebbitt's Grill, ask for the Washingtonian: Roast Beef on black bread, onions, lettuce, tomato & cream cheese-- wierd, but delicious and goes back about 75 years. BTW, Zabar's has the best sliced roast beef in the city & should be tried on one of Zabar's own onion rolls...GREAT!!!
hondo3777 at 12:14PM on 07/31/08
It should be avaiable today (Thursdays) as well but call ahead to be sure.
Ham on Wed.
You can also call in orders for pick up, not widely known and they sometimes miss the order when busy (always order a whole, you will need to snack on it throughout the day).
Be sure to get it with Mozz and gravy/juice/dip/whatever you want to cal it.
ENJOY!
Abe Froman at 12:29PM on 07/31/08
Sorry, but you don't know enough about Schatzie's. I live a block away, and know this: I know to worry about the sanitary conditions inside; Schatzie's deliveries are often sitting in front of the shop in the sun or the cold or the rain, waiting to be brought inside. Schatzie himself is no longer interested in butchering. He sits most of the day in the rear of the shop, and hasn't been seen slicing anything for years. He arrives early in the morning to nab a meter for hogging the rest of the day. Inside he manly presides. The sandwich is quite correctly advertised on his outside "specials" blackboard as "Dirty Roast Beef [or Brisket] Sandwich." It probably is. I say buyer beware.
maxboswell at 1:04PM on 07/31/08
I certainly haven't seen what goes on in Schatzie's, but I have been eating his food and writing about him for more than ten years now, and I've never noticed the unsanitary conditions you refer to. Of course I don't live a block away. Also, in general, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this stuff. I know DiFara's isn't the cleanest place in the world, but it doesn't stop me from eating Dom's pizza.
Ed Levine at 7:17AM on 08/01/08
Carnegie Hill is the most obnoxious neighborhood in NYC! No roast beef sandwich is worth trekking up there to brave the old, crotchity, sneering schmutzes wandering the streets! Mean people everywhere!
SmokedMeat at 2:21PM on 08/06/08
FYI- I was in Schatzie's today (3/20/08) and was informed that they are moving to the west side sometime after Easter/Passover.
The Roast Beef sandwich was phenomenal by the way, although a little puny for $7.50. Thanks for the recommendation Ed.
pigiron at 3:41PM on 03/20/09