Volume 67, Issue 4

Table Tips
by Jessica Russak

Lubavitcher Rebbe + Hearty Portions = Great Restaurants

Deli Kasbah
West 85^th between Broadway and Westend
Flaishig

I’d like to go over some simple concepts. Lots of meat equals lots of good eatin’. Large portions, great chicken soup, and oversized appetizers and sides are the formula for success. Throw in a muted videotape of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and you’ve got a great Kosher grille.

My friends and I wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t fancy or expensive, but that wasn’t dirty either. Enter Deli Kasbah, the perfect solution. With its gritty, casual appearance and well-trained waiters, we expected a hearty meal. We were right.

Prior to the meal, baskets of pitas were waiting for us on the tables. I’m a big pre-meal bread fan, but I’m not a big fan of pitas. So I didn’t sample one. But my friends enjoyed them, if that’s a help to all the pita-lovers out there. Start a club. Go to Deli Kasbah. Review the pitas on your website. Whatever. I’ll stick to hot rolls and French bread.

We sat down, slightly squished but comfortable enough, and looked through the stuffed menu. So much meat and so little time! But the chicken soup looked tempting, and I ordered it with a matzoh ball. After telling the waiter I wanted the chicken soup, I looked at the rest of the appetizers on the list regretfully. They all looked so uncomplicated. The Turkish cigars were the most enticing. I knew that no matter what I would order, it would taste exactly as it sounded.

Leaving past regrets where they belong – in the past – I browsed the main menu. My friends were ordering steak sandwiches, rib eyes, chicken, schwarma, and every other kind of meat. I decided on the twenty-piece chicken wings; I figured my friends would help me out. Turns out that the only thing on the table we didn’t like were the chicken wings, so don’t order those. Not meaty enough. But the prices were great and the food came quickly.

A major bonus was the noise level. I could talk loud, as I often enjoy doing, and yet it seemed that despite all the aforementioned squishiness and the fact that it was crowded, the place wasn’t noisy.

I feel like this all sums up into some cheesy motto. “Good friends, good food, good fun.” But it’s true.  Or maybe it should be, “Good friends, good food, good fun, and a video of the Rebbe.” Just enjoy. ♦

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