Carnegie is over-rated and trading on it’s reputation IMHO, but the Stage still rocks my world- I was just there last week. Try the tongue sandwich (ask specifically for center cut)- you will never eat it again anywhere else.
I know it sounds gross, but my husband and several of our friends swear by it.
Heh, I must have walked underneath your window when I was there for the Northeast Socialist Conference last November. I would have waved had I known.
Having said that, can I get a little love for Nussbaum & Wu’s at 110th and Broadway? Every time I’m in NYC I grab a whitefish on a toasted pumpernickel from them. Dee-LISH!
Exists it does, albeit not on Second Avenue anymore… I ate there when I visited NYC just a couple of months ago.
Either that, or the delicious chicken soup with a giant fist-sized matzo ball, followed by a hot pastrami and washed down with a Cel-Ray soda were all figments of my imagination. 
Our hotel was on the Upper West Side, and I definitely would back up the recommendation for Zabar’s (both the store and the cafe next door). It’s a jaw-dropping experience.
If you had actually read what I wrote, you’ll see that I wasn’t. Fighting ignorance and reading comprehension don’t go hand in hand, I suppose?
I’ll third the Stage, although my knowledge of NYC delis is very limited. Had a killer pastrami sandwich there, and my wife raved about the blintzes.
My first stop in NYC is always the Dyckman Deli in Inwood for a hot pastrami sandwich. I come over the GW bridge and head right uptown. If you’re using the subway, the deli is about 1/2 a block from the Dyckman stop on the 1 line. Not quite what people consider the UWS, but not far away, either. As a bonus, if you have the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy, right up the street is the corner of Seaman and Cummings. You can go take a picture of the street sign and giggle at it for years.
I loved Artie’s deli. I ate there once, four years ago, and I still think about it a lot. If I ever get to New York again, Artie’s is number one on my list of places to go.
Oh, I disagree. I’m born and raised in NYC, and, while they’re both excellent, I’ve always preferred the Carnegie. The “reputation” is well-deserved.
Slight hijack…
One of the neat things about living in Vegas is that some of the country’s most famous restaurants have opened in some of the casinos. The Mirage has the Carnegie, the MGM has the Stage, and Treasure Island has Canter’s. Not as good as the first two, but for an L.A. establishment, it holds its own in the deli world. And the Carnegie here is as good as its namesake back home.
Interesting…I’ve eaten at the NY Carnegie many times, and never had the cheese served that way. While they follow the great Jewish deli tradition, they’re really not strictly kosher. The pickles are definitely to die for, though–particularly the “half-sours”.
Haven’t been to NYC in a long time (need to go again soon!), but when I lived there, I don’t recall ever going to a bad deli.
I would always try to find what looks like a hole in the wall…something with crappy interior design, screaming waitresses and no-nonsense tables and chairs. One good sign is if it is full of people - even though it is in a neighborhood with lots of other nearby options to eat.
Also, if it looks like it has been open and never remodeled since Truman was President, chances are they are authentic and good.
Yeah, Carnegie, Greengrass and Zabars are good…but if you want the traditional cheap, really good, piled high sandwich experience, just follow your nose and look for a crowd.
What I miss most are those great breakfast specials in those no-name restaurants with smart-mouthed, aging waitresses…back then, for just a few bucks, I would get eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and coffee and read my trashy NY Post and the day would start of just great. Sigh…I really have to get back to NYC soon…
Perhaps it helps if you know it was something like twenty plus years ago that I was there! Kinda puts it into perspective that I can still remember clearly the taste of that corned beef sammich… drools slightly down chin 
ETA: Another funny thing about that–I was there with three Los Angeles Jews and I was the only one who grasped immediately why I got the cheese on a plate, and a different colored plate at that. Go figure, the shiksa has a better grasp on Jewish religious traditions than the Reform Jews from LA!
I went to Artie’s for lunch (pastrami on rye), had breakfast bagels at H+H, and a picnic dinner of cheese, bread, and fruit purchased from Zabar’s. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Seriously? I have lived in Inwood for years and I have never actually gone there. As you might remember, I lived about a block from Seaman & Cumming. I will have to give it a try one of these days.
Sorry I’m so late with this . . . but I was confirming what you had said, not contradicting it.
Yeah, reading comprehension.