Matzo ball soup ($10) is the platonic ideal version of the cure-all dish. The single sphere is a chunky, springy ball, surrounded by floating dill and big, irregularly cut carrot chunks. The tuna melt on rye ($17) is a simple order that's classic for a good reason: it's highly satisfying, warm, and gooey thanks to good ol' American cheese. Take a bite of the griddled sandwich with a taste of the nicely briny pickle half.
Gertie - the Williamsburg Jewish diner and deli that closed in June - is coming back in full force in a new Brooklyn neighborhood this month. Gertie 2.0 will open in Prospect Heights at 602 Vanderbilt Avenue, near St. Marks Avenue, on Friday, November 21.
They're the all-day diners where the corned beef sandwiches are the size of your face; the old-school eateries where bagels and lox aren't just a breakfast food; the buzzing gathering place for having matzo ball soup and golden latkes nowhere near the holidays with which they're associated. On the East Coast and in L.A., delis are so ubiquitous that a child's first pastrami on rye is almost a rite of passage.
Ernest chef-owner Brandon Rice, whose Mission District restaurant continues to be a hot ticket after four years, is ready to expand with a second spot, tenatively called Lawrence. As the SF Business Times reports via liquor license activity, Rice is taking over the former Alexander's Steakhouse space at 488 Brannan Street. He won't yet share any details about the new concept, but did confirm to the publication that it is int he works.
