Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop
Sandwich shop · Flatiron District ·
Classic deli sandwiches, egg creams, and all-day breakfast since 1929
Classic deli sandwiches, egg creams, and all-day breakfast since 1929
"Walk around Flatiron nowadays and you’ll find the following: a Chipotle “but with Indian food” concept, a Chipotle “but with free range meats” concept, and a place that specializes in kale bowls. Unsurprisingly, all of these establishments have graced us with their presence in the past year. Beyond that, you’ll find Eataly, the original Shake Shack, and a Chopt filled with some startup’s business development team working on a group weight loss challenge. It’s the picture of the 2000′s so far, encapsulated in a neighborhood. But in the midst of it all is Eisenberg’s, an old school lunch counter that’s been open since 1929. Sure, you might see some kids who just finished a coding class eating a matzo ball soup in the back, but you’ll also find a guy eating a reuben alone at the counter who’s been coming here weekly for the last 30 years. The food is solid - more comforting than it is amazing. The turkey and pastrami aren’t Katz’s, but did you expect them to be? It’s still a good sandwich. Eisenberg’s makes for a great takeout option, but if you can, pause your life for 15 minutes and grab a seat at the counter. There’s something about the signed photos of celebrities, most of whom are Broadway actors you’ve never heard of, on the wall behind you; and the thick sandwich-topped plate in front of you that makes things feel right. Can you get that at the kale bowl place? Didn’t think so. Food Rundown Turkey Sandwich A classic fresh roasted Jewish deli-style turkey sandwich. Get it on toasted rye with mustard, and manage to have a great lunch without feeling like you’re going to die. Reuben Another Jewish deli classic done well - you can get it with pastrami, turkey, or corned beef. You probably want pastrami. Matzo Ball Soup Slightly oily, and needs some added salt on most days, but also exactly what you need on a hungover Friday. Tuna Melt This is the kind of place you get a tuna melt. You know?" - Hillary Reinsberg
"Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop is like no other in the neighborhood. It’s an all-day deli/breakfast/lunch/dinner escape into an old NYC we love. A staple of the neighborhood since 1929, the thick smell of greasy pork in the air, the authentic but tired & outdated decor transports you back in time when the city was not so slick and nostalgia was not just part of a branding scheme. Eisenberg’s shop is where we go after big meetings to unwind and grab an always satisfying bite of their famous pastrami sandwiches. Apparently the Egg Creams are pretty epic too." - Anti/Anti
"A restored lunch counter that transformed what had been Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, I noticed it upped its pastrami game considerably: garnet-colored, spice-rubbed meat that’s slightly crumbly, hand-sliced, and layered on a rye bread that is avowedly human-sized at a more affordable price, and I challenge you to not eat the whole thing." - Robert Sietsema
"“I’m looking for that old New York flavor that you don’t see anymore,” an anonymous narrator says in a YouTube clip entitled “Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop - Open 1929 and still going strong.” In shaky footage, filmed in 1991 at the Jewish-style lunch counter near the Flatiron Building, a couple of good-natured soda jerks indulge questions about their work between answering calls on a rotary phone and shovelling ice into plastic cups, dutifully maintaining a disappearing way of life." - Hannah Goldfield
"At the original Eisenberg’s in Flatiron, my colleague Robert Sietsema once told me he spotted Lou Reed savoring an egg cream there, a fitting anecdote given that Lou Reed even had a song called 'Egg Cream'—a testament to the drink’s cultural history tied to that classic spot." - Emma Orlow