FOOD .

Nosh Your Average

Chopped liver, corned beef, and plenty of pickels


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Published: Jun 5, 2007

Though it's a new operation, Hershel's East Side Deli has something of a pedigree in the delicatessen arts: Owner Steven Safern's father was a manager and partner at Katz's in New York City. Unlike Katz's, there isn't much room for kibbutzing or faking orgasms here. "Eating in" means sitting on a chrome barstool overlooking the pickle-wrapping station. (For the pickle fan, these are quite good: crisp, stalwart wedges of cucumber with a moderately acidic, addictive twang.)

A great place to start is the chopped liver sandwich, a creamy spread that approaches pate texture topped with rings of raw onion on ultra-fresh, ultra-soft (but not ultra-fluffy) seedless rye. Like the other Hershel's sandwiches I tried, it's generous enough to convey an authentic deli experience but not so big that sharing would be mandatory.

The corned beef special pleases with its layers of freshly sliced meat (the slicing takes place on the front, takeout side of the stand), Russian dressing and a rare breed of deli coleslaw that doesn't taste of industrial-size tub. The corned beef itself is spicy and fragrant and a bit greasy, though not unpleasantly so, falling out of the bread in pinkish flakes.

The straight brisket, on the other hand, lacks the same luscious fattiness. Without any added gravy on top, the slices I tried were lean and brittle, the cracks in the meat yielding little natural juice. I suggest ordering it with extra gravy and a side of the highly respectable kasha and bowties, a traditional carbohydrate-redundant mix of kasha grains and farfalle pasta. Usually, it's the sort of bland, comforting food you want to eat when you feel farfalen, but here it's a celebratory, flavorful dish, buoyed up by judicious amounts of caramelized onion and black pepper.

A broccoli knish is also a bit of a disappointment, its none-too-prominent crust collapsing into a vaguely green-tasting mush of potato. (There's also a very New York dog, a Hebrew National link on a knish bun.) A better choice of side (or dessert) is the lemon-scented kugel, a densely packed pudding of egg noodles and cheese with a cinnamon-dusted crust that inspires contented belly-rubbing.

For breakfast and brunch, the offerings are fairly limited. Hershel's serves challah French toast as well as an excellent lox sandwich: Strips of glossy, moist nova are laid out like flattened rubies on a bialy or crusty, muscular bagel spread with cream cheese, tomato and onion. For the smoked-fish-salad-inclined, there's a velvety pureed whitefish sandwich on rye or pumpernickel. It may not be the Lower East Side Ã¢â‚¬â€ but it's a good nosh on the east side of Broad.

(e_ludwig@citypaper.net)

Hershel's East Side Deli

12th and Arch streets (Reading Terminal Market)215-922-6220Hours: Mon.-Sat., 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Appetizers, $1.50-$3.75; Entrees, $5.95-$8.95Cash only.Wheelchair accessible.