It started with a craving for pastrami. So what else could I do but head towards the Kenny and Zuke’s Delicatessen in order to have a Kenny and Zuke’s Pastrami Brunch? I think a pastrami brunch sounds pretty good any time of year, but particularly in March, with St Patrick’s day looming, perhaps you will be even more persuaded. I’m not Irish at all, or into green beer, but with luck literally part of my name I thought this year it would be fun to do a few posts for the lucky holiday.

I don’t know if I have to really provide more than pictures here- the pastrami speaks for itself. I’ve sometime wished it could be a just a bit fattier, but it seems that is already underway per this Oregonian article. The pastrami is cured for 7 days, smoked 10 hours, steamed for 3 hours & hand-sliced to order.

Here’s a bit more on the pastrami by America’s Best Bites (and showcasing some of the wry humor of Ken, who also has taken a healthy turn and still loves food and writes about it in the Oregonian under >Diary of a Formerly Diabetic Chef).

By the way, this bagel sandwich, with or without the pastrami, is excellent. They also have a version of this in classic Reuben form of course, and also a breakfast version  that is on rye and with Swiss cheese  that even made the Portland Monthly list of best breakfast sandwiches in Portland. I bet looking at that article- and it’s multiple lists of breakfast sandwiches and photos- will make you crave a breakfast sandwich immediately. I still stand by ordering it in breakfast form with their really good bagels.

I happened to have possibly over-ordered since that Bagel and Egg and Cheese with Pastrami bagel (I picked an Everything bagel) is more than filling, but I was more than happy to be eating some more Pastrami Cheese fries reheated the next day. So go ahead and order it anyway no matter what else you are ordering!

Besides the Kenny and Zuke Deli downtown, there are two other locations, the Deli Bar in North Portland and Bagelworks in Northwest Portland. You can get the bagels and pastrami at all 3 locations, but I don’t believe Bagelworks offers the fries.

Have you had the signature Kenny and Zuke pastrami before? Do you like pastrami? Have you had other deli items at Kenny and Zuke’s- such as their bagels?