Federal Delicatessen

I have never been to an ‘old-school New York City Jewish delicatessen’ before, but if they are anything like Federal Delicatessen (“The Fed“), then I am absolutely sold.

The menu is fabulous, seriously never tried ‘schticks’, ‘milk-fed schnitzel’, ‘salmon latkes’ or ‘Montreal Poutine’ before and the sweet desserts (pumpkin pie, NY cheesecake, banoffee pie, lemon meringue pie and choc cherry pie) are all absolutely delicious.

Also love the decor! Art on the walls, ‘Federal’ bottomless mugs filled with filter coffee, the waitresses’ pastel outfits, the odd knick knacks when you look up (which I only noticed on my second visit to The Fed), the red lined chef’s hats and one of the coolest bar back walls I have seen around Auckland.

Highly recommend ordering the ‘Montreal Poutine’. It is a Canadian dish of fries with cheese curd (melt in your mouth!) and gravy. We shared this between two of us, but it was filling nonetheless. We also tried the ‘schticks’, which are croquettes filled with peas and pastrami – such a beautiful green colour inside! These were also delicious and we could have easily eaten two more plates!

As for the dessert, well, all I have to say is… BANOFFEE PIE! How is their cream so perfectly wavy? And how do they get their banana looking so fresh? Plus, the caramel popcorn on top is sooooooo good! I recommend you get to The Fed as soon as possible just so you can devour this slice of heaven!