I Fking Love This Restaurant
Where a Sense of Belonging Is as Powerful as the Promise of a Sandwich
Hobby’s Deli in Newark and the allure of pastrami
I Fucking Love This Restaurant features writers’ favorite places that feed communities around the country.
You might think I’d have enough guilt in my life without getting more from the people at my favorite deli for how long it’s been since I showed my face, but you’d be wrong. If I’ve not been there in a while, I get the same, “Hey, stranger!” with the slight reprove that I get when I’ve waited too long to call my mother.
Right away I think, “Where are my priorities?” I don’t have to follow that thread far to get stuck on what the upper limit for pastrami in my diet should be. The answer is, less than it was 10 years ago. But I revel in the feeling I’m a small part of the place, that I’m welcome there whether it’s to linger for hours over coffee — free refills — or just grab a takeout order. That sense of belonging is almost as powerful as the promise of a sandwich.
Almost. It’s no ordinary sandwich, after all. Harlan Coben memorializes the sandwiches at Hobby’s Deli in Newark, New Jersey, in his novel “Seconds Away”: “We headed to Hobby’s Deli and sat in the corner. All three of us ordered…
