Kenny & Zuke's Delicatessen

09/26/2008 Posted by rdaye

Unfortunately for us, we also got the NY attitude and it just doesn't work here in Portland. The food was hot, good and very tasty, but the service was poor and intolerable. We probably won't be back; or we'll just order take out. Kenny and Zuke, get a clue - food brings them back, but good customer service keeps them coming back. Not very child friendly.

Pros: Good food and plenty of it

Cons: no parking; bad customer service

08/16/2008 Posted by scarlettdream22

Always seems like its busy but I have never waited more then ten or fifteen minutes for a table. The pastrami is phenomenal, while it may not be traditional. It is thick sliced. The breads ok, ask for russian dressing on the sandwich and it makes all the difference. I have only had the pastrami sandwich and pastrami cheese fries but the portions were enough for me and a friend to order one of each and just share. The decor is bright and cheery. The servers have always been friendly but getting the check takes a little bit of a wait. Overall I love the food. Ask for a sample and they will bring you out a little bowl of warm pastrami to try.

Pros: great pastrami and russian dressing, tons of soda choices

Cons: no ice in the water, busy at peak times, service a tad slow

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

08/06/2008 Posted by kromanoff

Methinks after reading all the hype about Portland restaurants that this is another case of 'the Emperor's New Clothes'. Do reviewers in this town get paid enormous amounts of money for a positive review, or have they never travelled outside of this little burg? Rude service, one of the worst greaseball Reubens I've ever had and not particularly clean. I don't know if the owners have ever gone outside of Portland, but if they did, they weren't taking notes. Don't waste your $$$$$$$.

Pros: none

Cons: far too many

07/28/2008 Posted by hungryi

All the controversy about this place made me curious. So I went for a weekday lunch and had a half a pastrami on rye with potato salad and iced tea. The pastrami was excellent, perhaps not authentic, but nonetheless tasted great, but they didn't give me much. The bread was also good, although not stellar. The potato salad consisted of overcooked sliced red potatoes and chives in an oily dressing. The tea was weak, no refills. I was still hungry, so I ordered an egg cream, which was not authentic, but was delicious. Although the place was almost empty, service was very slow. The day was hot but there was no ice in the water, which was served room temperature. My verdict: if you want the closest thing Portland has to an authentic NY Jewish deli experience go to Kornblatt's. Their bread is better, their pastrami is real, the potato salad is superb, and they use Fox's U-Bet in the egg creams, as is right. And their prices are much more sensible. But if you don't mind paying close to $15 for a light meal, and want to taste an extraordinary version of pastrami, try this place around 1:45 on a weekday. Once was enough for me.

Pros: pastrami and egg cream both delicious, although not traditional

Cons: small servings, high prices, snail-like service

07/26/2008 Posted by mcath

Authentic - come on. Dry pastrami, uncaring and pretentious service and overrated in the "I think I know what I'm talking about" food press in Portland. Go to Chicago or NY and experience what a deli is all about. Portland deserves better.

Pros: nothing

Cons: everything

07/13/2008 Posted by notyeti

I thought for sure this would be the end to my search for the perfect Reuben sandwich. For $12.50 it should be something special! The corned beef was indeed good and the rye bread was better than most. What makes a Reuben sandwich good is a nice balance between the fatty meat and grilled bread - and the acidity of the sauerkraut with the tangy Russian dressing. Well, first of all, there was very little sauerkraut and they completely left out the Russian dressing. It did have quite a bit of melted cheese on it though. Why? It was such a fatty greasebomb that I felt positively ill. I noticed as we were leaving that their menu says they put Russian dressing on their Reubens, so they must have just overlooked it. They also overcharged us, which I think was also an oversight, but it goes to show that they are not paying attention. My search for the perfect Reuben continues.

Pros: Good corned beef

Cons: outrageous prices, lack of care in food preparation and service

07/08/2008 Posted by tonyroder

After reading the Oregonian review, I was anxious to rekindle the memory of the succulent pastrami sandwiches I used to eat in New York. It is possible that the pastrami served to the reviewer was "the best west of the Hudson". I am brokenhearted to report that he pastrami I was served at Kenny & Zuke's was cut far too thick, excessively salty, and dry as bone. In the absence of any marbling whatsoever, each bite of the thick crumbly meat formed an unchewable lump in the mouth. On the evidence, I feel justified in saying that those who run the place are totally clueless about what they pretend to offer. Under the circumstances I won't even comment on the haphazard service, which could have easily been a Monty Python skit. It's not as if there are no alternatives for more authentic and tasty pastrami sandwiches in Portland: try Rose's Deli and the other Jewish deli on 23rd street.

Pros: None. No saving grace.

Cons: All of the above

07/03/2008 Posted by dangrmous

Are the owners of this place aware that Russian dressing is *not* the same thing as Thousand Island? I ordered a much-anticipated Reuben sandwich from this place. Despite the menu clearly stating that the sandwich had Russian on it, it arrived bearing the dreaded pink sauce. The meat and bread were wonderful, it's really sad they choose to ruin what could be a great sandwich and print a misleading menu at the same time. Greasy sweetened mayo blew the sandwich. I asked the server what kind of Russian dressing this was and was told it was "more of a Thousand Island type dressing". Oh well...

Pros: corned beef

Cons: Thousand Island

06/29/2008 Posted by Melnoir

This was my first visit to Kenny and Zuke's. And probably my last. The corned beef hash was ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING: none of the fat had been trimmed off the beef, so nearly every piece of meat had 1" or more of fat on it! Those of you who know brisket, it is a fatty cut...great for flavor while cooking, but most of it MUST be cut off for serving, or else you are basically eating fat with little pieces of meat attached to it! Some pieces in my hash were 5:1 fat to meat ratio. It left a gelatinous, greasy pool on my plate. WTF? So, do I assume that this is the norm for this place? To serve fat and call it corned beef? Or do I assume that they were having a bad day? Either way, I am having a hard time convincing myself why I should ever go back. Yeeeech.

06/23/2008 Posted by urbiano

I had been looking forward to eating at K&Z since I learned about it. A friend (another NY-er) praised the food, so hey, what could be bad? We went on a Sunday evening about 7:00PM, not crowded, seated right away. The menu was interesting, and it did not escape my notice that they served Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray. We both had pastrami on rye. Well...... yeah, it was pastrami, it was rye bread, but, I don't know. It wasn't awful, but really, it was Portland. The rye at least held together and was crusty, but flavorless. The pastrami itself was OK, but required lots of deli mustard and horseradish. Cole slaw was different, but excellent, and it did have a nice pickle spear on the side. Service was so-so, but I can see where it would be inconsistent at best, depending on the crowd. We really had no problems, and will consider going back, but really: not so special.

Pros: decent rye

Cons: not authentic-- Portland ersatz