Carnegie Deli

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Carnegie Deli
The Carnegie Deli in midtown Manhattan
Restaurant Information
Established	1937
Current owner(s)	The Parker family
Food type	Delicatessen
Dress code	Casual
Street address	7th Avenue - Manhattan
City	New York City
State	New York
Country	United States
Website	New York homepage

The Carnegie Deli is located in midtown Manhattan on 7th Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets and was opened in 1937 adjacent to Carnegie Hall. Now in the third generation of owners, the Parker family's delicatessen is among the most visited restaurants of its type in the city, according to the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau. USA Today has called the restaurant the "most famous" deli in the United States.[1] It is run by Sandy Levine, whose business card indicates he is the "MBD." (MBD = Married Boss's Daughter, namely, Marian Parker.)

A corned beef sandwich from the Carnegie Deli.

The restaurant offers pastrami, corned beef and other sandwiches with at least one pound (0.45 kg) of meat, as well as traditional Jewish fare such as matzoh ball soup, potato pancakes, chopped chicken livers, and smoked salmon. The restaurant also offers other, non-Jewish (or at least non-kosher) food such as ham, sausage, and bacon. Available for order are cheesecakes of over a pound per serving. For an additional plate to share, there is a $3.00 charge and a minimum charge of $12.50 per person. The restaurant accepts only cash for its sit-down and take-out services. The restaurant's motto is: "If you can finish your meal, we’ve done something wrong." In addition to the large servings, the restaurant is also known for its surly waiters, who allegedly try to impart some of the gruffness of New York to visitors.

The Carnegie Deli was the favorite hangout of comedian Henny Youngman, and Adam Sandler included a reference to the deli in "The Chanukah Song" in the mid-1990s. The walls of the deli are nearly completely covered with autographed pictures of celebrities who have eaten there. Menu items have been named after famous patrons, including a corned beef and pastrami sandwich named after Woody Allen after the deli served as a filming location for Broadway Danny Rose. A number of items on the menu feature Broadway themes and Yiddish vocabulary, including dishes like "nosh, nosh, Nanette" (after the musical, "No, No, Nanette") and "the egg and oy" ("The King and I"). It is a place many reporters in the city frequent, including staffers from Black Rock (aka the CBS Building) like Bob Simon.

Owner Milton Parker has written a book (with Allyn Freeman) called How to Feed Friends and Influence People: The Carnegie Deli, providing the history of the family's ownership. The book is sold at the cashier's station.

The deli opened a second location in Las Vegas, Nevada at the The Mirage in 2005. The deli also opened a third location in Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey for its 2006 season and serves as the "healthy choice" restaurant at the park; however, the menu is smaller and only has the restaurant’s most popular items. The fourth deli opened at Foxwoods Resort Casino.