J'aime faire du noshing

Florence Finkelsztajn is a god. If it hadn’t gone badly before, I would be seriously tempted to round up the Jewish community (I know, never a good way to start a sentence), take all their gold (again, not helping) and build a giant golden statue to her à la the Ten Commandments.

Florence Finkelsztajn was the creator of the famous Finkelsztajn’s deli in the Marais section of Paris. The Marais is the best section of Paris; it’s a fabulous mix of cool clothing stores, art galleries, gay people, wealthy bobos, 20 something French hipsters, and orthodox Jews (kinda like Brooklyn without the smell). A trip to the Marais however would not be incomplete without getting lunch on the Rue des Rosiers. Like moths to a light bulb (you know what Jewish mother moths always say: No turn out the light bulb, its okay, I’ll sit in the dark like a dawg. I’m on your mother, I don’t need light), hundreds of hungry locals and tourists, both Jew and non-Jew alike, prowl up and down this small cobblestone street seeking out some seriously good food. Of course there is the crowd favorite: L’As du Falafel, which with out a doubt, and with the endorsement of Lenny Kravitz, makes the best falafel in Paris, if not the world. But I am not here to talk about their falafel. I wanna tell you about a sandwich I got at Finkelsztajn’s deli.

First of all, it was 7 euros, which is about $9.88. Too much for a sandwich, I know, but this was worth every centime. It came on a freshly baked egg roll with poppy seeds and cook onions baked in. Inside the sandwich was what makes grown Jews cry. First, a creamy layer of baba ganoush (eggplant caviar), which was just the perfect level of garlic-y. Next was a layer of house cured pastrami that was pepper without being hot, and just salty enough to make you salivate but not beg for a coke. Next was the house made pickle, which is French for corned beef. The meat was bright red, much rarer and less fatty than American roast beef. Finally, the topped this Ashkenazi orgasm off with pickles, roasted red peppers and tomatoes.

Oh my god. SO GOOD. One of the best deli sandwiches I have ever eaten. I love deli food in the states, don’t get me wrong, but if you could taste this sandwich you would consider flying 6,000 to buy a platter of these cold cuts.

And while this was an intensely delicious (and Jewish) experience, some meat experiences in Paris have been intensely horrifying (and sacriligious)...