Katz's: Autobiography of a Delicatessen by Baldomero Fernandez, Jake Dell and Beth Daugherty

Finally there is a book about the most famous and oldest delicatessen in New York and in the world. Katz's: Autobiograpy of a Delicatessen written by and published by Bauer and Dean publishers.

Opening the huge book is like taking a step into the legandary deli at Houston Street. Don't expect a long thick book about the history of Katz's. The author choose to tell Katz's story by pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words, and that certainly counts for this amazing and special book.
The book opens with a foreword of... Then follows a brief history of Katz's, which is one of the oldest delicatessen of New York

In 1888 what is now known as Katz’s Delicatessen was established on Ludlow Street in New York’s Lower East Side by the Iceland brothers. Upon the arrival of Willy Katz in 1903,
the name of the store was changed from Iceland Brothers to Iceland & Katz. Willy’s cousin Benny joined him in 1910, buying out the Iceland brothers to officially form Katz’s delicatessen. Their landsman Harry Tarowsky bought into the partnership in April 1917. A move to the present side of the street was necessitated during this time by the construction of the subway system, although the entry remained on Ludlow street. The vacant lot on Houston (named after a Dutch emigrant of the same name) Street was home to barrels of meat and pickles until the present storefront facade was added in the period 1946-49.

During World War II, the three sons of the owners were all serving their country in the armed forces, and the family tradition of sending food to their sons became sealed as the company slogan "Send A Salami To Your Boy In The Army" ^Tm.

During the peak of the Yiddish theater, the restaurant was forever filled with actors, singers and comedians from the many theaters on Second Avenue as well as the National Theater on Houston Street. Although the Yiddish theater has passed, Katz's is still witness to newer generations of successes and scoundrels as the pictures of current and past celebrities line the walls.


The next change in ownership took place with the death of Willy Katz as his son Lenny took over. In the late 70’s, both Benny Katz and Harry Tarowsky passed away,
leaving the store to their offspring, son-in-law Artie Maxstein and son Izzy Tarowsky, respectively. However by the mid-1980’s, the new generation of owners realized that they had no immediate offspring of their own to which they could leave the store. Long-time friend and restaurateur Martin Dell, along with son Alan (who was a chef and a manager at a neighboring deli) and son-in-law Fred Austin, officially bought into the partnership in 1988 on the 100th anniversary of the store. Alan’s son Jake officially joined the store in late 2009 and is currently in charge of all major operations. Over the years, many famous movie scenes have been shot at Katz's: When Harry met Sally, Enchanted and many others.

From the short history of the book the book goes over to the store itself, and how! With rich detaled pictures by. The Store part of the book is divided into sections, and so do the pictures: It all begins with a ticket, The Walls (with many pictures of celebrities and famous people who visited Katz's), Evening comes to Katz's,  3.00 A.M., December at Katz's, Night turns into Day, Restocking for the week, The Main Pickling Room and The Kitchen. Then follow the final  parts of the book: Meat Showdown: Pastrami VS Corned Beef, Pickle Showdown:Half-Sour vs Full Sour, What's your preference(where Katz's customers tell what their favorite food at Katz's is) The People Who Make Katz's Katz's (pictures and more about the staff) and Katz's- That's All. All parts of the book are beautifull captured on photo by the fabulous  photographer Baldomero Fernandez. His pictures make it feel like you are not just watching pictures of Katz's and people who eat there, but as if you are

there yourself and just if you are about to make an order at the counter yourself (which I really would like to after reading this book). The book opens with a foreword by Adam Richman, host of many food programs on NBC (Food Fighters), Travel Channel (Man vs Food). I highly recommend this special book of a special and legendary delicatessen. A great book if you have been to the deli yourself or when you can't visit in in person but want to get the feel of Katz's!