Unbreaded

Ungashtupt: The Far Rockaway at Famous 4th Street Deli

Submitted by Unbreaded reader Tim Fagan. Have a sandwich you love? Submit it to us and we’ll post it on the site.

It puts a smile on my face when I see newcomers order sandwiches at Famous 4th Street Delicatessen. You know, the people naive to how incredibly large the portions are. The best was an older couple who each ordered their own sandwich; I thought the woman was going to fall out of her seat when she saw the mound of whitefish placed in front of her. And, that was just the “regular” sized sandwich. On the back of the menu, are the holy “Ungashtupt” (Yiddish for over done, or stuffed) sandwiches, each named for a location in New York where the family has owned a deli. Tim Fagan recently ordered one such sandwich, and sent us his story.

Hit the jump to read all about it.

So I live about a block away from the Famous Fourth Street Delicatessen at 4th and Bainbridge and decided to pick up a game-day sandwich for the official start of football season yesterday. I usually just get a regular sized hot brisket sandwich, which might just be the best sandwich I’ve ever had (brisket, cheese, coleslaw, Russian dressing, amazing rye bread). But yesterday I opted for the “Far Rockaway” – brisket, turkey, swiss, lettuce, tomato, onion, Russian dressing, and I had them add cole slaw on top. What arrived was a sandwich so huge they didn’t even have a box big enough to fit it (it was fortified with two layers of plastic wrap). They basically placed a brisket sandwich on top of a turkey sandwich and gave it a name. Pure genius.

Needless to say at 6 inches high I had to eat it a quarter at a time and nearly passed out from simply inhaling the brisket.

Famous 4th Street Delicatessen
700 S. 4th Street – Philadelphia, PA 19147 (Google Map)

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