Let's Meat.

A Katz above.

New York City, New York – Today, the midday line outside Katz's Delicatessen is only a half-block long.

In relative terms, it's short.

Neon signs hum as we huddle against a light drizzle, a whisper of steam forming on our breath. It spells anticipation.

Moving inside, we pick up our tickets (don't lose them: you need them to get out) and scan the packed room for the shortest carving line and a table. Unsurprisingly, there will be a wait for both. 

Meanwhile, cutlery duels, plates clatter and people shout. Chairs screech across the floor.

The man in line in front of me doesn't seem to know what he wants and the server becomes visibly frustrated. Patience is not a New York virtue.

An oasis in the chaos.

The guest's saving grace is that he speaks Spanish. First opened in 1888, the Kosher-style deli may be the city's oldest, but it also signifies New York's shifting demographics: most of the staff today are Latin American.

As a middle ground, the carver offers, in Spanish: "Do you want pastrami and corned beef?"

He's as relieved to see the man gather his tray and push through the jostling crowd as he is to hear I know exactly what I want: pastrami on rye with brown mustard, a bowl of matzo ball soup and a side of pickles.

A wish for knish.

The carver throws a few juicy slices onto a plate set on the counter: time-honoured samples. Katz's goes through 30,000 pounds of meat in a given week and still expertly carves it by hand in front of you. I drool even at what's considered scrap and tossed aside. His knife spins, a glint in its eye.

The bustle and show are half the experience.

But only half: the sandwich is piled high with thickly cut meat, the crunchy pickles are sour and the matzo ball is the size of my fist. You have to be particularly careful to not spill any as you push against the stream to find a table.

A bite. Bliss.

While hardly still hungry, dessert comes in the form a a fresh cherry-cheese knish from the 120-year-old Yonah Schimmel a few doors down.

It's so hot and delicious it melts into my soul.