Dingfelder's: Reuben (Four of six)

Link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen.  

For them as do not know, a Reuben is corned beef and sauerkraut on rye with Russian dressing. Not a fan of Russian dressing, so I ordered mine with mustard. In my German-blood opinion, the Reuben can be the best sandwich ever made. 

On a Reuben, I want the sauerkraut bone dry. If you lean that way, too, I suggest at Dingfelder's you order your Reuben for take out. I shall tell you why in a bit. 

When I saw the meat in the sandwich displayed on Dingfelder's site menu, I wondered if that was for real and always or just for the photo. 'Cause I been fooled before. 

Proud to say it was for real and always. Big slabs of tender meat. Crisp sauerkraut in the Goldilocks zone: not too strong, not too weak, but jussst right. A thin schmear of mustard that added a hint of heat. 

If not Sandwich Heaven, it is as close as mortals can get. 

Plentiful, too. My wife and I ate half the Reuben and got the other half wrapped for take away. Could be the gribenes and the latkes sated our hunger. Could be. 

The wrap is where the magic happened. 

I ordered three sandwiches from Olympia. Where Ari went I do not know, but Olympia took care of us. She and invisible Steve wrapped my half Reuben in butcher paper and boxed it with pickles and a side. 

Long trip back to the hotel (Embassy Suites-SeaTac). Stowed the sandwiches in the fridge and took a nap. Woke up and pulled the half Reuben from the fridge. I noticed that the wrapping paper was moist. The butcher paper had rubbed against the sauerkraut and wicked away the brine. Left me with bone dry sauerkraut. 

Another step closer to Sandwich Heaven. 

I recommend you get the Reuben for take out and give it some hours for the paper to magic the sauerkraut to bone dry. If that's the way -- uh-huh, uh-huh -- you like it. 

Reuben: A++ 

Next: Chopped liver on onion roll. 

Dingfelder's: Gribenes and latkes (Three of six)

 

Link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen. 

First we gotta talk about schmaltz. What is schmaltz? Schmaltz is to chicken fat as ghee is to butter. Don't know what ghee is? Okay, let us try . . . schmaltz is to chicken fat as lard is to pig fat. If you still have questions, click the link. 

I am goy, but I had a good friend who called himself a 'completed Jew.' That is, he converted to Christianity. His heart did, anyway. His stomach still kept kosher. He rendered his own schmaltz and used no other cooking fat or oil. He invited me over to eat with him every week. Most times I accepted. I am familiar with schmaltz. 

When Vance Dingfelder (picture above) related his tale of schmaltz I did not flinch. My lack of response seemed to impress Vance. He told me that once upon a time he rendered chickens for schmaltz. Then some supplier persuaded Vance to give his schmaltz a try. Vance said the outside product was as good as his own, and when he costed out his own production, the outside product came out cheaper. 

Vance switched from house-made schmaltz to outside-supplier schmaltz. Then he found that that cooking copious amounts of chicken soup left schmaltz as a by-product. Thus, he returned to house-made schmaltz, right? 

I dunno. The story was long, and I got lost. In either case, Dingfelder's cooks its gribenes and its latkes in schmaltz. Makes a difference. A big difference. 

'Gribenes (Jewish Chicharrónes) kosher Skins.' That is quoted from Dingfelder's deli menu. For them as know not Mexican delicacies, chicharrónes are fried pork skins. Usually deep fried in lard. That Vance knows chicharrónes suggests that he breaks the Jewish dietary laws sometimes. Gribenes are fried chicken skins. Between the two, I prefer chicharrónes, but my preference is not strong. Do chicharrónes taste better by a preponderance of the evidence? Yeah. By a clear and convincing standard? No. 

Gribenes are pictured above left. Call those golden brown. Dingfelder's gribenes were two shades darker the day we tried them. 

Latkes were next (pictured above right). I have eaten more latkes than I can count. Had a lot of German potato pancakes, too. In my humble opinion, Dingfelder's were the best I ever had. No doubt. I think the schmaltz made the difference. 

Gribenes: A+ 
Latkes: A+ 

Missed the chance to include a couple of pictures last time, and for that omission, I apologize and atone. Dingfelder's pickles and Dr Brown's Root Beer:

 

I really enjoyed Dingfelder's pickles. My only complaint is that there were too few of them with my order. Next time I shall order a to-go container filled with these delicious pickles. 

Never had Dr Brown's fizzy drink before. Surprised to learn that the company has been in business since 1869. Good stuff. 

Next: Corned beef on rye. Do not miss this one! 

Dingfelder's : Borscht and Dr Brown's Root Beer (Two of six . . . I combined some posts.)

 

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Link to Dingfelder's Delicatessen. 

We arrived at Dingfelder's on a Thursday. Soup-of-the-day was borscht. Was not always borscht. I saw a photo of Dingfelder's menu from years back on Yelp that gave Harvest Vegetable as the soup for Thursday. 

When I ordered, Ari told me that this was the summer borscht and asked if I still wanted the borscht. I said, "Sure." Had never heard of summer borscht. How does summer borscht differ from winter borscht? Or fall borscht? Or spring borscht? 

There is a difference. Dingfelder's summer borscht uses gold beets. Big surprise for me. Never had gold beets before. Until that moment, I did not know gold beets existed. 

Summer borscht looked nothing like the red beet borscht I like. Looks more like a vegetable soup. Hmm. Shades of Harvest vegetable, what? On the plus side, the textures were good. Not overcooked and mushy, not undercooked and chewy. On the minus side, I tasted vinegar. That was the dominant note. My wife took one taste and never touched the borscht again. The vinegar was a deal killer for her. 

Dr Brown's Root Beer. I like root beer. FWIW I like sarsaparilla, too, but that's a rare find. I like ginger beer, too, and have been meaning to brew some. 

Anyway, Dingfelder's displayed the sodas they offer. Dr Brown's Root Beer was one of 'em. Decided to try it. Glad I did. Whoever chose this drink for Dingfelder's did well. Good taste but not brash. Not too sweet. Excellent choice. 

Borscht: B+ 

Dr Brown's Root Beer: A 

Yelp photos of Dingfelder's food, Dingfelder's menu, and Vance Dingfelder. 

Next time . . . Gribenes and Latkes. 

* This photo I got off the internet. It is not from Dingfelder's. I took no pictures that day. My bad.