It’s a common lament to say you were born in the wrong era: maybe you miss the music of the seventies, or the cafe society of the twenties. For those fantasizing about the fifties or sixties, a new pop-up will help you live out your nostalgic fever dream.
From December 1 to December 8, Carnegie Deli (which closed in 2016 after 79 years) makes a triumphant return in New York’s Nolita with a little help from Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Together, they teamed up to create an authentic Jewish style delicatessen—straight out of 1958.
There are jukeboxes and glass ketchup bottles, plus a blackboard with the daily special written in chalk. Waitresses wear knee-length dresses with buttons, capped sleeves, and aprons, and they greet customers with terms of endearment. Tables are set with paper placemats and paper menus, adorned with an illustration of their signature sandwich, the Maisel, meant for “women who eat, not ladies who lunch.”
And what’s in the Maisel, you ask? Pastrami, salami, coleslaw, and special sauce, all served on rye bread with a side pickle.
There’s also the “Susie”—a nod to Alex Borstein’s tough-talking club manager—with turkey and Russian dressing, knishes, cheesecake, and black and white cookies the size of an outstretched hand.
The only carbonated beverage on the menu is Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda, a New York kosher brand that was founded in the 1800s.
The prices, too, are of another era: a sandwich is 99 cents, Dr. Brown’s soda is 50 cents, and water is free.
The Carnegie Deli Pop Up is open from December 1 through December 8, and is taking reservations now.
