Pastrami in Paris
There may be nothing more quintessentially French than a “jambon-beurre”, a sandwich composed of half a split baguette of bread, spread with butter, garnished with Paris ham (or white ham), served with pickles.
Then there is a “sandwich-mixte”, which is essentially a jambon-beurre with a slice of emmental cheese. But let’s face it, these sandwiches are very often of poor quality and uninspiring.
This is opening a space in the market for pastrami, something I love immensely.
Pastrami is a type of cured meat originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket. Other recipes use lamb, pork, chicken or turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed.
In short, it is much tastier than plain old ham on a jambon-beurre. And it is served with multiple slices of meat, not one miserly slice, as in jambon-beer sandwiches.
Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before the invention of refrigeration. Pastrami was introduced to the US in a wave of Jewish immigration from Bessarabia and Romania in the second half of the 19th century. The name pastrami comes from the Turkish pastırma, derived from the Turkish and Azerbaijan verb bastırma meaning “to press”.
One of the iconic meats of Eastern European cuisine as well as American Jewish cuisine and New York City cuisine, hot pastrami is typically served at delicatessen restaurants on sandwiches such as the pastrami on rye.
I have tried pastrami sandwiches in several places in Paris. But Chlew at 66 Avenue Victor Hugo, 75116 Paris, comes out on top. And I am not the only one who loves Chlew’s offerings. It is always choc-a-bloc with customers, as it was a few moments ago, and they appear to be doing a roaring trade in Uber Eats and the like.
As you can see from their website ( https://chlew.fr/ ), they have a wide range of offerings. But I always go for “Le Full Pastrami”.
Bon Appétit!