Katz’s Delicatessen Takes Up Residence at the Met

Pastrami chopping will be happening at the museum. Photo courtesy Katz’s Deli.

Starting tomorrow, Friday, August 2, heading uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art can also provide a taste of downtown. The 131-year-old Houston Street staple Katz’s Delicatessen will be launching a limited-time-only pop-up in the museum’s cafeteria. Beginning at 11:30 a.m., Thursdays through Mondays, until the end of the summer, head in for hand-carved deli sandwiches, like pastrami and turkey, served with potato salad, coleslaw, and pickles. Basically: Everything one goes to the deli itself for, with the bonus of being able to experience it all while taking a break from looking at hundreds of years of art history.

This is all part of the museum’s new culinary plans. They’ve also revamped The Dining Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by bringing in chef John Fraser, whose work at restaurants like Nix and The New York Edition hotel has earned Michelin stars. The famously vegetable-forward Fraser has offered a rotating tasting menu there, focusing on one specific piece of produce per season. In keeping with the cultural fervor for all things bitter, the museum has also introduced an Amari experience at their Great Hall Balcony Bar on Friday and Saturday nights, to accompany live music, in addition to a menu makeover at the Cantor Roof Garden Bar, where there are now bottled classic cocktails on offer (think Manhattan, Cosmopolitan, Gin Martini, and Negroni). A visit to the Met Museum this August, then, provides a lot more than just a feast for the eyes.