Schlesinger’s Deli in Rittenhouse gives its corned beef an upgrade

“God. Country. Corned Beef.” The catch phrase has long been one of the Philadelphia restaurant slogans I most relate to: Jewish delis are my ultimate soul food. A hot corned beef sandwich is the stuff of my comfort dreams. The only problem? The restaurant that wears this moniker, Schlesinger’s Deli near Rittenhouse Square, has always left me cold and has never traditionally made my lists of favorite local delis.

“Just wondering why Schlesinger’s was left out?” the deli’s owner (and Philadelphia Councilmember at large), Allan Domb, wrote me in late 2019. “If there is something we need to do to improve please let me know.”

Well, since he asked, I noted our past experiences with poorly cleaned tables and disorganized service. The food? I appreciated the pickle bar, but the menu itself was inconsistent and perfunctory at best, with soups that weren’t always hot and — gasp! —dry corned beef. When we visited occasionally out of convenience, I stuck with the chef’s salad.

To my surprise, Domb replied this summer with a pledge: “I agree and ... now is the time for me to elevate and make it the deli we should have.”

With a new team in place under the company’s new director of restaurant operations, Josh Bullock, and deli manager, Sara Robbins, I recently decided to give the new Schlesinger’s a test nosh.

Because I’m still not dining inside, I cannot comment on the improved cleanliness and service practices they have implemented after the restaurant closed for deep cleaning and renovations.

But the meal we ordered for takeout was a clear step up in quality based on a renewed dedication to scratch cooking that Bullock concedes had long been filled with pre-fab ingredients. The matzo ball soup came piping hot in a pale but naturally full-flavored house broth that’s no longer “stretched” with store-bought cans. The turkey, also previously brought in, is now roasted in house and juicy, layered for the “Special” with sweet and tangy coleslaw made from fresh-shredded cabbage with a kiss of honey, no longer scooped from an industrial food service bucket.

Bullock has promised a series of updated deli whimsies, from brisket platters layered over potato pancakes to breakfast burritos and stuffed French toast encrusted with homemade granola.

But really, what I covet most is a deli that has mastered the basics. And most significantly, Schlesinger’s has fixed its corned beef, boosting some clove and juniper in the pickling spice, and cooking it slower and lower (by about 120 degrees) to keep the meat more tender, easier to slice, and far more juicy. Piled 8-ounces high (versus the old 6-ounce edition) along with smoky pastrami, Russian dressing, sauerkraut, and molten Swiss on griddled Kaplan’s rye bread, this was a riff on the Reuben I’d happily return for.

— Craig LaBan

The Doris Reuben with corned beef and pastrami, $16.95, Schlesinger’s Deli, 1521 Locust St., 215-735-7305; schlesingersdeli.com