Adelman’s Kosher Deli

Adelman’s has been on my list of delis to try for a long time. On a busy stretch of Kings Highway, Ademan’s has the history and the old school neon lettering to be reputable. Although it changed hands to an Arab family in the last few years (kind of cool when you think about it), the menu seems to have remained the same. The staff inside is friendly albeit bored, as only 2 other customers came in when I was getting take out, and both those were quick take out orders as well. The food was priced at what you’d expect for a Jewish deli and as soon as I got it, I just rushed on home. Located in an area with a lot of Orthodox Jews and 2 other competitors nearby (Mill Basin and Jay & Lloyd’s), you’d think Adelman’s would have to have some serious food. You’d be wrong.
Being a Mets fan, I got a ‘Met’ combo sandwich (hot pastrami, grilled salami), I got my girl a Giants with corned beef subbed in for the pastrami (also includes tongue and grilled bologna), and we also got an order of fries along with the pre-​requisite pickles and cole slaw. Looking at the sandwiches once I got home, something seemed off. When I bit in, I realized that they subbed all the pastrami for corned beef instead of just the one sandwich. Maybe this isn’t the end of the world, but seriously, how do you screw that up with no other customers? To boot, the meats on both the sandwiches were mediocre. Completely edible mind you, but they weren’t anything special. The pickles were above average, as was the cole slaw. The fries looked, smelled and tasted like Nathan’s fires. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, but I think they are just using frozen Nathan’s fries which is disappointing.
Since my visit, I’ve seen Adelman’s seeming demise. It isn’t crystal clear yet – especially as there are conflicting reports on here – but the windows have some kind of brown paper covering them and there is a sign directing people to go to Jay & Lloyd’s on Avenue U for their deli needs. I’m not shocked if what I received is the food they serve on a regular basis. Looking at their pricing and having tried the food, it seems like Adelman’s has cut their standards in order to keep prices low and stay open. That’s too bad, and while I wish them no harm, I’m also not not likely to give them another shot with similar Delicatessen options nearby. If so be it, RIP.

Closed =(

really sad to see them close. i grew up here

How the hell could they just up & close and not tell anyone? FUCK!!!

This looks like a real New York Kosher deli
even down to the greasy menu
BUT what is wrong
friendly waiter, prompt service, walls covered with sports cards
sadly the food is only so so
it looks good yes, but the soup was just eh
the potato latke while big and attractive was just eh
noodle pudding could have had some redemption but sadly just so so and it wasn’t evenly heated
my friend had chicken friccase and she said yuck salty and just not good
on the plus side
a tiny salad bar that comes with your meal

This place is the essence of old Brooklyn. I love the whole sport theme, praising all the legends from baseball to basketball to hockey! Its such a fun theme. It has this old diner kind of vibe with patent red leather booths. Ahh its great.
This place has definitely been better in the past. I used to come here at least a minimum of once a week for a juicy pastrami or corned beef sandwich. They’re meets are still delectable. But I’ve found that other specialties aren’t as good any more.
Recently they’re had a DOH «B» rating, and I think that is fair. Their salad bar? I think ill pass. It looks like the food had been sitting out for weeks, never mind the flies around that area :/​
Their matzo-​ball/​chicken soup is sub-​par. I definitely would prefer my mothers. Their soup is bland and tasteless. I call it dishwater, a nauseating thought, I know.
I still and always have enjoyed their sandwiches, crunchy fries, Hebrew National hotdogs, and their Derma/​Kishka (I don’t have any clue what that is till this day, but it looks like carrot purée and its DA BOMB.) I’m not a fan, but their Knishes are pretty killer too!
Despite their rating. Which I’m usually a stickler for… I still keep coming back (not as often as i once did). But really, where can you find a good old fashioned kosher deli anymore? Really…

Classic Brooklyn kosher deli…

This place has great colesaw, It’s perfectly seasoned with vinegar and sugar. I could have eaten a gallon of this.
The matzoh ball soup was like my friends mother use to make and it was grat.
The corned beef sandwich: delicious and pile high on the rye bread. The pickles are tart and have lots of flavor. Give it a try and you’ll like it.

Meg and I were walking down Kings Highway when we came across this little pastrami temple. Adelman’s is quintessential New York Jewish deli. Salami hanging from the ceiling, Brooklyn Dodgers memorabilia covering the wall, and a cooler filled with Dr. Browns sodas. There is only one place for you find restaurants like this, and it is NY. My father would have been in heaven. I had the pastrami on rye, and Meg had the turkey. The pastrami was delicious.
Adelman’s is a little dated and dingy, but that kind of added to the vibe.
Had great sandwiches, and I will be going back.
If you like Jewish Delis you could appreciate this place.

Not as good as it used to be. The salad bar draws a bargin diner.
The salad bar is usually messy, old stuff and a bit sleezy with people picking pickles with their hands.
The new owners are not nearly as good as the previous.
I’d rather go to Jay and LLoyds or Mill Basin Deli for a great deli experience.

I rarely eat out in my neighborhood but when I have guests who want breakfast and I have nothing to cook, I take them here because it’s closeby.
I love how kitsch this place is with all sport memorabilia on the walls. It’s pretty big with plenty of tables and booths.
Food is ok, nothing memorable but reasonably priced. If I’m right, if your meal is over $ 8, you also get unlimited access to their salad bar.
Friendly and fast service.

Was here again this year, and I have to say, it actually improved since the doldrums of the mid 2000’s. The soup and the sandwiches were better.
I don’t think there’s a better kosher deli in all of Brooklyn, perhaps even in NYC. Corned beef and pastrami and salami is awesome. Great mushroom barley soup, and nice derma, etc.

I used to work at Adelmans when I was about 15 years old, back then I didn’t know what good food was. I was always shy when they offered me food during my shift, but one day I finally gave in and tried some. Oh boy! I regret not taking advantage of the free food! This place has the best pastrami ever. The chicken noodles soup makes me wanna do cartwheels. Love the pickles and fries! Definitely worth every calorie. Staff is also very friendly and helpful. God bless the girls at the register that was the most stressful job, the phones wouldn’t stop ringing for deliveries!

Sorry to say, Adelman’s has a DOH «B» and, based on my last few meals there, IMO that’s a fair assessment. On my last visit the lettuce at the salad bar was rusty. Other salad bar offerings looked old and we didn’t try them. Our server was cheerful and sweet but not prompt, and by the time he refreshed the lettuce our meal was almost over. The pastrami (the regular, not even the extra-​lean) has been dry like it’s been pre-​sliced and laying around. Etc etc etc.

Most people have summed it up well.
We ordered:
–half a sammich special 9.95
–full sammich special 13.95
(the specials come with fries and drink and any order over $ 8 gets you unlimited trips to the salad bar which is weird but cool, of course we shared… what were they gonna do on a rainy Friday evening while empty, keep the salad under their mattress? nah… let us eat it.)
–knishes both baked and fried
–sweet potato fries
–rugelach
Every thing is pretty good. There’s something about super thick crinkle cut fries that’s awesome. I liked the salad bar. The sandwich was lean and tasty… all around good. And yeah, it’s a muslim dude hiring out Mexicans to do the handywork… welcome to 2011 NY people. Oh well, at least I can speak in my native tongue to the help LOL…

Utterly authentic, devoid of pretense, delicious food all around, reasonable prices.
Our group of 4 had a nice «sampler» mix of dishes when we went there for lunch: Pastrami on rye, both styles of knish, fried pierogies, knockwurst. Each item exceeded expectations.
Only one very minor complaint that the service was oddly slow.

Corned beef, pastrami, knishes, chopped liver, and Jewish guilt, among other things were brought to New York by Eastern European Jews. And they were the first chefs, owners, waiters, and customers at the delicatessens.
But times have changed and New York has become the melting pot of the world since the late 1800’s. And it’s a beautiful thing now that Jewish New Yorkers (the non-​kosher ones, of course) eat sushi for lunch, Chinese immigrants might have a kielbasa, and a Muslim Egyptian named Mohamed Salem now owns and operates Adelman’s Deli in the eclectic neighborhood of Gravesend, Brooklyn.
Some might find this off-​putting. What can an Egyptian guy know about classic Jewish food? Well, if you stay in this city long enough, you can learn about all different ethnicities, their culture, and most deliciously, their food.
And if I hadn’t done my research (those four years of college taught me to do something!), I probably would have never known that Adelman’s was no longer run by the restaurant’s namesake since it opened in 1954. It looks like you’d expect. Salamis hanging from the ceiling. Classic Jewish comfort food up for offer at the deli counter. And there are the infamous photos of celebrities all over the room. But the difference here is that these aren’t movie stars who once visited the place (I doubt movie stars make it this far out in Brooklyn); these are pictures of baseball cards. They made me smile and I felt like I was 10 years old living in South Florida dreaming of Brooklyn: the land of baseball and corned beef.
And here comes the corned beef. They allowed me to order a half sandwich of the combo, which I always appreciate. And at under $ 8, this was the most affordable one yet. I’m sure being far enough away from Manhattan didn’t hurt.
The sandwich arrived warm and the bread was even a bit toasty. And that rye bread was incredible. It was a little sweeter and richer than usual — it almost reminded me of a challah. After corned beef and pastrami, challah and rye bread seems like the perfect Jewish combo to me.
Both meats were moist and tender and sliced very thin. That’s how most places do it (thin is in, after all), but I like my meat a bit thicker and to feel less like cold cuts. You get a subtle smokiness from the pastrami and some saltiness from the corned beef. The more I lingered over the sandwich, the more the meat seemed to dry out. Not sure if the heat added to the moistness or maybe the freshness of the bread.
The bread really was the stand-​out for me. The sandwich was fine and I loved the atmosphere of the place. Being both of Eastern European Jewish descent and having an obsessive collection of baseball cards at one time, Adelman’s played on my sense of nostalgia. Who would have guessed an Egyptian immigrant would know anything about my sheltered South Floridian childhood? Guess if you live in Brooklyn long enough, anything’s possible.
–eatthisny

A pure
Delight
Even if you’re not kosher.
Load that Russian dressing on your
Magnificent turkey sandwich!
And don’t forget the hot dogs;
Never visit without eating one!!!
Salad bar too.
(Part of Best NY Delis: The Acrostic Series)

Delicious corned beef and pastrami. The hot dogs are wonderful and nigh on irresistable. If you spend more than $ 7.50 a person, which is nearly impossible to avoid, you can help yourself to the small salad bar. The russian dressing is tasty, and the pumpernickel croutons are crunchy and satisfying (so satisfying that, as a kid, all I would eat at Adelman’s was a plate piled high with croutons and sour pickles, all doused in vinegar).
The turkey vegetable soup is good if you’re in the mood to try something other than matzo ball.

Nearly 5 stars for food.
Adelman’s is a neighborhood institution and one of the last «pure» good Jewish delis left. It is not Kosher, just Kosher-​style.
The pickle bar kept me satisfied throughout my pregnancy. (Yes, I know it sounds cliched — but I wanted those half-​sours and a slab of Corned Beef, extra lean in a bad way during the 2^nd trimester.)
I did not have a good experience living in Bklyn (just blame that on my idiot ex.) but Adelman’s was a high point in a low time f my life. Their knishes can help cure depression! (Kasha and Spinach were my faves — heated up, please.)
I miss you Adelman’s — but I don’t miss trudging up and down King’s Highway searching for my lost soul.
P. S. They do great catering for the Jewish Holidays (again — if you’re not Kosher and just want good Jewish grub.)