Sammy’s Famous Corned Beef

At least the two downtown are still open

Sammy’s is now gone, and in its place is a check-​cashing, gold-​buying establishment. This is not good at all.

If you’re famous, why is there never anyone in your restaurant? Seriously, I live right around the corner, and I’ve never seen more than one customer in there at a time, and it’s completely empty about ¾ of the time I walk or drive by. As one other reviewer rightly pointed out, Sammy’s seems to be famous for claiming to be famous.
(Note: this is for a visit about ten months earlier — could’ve sworn I’d already written one.) I’d been walking/​driving past Sammy’s for several months after moving into the neighborhood when I decided to finally hoof it over and try one of their «famous» corned beef sandwiches. The sandwich itself was, well, mediocre at best. There was a decent amount of meat, but it was pretty average. The other ingredients were also… average — certainly nothing that would generate «fame» because of its flavor.
Service was the usual gruff, put-​upon treatment I’ve come to expect from small businesses in da ‘Burgh. Prices were okay, but no great bargain. I haven’t been back.
Three stars for the sammich, 1.5 for the rest.

I had driven by Sammy’s countless times when heading into Lawrenceville, and as I crossed over Penn, I would always read the garish neon sign proclaiming the corned beef’s fame, and think, «Isn’t the prerequisite to fame being marginally known?» Because I had never heard of Sammy’s, ergo could not verify its fame, particularly when using the following model of logic:
McDonalds? Famous.
Tom’s Diner in NYC? Famous — if only because of Jerry Seinfeld and Suzanne Vega.
Sammys? …to… …Pittsburghers???
But none of my pals had ever eaten at Sammy’s. Sure, they’d driven by and read the signs, but they’d never gotten off their duffs and had a go at this ‘famous’ corned beef. So I decided to do it myself.
Here’s how it went:
My corned beef sandwich featured (drum roll, please): corned beef (!!!), Swiss cheese, rye bread, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing. I double-​checked my notes on corned beef sandwiches I had previously consumed in my lifetime. ALL THE INGREDIENTS WERE THE SAME. So, I asked myself: what makes Sammy’s corned beef famous?
1. It’s not the corned beef. I mean, it was good corned beef, but it wasn’t life-​changing. I certainly wouldn’t challenge another deli to a Corned Beef Showdown with Sammy’s in my corner.
2. It’s not the Swiss cheese. I’m pretty sure that Swiss cheese served in Switzerland would be vastly superior.
3. Maybe it’s the bread. Most rye bread is thin. Sammy’s has thick rye bread. And it’s soft. Very pleasant.
4. It’s not the sauerkraut. My German grandmother whips up a mean sauerkraut, the kind her mom made in the Old Country 50+ years ago. Sammy’s isn’t anything to sneeze at.
5. It’s not the Russian dressing. Can anyone stake a claim in truly superlative Russian dressing? Maybe the Russians. But not Sammy.
It seems that I’m bashing Sammy, but I’m not. I just don’t think it was anything special. I enjoyed my sandwich, but I might have enjoyed more the conversation I was having whilst eating the sandwich.
Maybe, Sammy, you’re famous for claiming you’re famous.
That’s how Paris Hilton achieved fame, so you’re in good company.
I think.

Crappy, boring, limpid.
The pastrami tasted bland, the bread was borderline stale and uninteresting, and the whole sandwich was a little wet and lukewarm. Got a Penn Pilsener from the bar, and it had the unmistakable taste of dirty lines — a little sour tang of lactic bacteria.
How is this place «famous»? Is it really? Can anyone please just brine some brisket and hand-​slice it?

We ended up at Sammy’s Famous Corned Beef after trying to get phở at Tram’s Kitchen and forgetting it was a Monday (Tram’s is closed on Mondays). The bright neon lights flashing FAMOUS across the street beckoned for us to head over and try it out… so we did.
I ordered the Sammy’s Special, which is 5 ounces of corned beef topped with sauerkraut or cole slaw, swiss cheese, and Russian dressing on your choice of rye. I went with sauerkraut and rye bread. I also got a side of potato salad b/​c it costs a buck and I was kinda worried I’d still be a little hungry after the sandwich. The sandwich was alright; the corned beef wasn’t as salty as I expected and sliced really thin. I would’ve liked my bread toasted, the heat of the meat and sauerkraut warmed up the bread from the inside. Toasted bread might have also held up to the wetness of the sauerkraut and Russian dressing; the bread was extremely soggy by my last bite.
One of my companions said their pastrami was underwhelming and to stick with corned beef (he had two sandwiches).
The potato salad was pretty standard with a dijon mustard base.
They also have a bar in the dining section of the place, but since it was around 2:30 PM in the afternoon I decided not to get a beer at that time.
Overall I was satisfied with my meal and I’d probably drop by again if I was in the area, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to get their sandwich.