When Luxor first opened, the Backstage Deli was a full-scale restaurant with a kosher-style menu and we tried the pastrami, matzo ball soup, and latke. It was 30 years ago and we still remember it. It wasn’t New York caliber, but good enough for an Egyptian-themed casino that seemed to be making some kind of statement about the Passover story.
We certainly had no intention of ever revisiting the skeletal remains of that deli. But a day earlier, a Sunday, we’d eyeballed the Luxor and Excalibur brunch buffets and Luxor looked so good that we returned the next day to try it, only to find it closed (open Wed.-Sun.). Meanwhile, we were famished, so we really had no choice but to grab a quick lunch at the nearby Backstage.
We’d have been better off going hungry.
We went for the Jawbreaker, pastrami and corned beef with coleslaw and Swiss cheese on a hoagie roll ($19). “Deli,” after all, is still part of the name and the Italian sub, Cubano and pesto chicken sandwiches, Buffalo chicken wrap, Asian salad, and chili dog ($15-$18) didn’t fit that bill. They also serve all-day breakfasts (bacon and eggs, bacon-egg-lettuce-tomato-avocado sandwich, and bacon-egg bagel sandwich, $14-$16), cheeseburger ($16), tenders and fries ($18).
As for the Jawbreaker, it was all wrong.
The meat was half-fat, but we couldn’t tell the difference (until later) due to the melted white cheese. Coleslaw, to us anyway, should never be on a pastrami sandwich, only next to it. There wasn’t even any mustard. The hoagie overwhelmed the rest of the mess and if that’s deli, we play for the New York Knicks. The fries, amazingly enough, were pretty good, so it wasn’t a total loss, though the ketchup was in packets.
The bill came to $23.44 with tax and tip, but that’s a lot of money for fries.
Pastrami and/or corned beef with cole slaw on the sandwich is a New York city deli staple. Fat and cole slaw is not.
Ew. I know you know better.