Deli delicacy: Reuben-esque sandwiches stack up well at these eateries

In March, thoughts turn to St. Paddy's Day and inevitably to corned beef and cabbage. But a Reuben sandwich — on grilled (or toasted) rye, embracing layers of brined and seasoned beef (or, in a less-classic construction, spicier dry-cured pastrami) — is a year-round cause for celebration.

Among the best of the Reuben-esque are these tantalizing two-fisters, outfitted with pickled cabbage, a dollop of dressing and a sheath of Swiss cheese.

Did I miss your favorite? Come chew the fat on my blog at seattletimes.com/allyoucaneat.

Goldbergs' Famous Delicatessen

3924 Factoria Blvd. S.E., Bellevue

425-641-6622

www.goldbergsdeli.comHours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays

Goldbergs' is the closest thing we've got to an East Coast deli-restaurant — its well-stocked bar notwithstanding. Fressers who flock to Factoria can revel in a complimentary bowl of pickles, precursor to a hefty Reuben ($12.95) whose seeded zissel rye has the sour flavor and close-crumb structure that's all too often missing-in-action elsewhere. The bread stands up to a hillock of hot corned beef or smoky pastrami (or add a buck for both), plus a thick layer of Swiss, a schmear of Russian dressing and an evenhanded application of kraut. Hit the deli counter and you can take home a bissel of the zissel and some beef (corned or smoked) and do it yourself.

I Love New York Deli

93 Pike St., No. 4 (Pike Place Market), Seattle

206-381-DELI (3354)

http://ilovenewyorkdeli.net

Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. daily

"Use two hands so you won't get hurt." That's what Jon Jacobs — late of Flatbush — tells customers as he hands off a Reuben ($10.95) piled high with Brooklyn-born corned beef steamed and sliced to order. This is the real deal: juicy with the kind of fat that says, "Eat me! I'm worth it!" You get a choice of rye, a half-sour pickle and a side (potato salad, coleslaw or my Philly favorite — Wise potato chips!). Knock it back with a Dr. Brown's savory Cel-Ray soda while seated at the kiosk's counter. Prefer pastrami? Order a "Rachel." Come early for breakfast and have a Reuben omelet on a Kaiser roll.

P.S. Jon's got his eye on a larger Market space: Keep your fingers crossed.

Market House Meats

1124 Howell St., Seattle

206-624-9248

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, Saturdays 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Market House has been "the" name for corned beef in Seattle since 1948, and the family name associated with that cow palace — Akrish, Sam and Mike — is still immortalized on an interior wall. Today the joint is run by the Embrys — Vic and Max — who've kept the Akrish family's butcher in business. Between January and the end of the month they'll have corned more than 20 tons of St. Patrick's Day beef, but year-round you'll find Vic manning the grill while his son Max works the register. They'll hook you up with a Reuben ($7.95 with potato salad and a cookie), a solid half-pound of the searing hot, thin-sliced corned beef. Take it to go if you must, but better to eat it here at the counter as the fixings are trapped between flabby marble rye, imported from Idaho.

Coming soon: Beer!

Roxy's Diner

462 N. 36th St., Seattle

206-632-3963

Hours: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily

I've been a loyal fan of Roxy's since owner Peter Glick, the self-proclaimed "Pastrami King," ran a sandwich counter in Crown Hill selling the house-smoked, hand-sliced gold standard that gave him his (nick)name. These days his face is plastered on the side of a full-service Fremont diner where they'll mix you a Pickletini (vodka, vermouth, pickle juice) — or a chocolate egg cream. Today Glick's pastrami is custom made elsewhere. But served as a Reuben, it's still the fabulously fatty fantasy of this pastrami-lover's dreams, served "regular"-sized ($10.95) or "NY size" (sandwich enough for two, $15.95). If they'd grill their Essential rye rather than barely toasting it, I'd be happier, but with pastrami this good, I'll shuddup and eat.

74th St. Ale House (and siblings)

7401 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle

206-784-2955

www.seattlealehouses.com

Other locales include Hilltop Ale House, 2129 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, 206-285-3877; and Columbia City Ale House, 4914 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, 206-723-5123.

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays

These ale houses take the classic Reuben and go it one better: subbing pickled red cabbage for the kraut, kicking up the dressing with a touch of Tabasco and marrying both with Boars Head corned beef, whose lean mien is leveraged by a long cider braise. And — Gloriosky! — they generously butter their rye and grill that Reuben till the Swiss melts out the sides. Bronzed on the outside, exploding with flavor within, this sassy sandwich offers a welcome crunch. I like the corkscrew-pasta salad served alongside (or you can have chips), recently enjoyed with a pint of Manny's.

Nancy Leson: 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com. To read her blog, go to seattletimes.com/allyoucaneat