I'VE DONE ENOUGH eating at Pastrami Zombie over the last several weeks to make a final call about how good these smoky, drippy, and huge sandwiches are. So naturally, I just placed a Caviar order to have another one delivered while I write.
Pastrami Zombie’s signature Reuben is deceptively simple: a huge stack of beef, a couple slices of Swiss, dressing, a forest of coleslaw, and two fairly thin slices of Grand Central rye. But that’s all owner and mastermind Melissa McMillan needs to spin a sandwich that joins the upper ranks in a city that perfected the art of stuff between bread.
McMillan’s Ashland storefront, Sammich, has garnered a New York Times blessing and a dedicated following. She opened her Pastrami Zombie truck a few months ago, and quickly moved it to its current home next to Pollo Norte on Northeast 42nd.
Biting into the deeply unctuous and smoky brisket pastrami—cured for four days before smoking and steaming—with the tart coleslaw and dressing dripping over your trembling pinkies is to know what those Carl’s Jr. ads were talking about when they said, “If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face.”