Phone: (09) 363 7184
Cuisine: New York deli fare
Rating: 9/10
They've nailed the all-important first impression.
Brush through the frosted "IN" door and a different world opens up. You feel as though you've been teleported to another time and place altogether, far from Auckland's Federal St in 2013. Jars of pickles and mustard line the shelves, back-lit signs in bold, black type proclaim Genuine Pastrami, Pie by the Slice and Sour Pickles, waitresses wearing cute matching pastel-shaded uniforms bustle about and the team manning the deli counter are straight-up in their neat white hats. This is Al Brown's newly opened Federal Delicatessen and it's already humming.
As I waited for my dining companions, I sat and watched incredulously as the whole place buzzed around me. Why my surprise? For starters, it has been open not even a week, but already the staff (many of whom you'll recognise from Depot) own the floor like they've been there for decades. And then there's how crowded it is; the booths and counter seats were nigh on full when we called in for dinner, proving that those in the know have already cottoned on to the fact that "The Fed" isn't a delicatessen of the supermarket variety, where you go to buy your cheap shaved ham and pots of watery olives, it's an authentic delicatessen where the menu is available all day, every day, from early until late. Similar places in NYC have been providing a meeting place, a kitchen and a dining room, for locals to meet up in neighbourhoods across the city for decades, so much so they become institutions. The Fed feels set up to do the same here.
The menu includes sections for breakfast, featuring latkes, bagels (Best Ugly, of course), hashes, mashes and griddle cakes, as well as the bottomless cup of joe (that's filtered coffee, by the way) so typical of American diners and delis; and once noon rolls around the menu opens up to include sandwiches, bagels, kettle soups, meats, rotisserie chicken and more.
