Columnist Muriel Stevens: Carnegie Deli a lesson in East Coast attitude

Friday, March 4, 2005 | 8:48 a.m.

It was a kick having lunch at Carnegie Deli in the Mirage with Sanford "Sandy" Levine recently. Carnegie Deli is the kind of deli I grew up with in Philadelphia. Unless you've lived in New York, where Carnegie Deli is a legend, or in Philadelphia, where wannabe Carnegie delis are almost as good, the wry deli humor can be a shock to someone who just wants a sandwich.

Levine is the business maven for New York's Carnegie Deli and its related businesses. He is the consummate deli operator, wit and all. Ask him what the "MBS" on his business card stands for.

According to Levine, with such a large menu (almost as large as the New York menu), he had hoped to hire some experienced counter people who were familiar with specialized deli foods. They were in short supply. So Levine, Vice President of Food and Beverage Bart Mahoney and the Mirage chefs put their heads together -- and it worked.

Many of the foods, including the famous house-made corned beef and pastrami, the tasty real deli rye bread, homemade potato knishes and the crispy half-done pickles, are shipped in from Carnegie's huge commissary plant in New York.

Portions are large. There's no way to eat a Carnegie pastrami or corned beef sandwich in ladylike fashion. Packed with meat, my pastrami sandwich had to be cut in half and then in quarters before I could eat it with a modicum of manners. The whole-grain house mustard is a zesty addition to any sandwich.

A Brown's cream soda (diet, of course) was a tasty accompaniment. The desserts are decadently divine. The size is madness. One slice of the Hershey's 5th Avenue Bavarian Chocolate Cream Pie could easily satisfy three to four fressers.

This deadly concoction included in the thick chocolate frosting big chunks of a 5th Avenue bar. Who thinks up these tantalizing towers of toothsome diet busters? The famous cheesecake still holds its own. The number of whole cheesecakes that have been sold during the few weeks Carnegie Deli has been open is remarkable.

Breakfast is served all day. I don't know if I'll ever eat my way through the wide array of hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soups, burgers, hot platters, chicken in the pot and much more. There's still some tweaking going on and Levine said more dishes will soon be added.

Brian Ward, the general manager, handles the dining room with grace and style. The international staff, most of whom had never heard of stuffed derma before working at the deli, are so accommodating that it shouldn't be long before they're hawking the Woody Allen Broadway Danny Rose combination sandwich that must be at least 6 inches tall. Wooden skewers replace the usual toothpicks to keep it all together.

Carnegie Deli hours are 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Expect a short wait during prime times.

Adam Tihany's deli design is right on. It looks like a deli, it smells like a deli and is another winner in the designer's boffo restaurant portfolio.

Tea Expo coming: We've come a long way from the days when servers poured coffee refills into half-empty tea cups. I was usually the only tea drinker at the dinner table. When I tired of stale tea bags, tepid water and coffee with tea, I started to drink coffee when I dined out and tea when I was home.

Of course, I'll attend the Take Me 2 Tea Expo from March 21-23 at the Las Vegas Hilton. At least 3,000 tea aficionados will attend this premier tea marketplace. Those attending are from 47 states and 16 countries. Smart Monkey will introduce Celadon teaware, Rishi Tea will introduce a line of organic ancient teas from Yunnan, China, and there will be a tea and food pairing as well as a cooking with tea seminar.

Although open to the trade only, there a few seminars open to the public. For more information visit www.takeme2tea.com or call 253-1893.

Special guest chef at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba: Cafe Ba Ba Reeba in the Fashion Show will host a special guest chef and wine dinner at the cafe from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday. Dinner cost is $50 per person (does not include tax and tip). This special dinner will be prepared by Executive Chef Josu Zubikarai.

Under the direction of Chef Josu, Taberna del Albardero in Washington, D.C., has been recognized by Gourmet magazine and was recently honored as "the best Spanish restaurant outside of Spain" by the Spanish government. Dinner will include an array of tapas, including roasted duck with prunes, shrimp and jumbo lump crabmeat, bacalao with apples, monkfish with clams, a beef chop roasted on a granite slab and more. Desserts and Pedro Ximenez Sherry follow.

Reservations are required. Call 258-1211.

Get reJAVAnated: reJAVAnate Coffee Lounge in the Renaissance III Center at Flamingo and Pecos roads is pleasing coffee aficionados and Scandinavian pastry buffs with winning D'arte Italian coffee and delicious kringle, and has named D'arte as its official coffee/espresso. Longtime friends and owners Bruce Ewing, Greg Davis, Andrew Conlu and Fred Harmon are former Las Vegas performers, so expect the unexpected when someone breaks into song or a visiting performer friend joins in. The sleek lounge includes free high-speed Internet for laptops and other high-tech amenities.

A happening place with congenial owners and delicious pastries, reJAVAnate is open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Of course, these "Forever Plaid"-loving guys have done their own spin on the flaky pastries. They'll tell you the story. New locations are already in the works. Who knows what they'll think of next.

MooLatte at Dairy Queen: MooLatte, a line of frozen blended coffee beverages, has now added a new flavor and a mega 24-ounce size. Sizes for MooLattes start at 16 ounces. Average retail price is $2.99. The new mega Moo's price is $3.59.

Where's the tea for me? Same old story -- the tea drinkers are left behind. How about a frozen tea drink? Maybe a teamonade slush or a teartini? A little soft shoe, some tea for two, a couple of the kringle and a few tunes from those "Plaid" fellows? Sounds tea-riffic.

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