Herschel's East Side Deli

Here is my review, as promised, of Herschel's located in Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia, PA.
It was my first time going to Herschel's and let me tell you, it can be a little overwhelming at first.  Fortunately, i read some reviews about what to get on Yelp before going so I pretty much knew what I was going to get.

There are several clear cut favorites to order. Choosing between the pastrami, reuben, and corned beef was definitely hard as all three look equally mouthwatering. In the end, I went with the corned beef special, piled with meat topped with coleslaw and russian dressing. It also comes with a pickle spear!

My corned beef!

If you're someone who prefers to not have your stomach stuffed to the max then GET THE 1/2 SANDWICH!! As you can see in the pic below, this was plenty for me. I'll admit I finished the whole thing but it was difficult.  The carvers there are just as proud and happy to serve you a half sandwich as a whole and it is a couple bucks cheaper too.  They are so nice and will be happy to answer any questions as well.

So I order my sandwich and move down the line where I proceed to ask them to make my a NY egg cream, something which I also have never had in my life.  Egg creams are common in New York (hence the name NY egg cream) and other parts of the East Coast.  Growing up in California, I had never heard of one until I came here. I had originally planned on trying one in New York, but the one at Herschel's was only $1.95, about half the amount you would pay for one in New York. An egg cream basically consists of chocolate syrup, milk, and selzer and it has neither eggs nor cream in it. Funny huh? I think they were originally made with eggs, but restaurants had to stop making them that way because they couldn't serve people raw eggs. This makes me wonder about egg nog. Isn't that made with raw eggs?

1/2 Corned Beef Special

Anyway, my egg cream was alright I guess. Not something I'm going to be craving any time soon. It was just different. My corned beef special on the other hand was, hands down, THE BEST SANDWICH I HAVE EVER EATEN!!! No I'm not exaggerating. The corned beef melted in your mouth and literally had no fat on it whatsoever. That little piece you can see in the picture is the most fat I found on the meat. I can't speak for the pastrami, which to me, looked a bit more fattier.  My sandwich was so good, but messy too! I ended up eating the rest with a fork and knife it was that bad :)

I could have used more coleslaw, but overall, this sandwich definitely makes my top 5. Phenomenal. I think my 1/2 sanwich came out to around $5 or something. The full size was around $8 I think.
I also ordered a knish to go. This was another thing I had never ever heard of in my life, so I had to try it. I got a broccoli one and heated it up later that night. It was a nice, ball of potatoes and broccoli in a pastry dough outside. Not the best thing I've ever eaten, but I would try another kind in the future possibly.
That was around $2.75 I believe. So my sandwich, egg cream, and knish only cost me $10.75

Broccoli Knish

If you're ever in Philly, I totally recommend stopping by the market and getting a sandwich at Herschel's. They are out of this world, seriously!

Where have you eaten the best sandwich of your life?

-Stephanie, WWT