Katz’s Deli, the legendary eatery on New York’s Lower East Side has expanded for the first time in its 129 year history.

Since 1888, those delicious pastrami sandwiches were only available at the corner of East Houston and Ludlow Street. You can now get a fine sampling of their menu at the brand new DeKalb Market Hall in Brooklyn.

The market opened to the public yesterday (June 16) so the Michael W Travels family had to check it out. There are some well known vendors at DeKalb Market but we headed there mainly to try their most famous- Katz’s Deli!

When you enter the market the first vendor you see is Katz’s. Besides the deli, there are around 40 other vendors selling a variety of different options. If you go with a group, you’re bound to find something for everyone! (There’s even a Trader Joe’s opening next to the market soon.)

DeKalb Market was busy but I expected much worse. We got on the line for Katz’s and waited a few minutes to order. While on line, the owner Jake Dell was walking around chatting with and directing people on the line.

We ordered a pastrami sandwich which is a pricey at $21.45 but also big enough to share. I’m not a fan of fatty meat so we paid an additional $2 to make the meat lean which I’d say is well worth it.

To eat a sandwich this large you need to have a plan. I open it up and eat some of the delicious pastrami by itself before closing it back up to eat in its intended sandwich form.

If you’ve been to NYC and haven’t had Katz’s pastrami, you’re definitely missing out. The meat is soft, juicy, moist and amazingly tasty. If you ask me, it puts the pastrami at other delis to shame.

We gave Lucas a few slices of pastrami to try and he loved it, so did our little man Theo.

Theo kept yelling at us for more bits of meat while we ate our sandwich!

While I haven’t been to the original Katz’s Deli on the Lower East Side in over a year, I’d say the pastrami at the new Brooklyn location is just as good and one I plan to be visiting quite a bit!

We also ordered a hot dog for Lucas. At $3.95 it’s a very fair price.

I tried a couple of bites and the hot dog  is best described as super-snappy and flavorful. (Lucas was kind enough to share with me.) The hot dog is just as good as Nathan’s which we go to quite a bit (only the original location in Coney Island), since it’s close to home.

If you find yourself in NYC, you might want to check out the new DeKalb Market Hall. The wait to dine at Katz’s Deli is probably quicker than at the original and there’s also lots of other choices.

DeKalb Market is open 7 days a week and is located at 445 Albee Square West in Brooklyn, NY.