Like Father, Like Son, Sort of
An article in The New York Times talks about a new kind of deli where the Slow Food generation rejects the cheap, preservative-laden deli meats of old. These often young, environmentally conscious entrepreneurs want something better, and that often means curing their own salami, etc.
This new trend has already spread beyond the confines of Manhattan. In fact, the article cites Neal’s Deli in Carrboro as one of the new breed.
It turns out that Neal’s was started in 2008 by Sheila and Matt Neal. The latter is the son of Southern cooking legend Bill Neal, who founded Crook’s Corner and popularized shrimp and grits, among other things, before dying at a much too young age of 41 in 1991.
Matt and Sheila Neal are forging their own path. The deli has a breakfast menu with from-scratch buttermilk biscuits—not far from Bill Neal’s legacy—but the lunch menu is all subs right out of a Jewish deli with a little egg and tuna salad thrown in, I suppose, for die-hard Southerners.
The NYT article mentions Neal’s for one main reason: It makes its own pastrami. Check out Neal’s Web site, in the About section, for some mouthwatering photos of the meat cured in-house.
