The Best Pastrami Sandwich in the Washington Area

Let’s be clear up front. This is about the best pastrami sandwich — pastrami, bread, and mustard — and nothing else. It is not about corned beef, atmosphere, price, or a pickle bar. (Pickle bars weigh very heavily on any scale.) Just sandwiches, and it reflects recent development. Okay? Now for the post.

Wow!

I finally tried one. I speak, of course, of the pastrami sandwich at 2fifty Texas at 4700 Riverdale Road in Riverdale Park. I recently named 2fifty and Silver and Sons as producing the best pastrami in the Washington area. See here for the full Best List. (Note that the two also are tops for smoked lamb.). UPDATE: And HammerDown is another great spot for pastrami. The pastrami rating, like the ratings for the other categories, was focused entirely on the quality of the meat, with no consideration of other foods, ambience, or price. The pastrami at both places is superb, just superb, and which of the two you prefer will be entirely a matter of subtle personal preferences.

When you look at the sandwiches, it’s another matter. On my first go-round, Silver and Son had the edge. Their sandwich came on challah, while 2fifty’s came on Texas Toast. Edge to challah.

Things changed when Manifest Bread set up shop around the corner from 2fifty. Manifest Bread is outstanding, and their various breads are hearty and delicious. They provide bread to a number of leading Washington area restaurants, and are in a position to demand that those serving Manifest Bread baguettes take two deliveries per day so that their bread never gets stale. More to the point, they started out making rye bread on Thursdays — serendipitously the same day that 2fifty serves their pastrami sandwiches. The two neighbors got together and, behold, the 2fifty pastrami sandwich on Manifest Bread rye — much better than challah.

Here’s an action shot.

2fifty’s sandwich comes with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, but I asked for those on the side so that I could taste the “pure” pastrami sandwich. Later I did try some sauerkraut on the sandwich, and its acidity lightened the sandwich and served as a counterpoise to the deep richness of the pastrami. I tried it with the cheese as well, and it really didn’t make much difference.

2fifty’s pastrami sandwich has been such a success that Manifest now bakes their non-2fifty rye on Fridays. You can see the full bread and sandwich schedule here. Don’t overlook the muffuletta. And don’t miss the monthly specials at 2fifty. The pastrami is a regular, but they have a kaleidoscopic array of specials that range from whole hog to char siu pork belly to menudo.

I should point out that I’m a great believer that pastrami and other Jewish deli-style meats should come on rye bread, so I may be biased. You should try 2fifty’s pastrami sandwich, and that at Silver and Sons as well, and make your own comparison. Your views may differ. I expect that you’ll love both. Indeed, if you’re serious about comparisons, you may want to buy a pound or so of each and a loaf of rye bread and do a side-by-side comparison. I’d be happy to help. Very happy.

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