The pastrami crisis arrived quietly. First, Katz's Delicatessen on the Lower East Side began limiting pastrami orders to one per table during peak hours. Then Sarge's, Second Avenue Deli, and Carnegie Deli (its revival location) followed. By March 2026, the shortage had become a full New York food media story, covered breathlessly by every outlet from Eater to the Times.
The cause is simple arithmetic: beef navel (the cut used for pastrami) prices rose 38% in 2025, driven by drought in Texas cattle country, persistent inflation in feed costs, and a consolidation of the commercial meat curing industry that has left fewer processors capable of handling the volume Manhattan's delis require. The traditional cure-and-smoke process takes 10–14 days; there's no way to rush supply.
"We cure our own beef. We smoke it ourselves. We can't just order more from a warehouse," said the owner of a third-generation deli on 2nd Avenue, who asked not to be named. "What we cure in January is what we serve in February. The price of navel in the fall determines what we can offer by spring."
For sandwich enthusiasts visiting New York, the practical advice is to go early, go on weekdays, and accept that the legendary three-inch pastrami stacks of previous decades may be slightly thinner for the foreseeable future. The sandwich endures — just in slightly more modest portions.
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This story was reported by Grub Street New York. Read the original article →