Jeff & Jude's

I'd call this the single most divisive pastrami sandwich I've yet eaten, but I'm also the first person on the board to comment on J&J's, so YMMV. Me, I appreciate stubbornness: the meat has a pronounced peppery bite, with a texture much closer to burnt ends or Thai beef jerky than a deli cold cut; the rye is very chewy and a bit ashy and kind of brilliant. It's an aggressive sandwich, one that wore me out halfway through. (In Soviet Russia, sandwich eats you.) But it was nice to come back to it later, the better to appreciate its craft.

Potato pancakes are expertly fried, albeit a bit salty; the chicken salad passed my mom's smell test (though I didn't get a taste). Black and white cookies are textbook.

Note: the business is, to put it mildly, still learning about economies of scale: supply is trailing demand...considerably. I walked in at 12, right as they switched to the lunch menu, and they sold out of most of items before I left the storefront at 12:20; they were in the weeds almost immediately. I'd suggest ordering online right at 11:30AM in order to ensure you get what you want.

Jeff & Jude's
1024 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 661-1227
https://www.jeffandjudes.com/

Jeff & Jude's has adapted to the demand and is running smoothly with an easy to use online ordering system. While there is a full menu of deli offerings available, don't miss out on the bread.


The marble rye, a vegan loaf billed as "light and dark sourdough rye swirled together with notes of cocoa, molasses, and caraway," is fantastic. Shouldn't a surprise given that the owner's background is as a baker, most recently running the Hoosier Mama location in West Town.

Picked up some lunch from Jeff & Jude's today . . .

As opposed to Rye, it seems that Jeff & Jude's target is much closer to traditional deli fare. But it's clearly a much higher cut than that, and they nail it. I was really impressed by quality and care that went into all the food we tried, especially the corned beef, pastrami and the marble rye, which is the best take on that usually-irrelevant breadstuff that I can remember eating. How lucky are we to have had our bread scene evolve the way it has over the past decade? There's some world-class stuff being turned out here these days and with their marble rye, Jeff & Jude's is definitely a part of that world.


Matzoh Fried Chicken Sandwich
Tasty and well-constructed but I think it suffered a bit from travel time. That's life in coronatime.


Matzoh Fried Chicken Sandwich
A closer look.


Pastrami On Rye


Reuben

The pastrami and corned beef on the above sandwiches were excellent. Both thick-sliced meats were tender, nicely fatty and assertively seasoned. But neither was over-salted. To me, this is the critical point where many cured meats spin out of control. Not so at Jeff & Jude's. I also thought that some smoked turkey we tried was excellent -- flavorful but expertly-balanced between salt, smoke and sweet. Some lox we had wasn't quite at the same level. It had potential but it wasn't butchered too well and still had the bloodline intact. That, I believe, led to chewiness and some off notes on the flavor side.


Matzoh Ball Soup
Matzoh ball soup was uneventful in exactly the way one hopes it will be. Rich, delicious, lip-smacking broth that delivered a chorus of familiar, comforting flavors. The ball itself was a tender, flavorful floater. Textbook.

We were on the go and my wife ordered from her phone, so we missed the latkes, which I'll be excited to try next time. Curbside pickup couldn't have been easier or more friendly. Great stuff!

=R=

Went for lunch today. They were out of pastrami. Tried a Reuben and was disappointed. It was a well built sandwich, which at $18 it should be. But the corned beef was extremely dry and hard to eat.

I think that Monday, which is the end of their week is not the day to go.

Bummer: they're closing this Sunday

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Bummer: they're closing this Sunday

Yeah, big bummer.

=R=

Ugh!

I really liked everything I had from them.

More on the closing and a new restaurant coming in the space from Block Club Chicago.

Edit to add link to Eater story.

Sad to hear that any restaurant is closing, especially because my restaurant and theirs both opened during the pandemic.
I've read similar reviews about their menu and availability/quality.
At least we still have Steingolds for deliciously upgraded deli food