Medha Imam: Chicago may be known for its numerous
hot-dog stands and steak restaurants,
but there's another meat-centric eatery
whose food is synonymous with delectable, delicious comfort.
Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen has kept locals coming back
ever since it first opened its doors way back in 1942.
Its mountainous corned beef sandwich
is one of the tastiest to eat in all of Chicago.
Customer: Excellent corned beef.
OK, it's the best thing that Chicago has,
you know, is Manny's corned beef.
Customer: It's the best corned beef to me in Chicago.
You can go other places,
but it's never gonna be like Manny's.
Customer: I moved to North Carolina.
As soon as I come home, I have to come here.
Medha: Manny's is a Jewish deli,
similar to Katz's in New York City or Langer's in LA.
Dan Raskin: It's basically Eastern European food,
comfort foods.
Usually very large portions, really good quality, homemade.
We have great hot entrées,
but we're also really known
for corned beef pastrami sandwiches.
Medha: That's Dan Raskin.
After immigrating to the US, his great-grandfather Jack
and Jack's brother Charlie
purchased a restaurant called Sonny's in 1942.
They changed the name to Manny's, after Jack's son Emmanuel.
The restaurant has been handed down through the family,
making Dan the fourth-generation Raskin
to own and operate it.
Dan: We've always, always been known
for, like, Jewish deli.
That basically started really in the United States
with the immigration of people in the early 1900s.
Medha: The origins of the Jewish deli
trace back to the kosher butcher shops
that appeared in Jewish communities
like New York's Lower East Side
in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Pickled meats, beans, and soup began to appear
in some butcher shops, with a few even adding tables.
Jewish immigrants were under a lot of pressure
to assimilate into American culture
by toning down the flavor and spices
in their home-cooked meals.
The Jewish deli became a haven not just
to acquire food that was bursting with flavor,
but also as a way to participate in American society
while maintaining Jewish identity.
Dan: Traditionally, back in the day,
everybody ate one big meal every day,
and it was usually lunch. It wasn't dinner.
It was always important to be fed in the Jewish culture.
We quickly became known for our large corned beef
and pastrami sandwiches that were not only large,
but really good-quality meat.
And they've been our No. 1 seller since.
Medha: OK, so what is the next step
after all this comes down?
Gino Gambarota: Grab the rye bread.
Medha: Grab the rye bread.
Gino: Then you put 9 ounces.
Medha: Oh, it's so warm and soft.
That's 7. OK, a little more.
Gino: And we have a bigger one that's
three-quarters of a pound.
Medha: That's a lot of meat. Gino: That's a lot of meat.
Medha: And so it's literally just a meat sandwich.
Gino: And we usually ask them if they'd like a latke,
and that's our sandwich.
Medha: The size of Manny's towering corned beef sandwich
became so renowned throughout Chicago
that pre-COVID, Manny's was going through
1,000 pounds of corned beef every day.
The sandwich is made with 9 ounces of brisket
pickled with garlic and other seasonings, thinly sliced,
and piled high in between two slices of fresh rye bread.
It's meant to be topped with horseradish mustard,
but it's up to you whether to add just a dollop
or spread it everywhere.
Dan: The way we slice it and the way it's cooked
is to make it so it really melts in your mouth,
but we also don't put any additives in there.
So there's no soy or baking soda
or other items in the meat to add fillers,
which is very common in deli meats.
It's steamed in an oven, and then we boil it
to get back to temperature right before it's served.
Gino: I mean, there isn't one bad item
on the whole menu here.
I don't care what you eat here; it's delicious.
Medha: The sandwich helped make Manny's
a Chicago institution and a must for politicians,
actors, and tourists visiting from out of town.
Customer: I'm 72 years old.
Our dad first took us here
when I was around 8 years old.
My brother was 11 years old.
And we've been coming back here ever since.
Medha: So, how long have you been working here?
Gino: 38 years.
Medha: 38.
Customer: Well, I've been coming here about, yeah,
about 30 years.
Customer: Coming from a long line of Jews,
it feels great to have Jewish cooking again.
Dan: Manny's has been known as a melting place
of all the different cultures of Chicago coming together.
We're just keeping the tradition going.
Medha: Dan grabbed us a couple of trays
so we could try this giant sandwich.
That looks amazing.
That's good. [Dan laughs]
That was worth the wait.
I can see why people want more meat,
because it looks like a lot,
but it kind of melts in your mouth, like you said.
And so when you take a bite,
it doesn't feel as big as it looks.
And I know people are gonna be like,
"No, how is this light?"
I'm telling you, the bread itself is very fluffy,
very soft. It's juicy.
When you eat it hot especially, it melts in your mouth.
The mustard definitely adds tanginess to it,
but very juicy meat, very juicy meat.
But it's not just the meat that keeps people coming.
When Manny's Deli began to feel the impact
of the halt to indoor dining due to the pandemic,
Dan put out a call on social media.
And in a day, lines of people came
to their doors to show their support.
Dan: This is truly amazing.
We really appreciate the support the last few days.
And hopefully you guys keep coming.
A few weeks ago, we reached out to people
and let them know that, "Hey, our business
is really hurting, and we need you."
Not that the business
is about to go out of business right now,
but that we don't want to lay off staff.
We want to keep everybody working, and we need your support.
And it was huge.
For over two weeks, we had a line
around the corner from the restaurant.
We still have a lot of that support.
It's obviously not as big as it was,
but we're looking to keep the momentum going,
and anything we can do to draw more people in
is really, it's survival right now.
Customer: As soon as we heard that
Manny's might be closing,
we decided to come back that next day,
and it was packed.
So we were happy to see that,
because we enjoy eating here.
Medha: Oh, yeah! We wanted to see how fast
you could make a sandwich.
Gino: Go.
Medha: Oh! What? That was six seconds!
Amazing!