Most of our reviews thus far have been of restaurants in the Western end of Houston, but this week we completing a move into the city, so we expect to be expanding our reach in the coming months. Our first formal foray into Houston-proper dining was at Katz’s, a 24-hour Jewish Deli in the Montrose area.

The place is what you’d expect from a Jewish Deli. They have all of the favorite foods, including award winning Matzo Ball Soup, sandwiches, lox and bagels, Kugel, and “Kosher Klub Sandwiches”. The New York influence (their tagline read “A taste of New York…In Texas) was definitely felt, as well, with hotdogs and New York cheesecake. The walls were covered in cheesy family pictures, and gaudy chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Anywhere but a Jewish deli, and it would be tacky, but here it was amusing.

For this meal, we were accompanied by an older couple who spent their 20’s living in a Jewish neighborhood in Chicago, so we felt as though we were in the company of true experts on the subject of Jewish Delis.

For Appetizers, we had the Homemade Chopped Chicken Liver and Potato Skins. The chicken liver was top notch. For anyone who grew up as a kid eating liverwurst sandwiches, ya know, the Oscar Mayer stuff that comes in a roll, this is like that. Only better. It had a solid liver flavor, but not too strong where only diehard liver lovers would enjoy it. The texture was excellent as well. Served with toasted Rye Bread, this appetizer was an excellent warm-up. I know, the thought of eating liver seems gross to me too, but it really is good. The potato skins were pretty unremarkable. They did come with sour cream that was a little sweeter than we like, but this was just a minor complaint.

For lunch we had a Salami and Cream Cheese Sandwich, a Scottish Smoked Salmon Sandwich, the Fire Dog, and a meatloaf sandwich with fries. The Salami and Cream Cheese Sandwich was a surprisingly delicious combination, but chalks up under the category “stuff I could’ve made at home in 3 minutes for 3$.” The Smoked Salmon sandwich (which was essentially a lox sandwich, like you’d have on a bagel) had a great flavor. The only complaint was that it was very hard to eat because it was such a thick sandwich after being loaded up with lettuce, tomatoes, capers, purple onion, and cream cheese. It possibly could’ve been better with a little thinner bread or perhaps as an open face sandwich, so as to not have to gag down huge bites.

The foot-long Fire Dog was not very good. The wiener was overcooked and the sauerkraut was dry, yet somehow the bun ended up being soggy and it had to be eaten with a knife and fork. It would’ve been nice if the bun had maybe been toasted and/or a little denser so it would hold together a little better.

The meatloaf sandwich was good, and really was cleverly constructed. The actual meat was a pretty plain, yet moist, meatloaf. The only thing that was a little different was that the onions were on top, but I prefer them to be in the sandwich so they’re not so slimy. The clever part of the sandwich was the gravy and cheese on top. The cheese was melted on top of the brown gravy, to create a Chernobyl-like cocoon around it and keep the sandwich from becoming soggy. It was a pretty cool technique. The French fries were not very good. They had a nice cut to them, but tasted like they had been fried in the same oil as fish, and had an off taste to them.

For dessert we had the noodle Kugel. It’s similar to rice pudding, but made with noodles. It has raisins, a hint of vanilla, and is covered in cinnamon. It smelled as though it was going to be very flavorful, but it ended up being a little bland. It was still good, and only cost 3 bucks. There were a number of other desserts that looked delicious if you’re willing to shell out 2 dollars for a single macaroon or 9 dollars for “The World’s Tallest 7 Layer Cake” (which really wasn’t that tall). Next time, we’ll probably try the blintzes, as the table next to us had them and they looked delicious.

The place was definitely expensive. The appetizers were 8 bucks each, and the sandwiches were all over 10. I think they get away with it because people who don’t know better think that the ingredients are unique and therefore expensive. The only thing that was reasonable was the meatloaf sandwich for 12$ because it came with fries, but everything else was overpriced and a la carte. For the time being, it’s the only Jewish Deli in the area, and the food was definitely good, so we’ll probably be back.