Sarge’s Deli Now Serves Up Vegan Corned Beef Sandwiches in New York

Iconic New York City spot Sarge's Delicatessen & Deli has been dishing up corned beef to New Yorkers for over 55 years, and now they're expanding their menu to a new kind of meat: vegan corned beef. As of late January, they're offering a Vegan Reuban Sandwich piled high with Mrs.Goldfarb's Unreal Corned Beef, created by another New Yorker City native, Jenny Goldfarb, who brought Unreal's faux meats to the masses by pitching the investors on Shark Tank.

The restaurant is currently working on adding vegan Russian dressing and non-dairy swiss cheese to the menu, but the Reuban's corned beef served on rye, slathered with mustard and loaded with sauerkraut is tasty enough to stand on its own.

A Whole New (Vegan) World

The Murray Hill deli's fourth-generation owner, Andrew Wengrover, told Grubstreet, "I was definitely hesitant at first, but it’s 2020 — we live in a whole new world, so I finally said, ‘Let’s do it.’” In a hilarious coincidence, Wengrover first heard of Goldfarb's Unreal products when his mother called him to let him know he should turn on the TV and tune into Shark Tank to see the vegan corned beef being pitched.

“New York has always been my biggest prize,” Goldfarb says. “But Jewish delis are tough. Many haven’t put anything new on the menu in 100 years—and it’s not like there’s a new turkey club or matzo ball.”

In a way, Goldfarb has done the impossible: Introduced a new, vegan item to a restaurant that has a menu rooted in tradition. But, as the name suggests, the deli meat mimics the real thing, in a way that is totally unreal. So, this wasn't a departure for Sarge's at all, just a modification so that more people can enjoy the taste of their iconic Reubens.