Best Matzoh Ball Soups in Town
It feels like the cold will be sticking around for just a little longer. So instead of wishing it would just get warm already, perhaps we should just revel in its comfort foods, like a warm bowl of matzoh ball soup. The Jews were onto something when they came up with the whole fluffy matzoh ball floating in rich chicken broth. We’ve done a lot of due diligence over the years and rounded up a list of our favorites…
Zabar’s
Address: 2245 Broadway (at 80th St.)
Phone: (212) 787-2000
If you’re the kind that doesn’t like your matzoh ball marinating in broth too long, Zabar’s offers the perfect solution. At this Upper West Side fixture, you can buy a quart of chicken consommé or chicken noodle soup with a side of matzoh balls.
Katz’s Delicatessen
Address: 205 East Houston Street
Phone: (212) 254-2246
This Lower East Side deli is better known for its pastrami sandwiches, but if you like your matzoh balls light and airy, Katz Deli nails it.
Junior’s
Address: 386 Flatbush Ave (at Dekalb Ave)
Phone: (718) 852-5257
You wouldn’t think to order matzoh ball soup at Junior’s in Brooklyn. But you should save room. Before taking down a slab of cheesecake, start with the soup. It’s almost a good as the house specialty.
Carnegie Deli
854 Seventh Ave (at 55th St.)
(800) 334-5606
This midtowner specializes in oversized sandwiches, so expect the same from their soups. It’s really more like a little soup with your colossal matzoh ball.
Stage Deli & Restaurant
Address: 834 7th Ave (bet 53rd and 54th)
Phone:(212) 245-7850
Carnegie’s got a little competition from its neighbor, Stage Deli. The matzoh ball may not be as big, but it’s got excels on the texture front. sandwiches.
Mill Basin Kosher Delicatessen
Address: 5823 Avenue T, Brooklyn, NY
Phone: (718) 241-4910
This Brooklyn deli doesn’t skimp on chicken or noodles or carrots. In fact, Mill Basin’s (pictured right) ranks right up there with the best of them.
Café Edison
Edison Hotel
Address: 228 W. 47th St (near Broadway)
Phone: (212) 354-0368
This soup sleeper’s is loaded with chicken, egg noodles, and of course, a sizeable matzoh ball.
Barney Greengrass
Address: 541 Amsterdam Ave (at 86th St.)
Phone: (212) 724-4707
Nothing’s better than the rich chicken broth surrounding the matzoh ball here. Plus, it makes a great starter for any of their smoked fish platters.
Sarges Deli & Restaurant
Address: 548 3rd Ave (at 36th St.)
Phone: (212) 679-0442
Sarge’s ladles out an old-fashioned matzoh ball soup that tastes just like your Jewish grandma — or the Jewish grandma you never had — used to make.
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It’s a very respectable matzoh ball soup. I’d say 8th or 9th
I don’t know how you could list Zabar’s and omit Artie’s Deli right across the street. I find Zabar’s matzo ball soup bland; even my kids don’t like it. Artie’s, on the other hand, has great matzo ball soup and good kreplach as well.
Where does the 2nd Ave Deli rank on the list?
The original Matzoh ball was not a ball at all. It was a cube: the Matzoh Cube. With the invention af the wheel the cube shape was replaced by the ball. This allowed easy transport between caves for Shabbos dinners.No one, may I repeat, no one would eat cheese cake after a matzoh ball
It would be tantamount to sacriligious and a cause for banishment or being force fed pastrami on white with mayo and lettuce. Feh.
You list some fine ones, but you omitted the Bronx and are therefore missing out on a consistently delicious matzoh ball soup (kosher, no less) @ Liebman’s Deli, 552 W. 235th St. (between Johnson & Oxford Aves., Riverdale), 718-548-4534.