Rosenfeld's Jewish Delicatessen

Several friends had urged us to review the Reuben at Rosenfeld's during our stay in Ocean City, so we had to do so. I had visited Rosenfeld's in 2014, when I tried the Papa Joe Reuben, without generating a review at that time. The Papa Joe has corned beef plus pastrami, and cole slaw instead of sauerkraut--so I didn't review it at that visit 9 years ago, since it wasn't the traditional recipe.

This year, some friends had phoned ahead and purchased a gift card that was to be waiting for me at the register, so we stopped by a few days before this review to sample the sandwich. However, on that day the restaurant was about to close for the night, so we asked if they could give us the gift card that should be there. The staff member on duty at that time did a cursory look and said that it wasn't there. What a disappointment!

However, when we arrived on this Thursday afternoon, we asked again, and got a more diligent staff member who was able to find the gift card for us (which was almost in plain sight). We were quite thankful that it hadn't been lost.

This is the type of establishment where you place your order at the counter--as there is no table service. That means that even if you plan to eat on site, they prepare your order as though it were "to go."

There are many options on their menu under "Legendary Reubens." They list 8 different named variety of Reuben, and within each named variety, there are options you can make for the type of meat, whether to use coleslaw or saurkraut, etc., meaning that there are enough combinations to please everyone (even a "fried baloney" Reuben if you are feeling adventurous).

I placed an order for the "Paul's Traditional" Reuben with corned beef.

If you want to "dine in" at Rosenfeld's, there are two tiny little tables tucked in a corner of the room. I wouldn't recommend it for a special date night, but as a place to perch while wolfing down big sandwiches, it fits the bill. There is outdoor seating at picnic style tables, which I presume is the preferred place to eat on the premises. Since there is no table service, you're pretty much on your own as far as where and how you dine.

My name was called, and I went to the counter to claim my order. It was packaged and placed in a plastic bag. I took it to our table and began to unwrap the contents as though it were a gift given on a special occasion.

When I unwrapped the Reuben, the first thing I noticed was that it was quite tall (6.5 cm). Much taller than the Reubens that I have had lately. I noticed that the sauerkraut was embedded between two layers of corned beef--which appears to be the secret to making an extra tall sandwich.

On the Reuben, I could taste the tender and flavorful folds of corned beef. The sauerkraut was juicy and delicious--and by having it tucked between the layers of corned beef kept the juices from being absorbed into the bread or dissipating in any way. I think the placement served the sandwich well. The corned beef was sliced at what I would say was a medium thickness, and was just at the consistency where it broke apart like a good brisket should.

The marbled rye on the sandwich was a great thickness and it was perfectly grilled. I will say that the Swiss cheese wasn't very noticeable, and the Russian dressing also didn't stand out as an ingredient--although both the cheese and dressing contributed to the overall deliciousness of the Reuben.

I had to use my napkin quite a bit to keep blotting my fingers as I ate the sandwich. It was somewhat messy. And being packed in the "to go" box to maintain temperature, I did find that flipping the sandwich over was necessary to keep the bottom from getting too soggy.

Even though the Reuben was a little on the expensive side at $17, its value was justified due to the size of the sandwich. You might notice on the menu that you can upsize their sandwiches by adding $4 for every 4 ounces of additional meat that is added. So I suppose that you could size this Reuben into whatever sized masterpiece you wanted to create.

I was very pleased with the Reuben at Rosenfeld's Jewish Deli, and definitely recommend it to everyone visiting the Maryland coast.

While we were eating our dinner, we noticed the display case of desserts next to us, and had to take home slices of strawberry cheesecake, which were enormous, and also quite delicious.