Attman's Delicatessen

I had read a web page praising Attman's as one of "the absolute best Reuben sandwiches in the US", so I had to stop by when we were in Baltimore. Attman's menu board proclaims it only as "Baltimore's Best" which is a little more humble than what I had seen online.

Attman's has been in business since 1915, which is nothing to take lightly. It is in an older building with one section that is the deli with the counter and deli, and the other section which is a dining room that they call the "Kibbitz Room." The first thing you notice upon entry is the cash register, right by the door, where everyone is paying for their lunch so that they can exit the building.

Along the right wall is a long counter that extends the length of the entire restaurant, with many menu boards for their various offerings.

You have to walk all of the way to the back of the restaurant to get in line, and the line progresses toward the front of the building so that you can make a quick exit after your order is filled. As mentioned earlier, the "Kibbitz Room" is adjacent for those who wish to dine on-site. When we arrived the line was pretty long, but the dining room was almost empty, so we didn't have trouble finding seating after our order was ready.

There were a number of employees behind the counter, all (what seemed like) randomly getting orders from customers out of sequence, and without writing down everyone's customized special requests. They did an amazing job keeping the orders straight in their minds and sorting out who got which item. However, it meant that when I got to the cash register, that a number of people behind me were ready to check out before my food was ready, which was logistically confusing and stressful in such a confined space. However, all of the patrons and staff were friendly and accommodating.

From the time we placed our order, it took about ten minutes until it was ready. We carried our food into the Kibbitz Room and found a table.

The Reuben was on a somewhat sad-looking styrofoam plate which was barely large enough to hold the sandwich. The sandwich was pretty tall, due to a generous helping of corned beef stuffed into it. The mass of corned beef was pretty tangy and was very thinly sliced.

The sauerkraut was nice and strong. There was a lot of sauerkraut, probably to be in proportion to the corned beef. The sauerkraut was shredded into rather large slivers and had a good taste. The Russian dressing that accompanied the sauerkraut was quite sweet and had a good flavor.

The bread was tasty and grilled, but in my opinion it was sliced a little too thin for such a big sandwich. The Swiss cheese was not super-noticeable, so I can't really remark on it, even though there appeared to be two slices on the sandwich.

Overall, the Reuben was a good-tasting sandwich, and it may very well be "Baltimore's Best." However, I know from my own personal experience, without a doubt, that it isn't one of the "absolute best" sandwiches in the United States. But I certainly would recommend the sandwich and the experience to anyone visiting the Baltimore area.