Mill Basin Kosher Delicatessen

Reviewed by Irene Sax, NY Daily News
Best Bites for Less
Saturday, July 14th 2007, 4:03 PM
So I was wrong.
Last month, I wrote about the Diamond Dairy Luncheonette and said I don't often review kosher restaurants because they're usually too expensive for this column. Days later, I got a letter from Mark Schachner, owner of Brooklyn's Mill Basin Kosher Deli. Polite but distraught - "It was like a knife through my heart"- he said that, ounce for ounce, his burgers, hot dogs and fries cost less than those at McDonald's and Nathan's, among other places, and are fresher and of better quality.

This is my apology to Mr. Schachner. You're right. I'm wrong. And I can't wait to go back to your deli.

It's shiny-clean, with pink walls and a pleasant back garden. The staff is like family: A waitress glared when I tried to stop my husband from ordering both chopped liver and potato latkes. Not only do you get free bowls of coleslaw, macaroni salad and sour pickles, but the menu is studded with deals, like two hot dogs and a knish for $5.90 and a three-course early-bird dinner for $15.95.

Besides, the food is the best of its kind. It's not Per Se, but could Thomas Keller make chopped liver like this two-scoop serving, coarsely hand-chopped, sweetened with onions and served with cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions ($6.95)?

It's not Daniel, but could Daniel Boulud make a hamburger like this mammoth charred patty, tenderly pink in the middle, smothered with sauted onions and served with long, skin-on fries that actually taste like potatoes ($8.95)?

Golden-rich chicken soup is dense with noodles ($3.60), and barbecued chicken ($14.25) is half a plump bird in a sweet, vinegary tomato glaze that only in Brooklyn would pass for barbecue sauce. I ordered kasha varnishkes and glazed carrots with it, and got so much I had to take half of everything home.

I was wrong, Mr. Schachner. Please let me come back to your restaurant.

I eat in the Mill Basin Kosher Deli quite often. I find it to be super clean with great food and good service. Read this NY Daily News Article

Last month, I wrote about the Diamond Dairy Luncheonette and said I don't often review kosher restaurants because they're usually too expensive for this column. Days later, I got a letter from Mark Schachner, owner of Brooklyn's Mill Basin Kosher Deli. Polite but distraught - "It was like a knife through my heart"- he said that, ounce for ounce, his burgers, hot dogs and fries cost less than those at McDonald's and Nathan's, among other places, and are fresher and of better quality.
It's shiny-clean, with pink walls and a pleasant back garden. The staff is like family: A waitress glared when I tried to stop my husband from ordering both chopped liver and potato latkes. Not only do you get free bowls of coleslaw, macaroni salad and sour pickles, but the menu is studded with deals, like two hot dogs and a knish for $5.90 and a three-course early-bird dinner for $15.95.
Besides, the food is the best of its kind. It's not Per Se, but could Thomas Keller make chopped liver like this two-scoop serving, coarsely hand-chopped, sweetened with onions and served with cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions ($6.95)?

Golden-rich chicken soup is dense with noodles ($3.60), and barbecued chicken ($14.25) is half a plump bird in a sweet, vinegary tomato glaze that only in Brooklyn would pass for barbecue sauce. I ordered kasha varnishkes and glazed carrots with it, and got so much I had to take half of everything home.

I was wrong, Mr. Schachner. Please let me come back to your restaurant.

MILL BASIN KOSHER DELI
5823 Avenue T, Brooklyn (718) 241-4910

My husband and I tried the Mill Basin Kosher Deli last weekend and were sorely disappointed. Most of the food isnt bad, its about average, but the prices were ridiculous. Their coleslaw is good, although it is a little bit chunky. The one really good thing was the sour pickles, which are excellent. My husand had the triple crown, which is three very small sandwiches with only one type of meat in each, the sandwiches were good, but definitely not worth the $14 they were charging. I had a fritatta with a knish. The knish was good, not the best I've ever had, but good. The fritatta on the other hand was absolutely inedible, and no amount of salt or pepper was able to save it. On top of that the $10 they charged for it was galling. Trust me, there are better delis in Brooklyn than this one, spend your money somewhere else.

I've been coming here since I was a kid (and that's at least 25 yrs. ago). Their pastrami and french fries are second to none. A quintessential part of the NYC gastronome. You simply have to make a pilgrimage there now and again.

The Mill Basin Deli is one of the BEST Kosher Deli's! Beyond it's amazing food, you are surrounded by an Art Gallery! Every wall is decorated by famous artists. It is an amazing experience! I recommend trying there PLT (Burnt Pastrami, Lettuce adn Tomato)... You will be very happy!