Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen

"We brought some prejudice to the table on our first visit to Wise Sons. Hipster deli deep in the Mission? Pastrami as good as Langer's or Katz's? Matzo Ball Soup as good as 2nd Ave Deli? We'll believe it when we taste it. Sure enough, the food didn't meet those ridiculously high standards. The pastrami is not as good as the best of the best, nor does the matzo ball soup stand with the offerings from New York's finest. Our prejudices were confirmed, or so we thought. But we've started going back to Wise Sons recently, and have come to realize that we were missing the forest for the trees. While many of the individual items are not the capital-G-Greatest version of that thing you've ever had, Wise Sons is, on net, a great place to eat. Especially at breakfast. If there's a better place in town to stroll in on a sunny Sunday morning, order some eggs, and sit back and read a goddamn NEWSPAPER like the septuagenarian we secretly want to become...we ain't seen it yet. And those eggs will be good. The challah? Good. Breakfast sandwiches? Damned good. Nostra culpa, Wise Sons. We were unfair. You're not a deli for tourists stacking smoked meats and taking pictures. You're one for menu-spelunking and hanging out on early mornings. For that, we love you more. Food Rundown Semite Sandwich The super-delified version of an Egg McMuffin. Badass, will help you work off your hangover. L.E.O. Just a nice egg and salmon plate with a bialy kicker. The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast. Challah French Toast Looks as good as it tastes, and it looks insanely good. Unweave that illogical wordplay at your own risk. Pastrami Sandwich As established: OK, but not up with the big boys. So let's take a diversion down Langer's shout-out lane. It seems every up-and-coming deli, including this one, has an ode to the famous #19. But the true pros know that the #1 is in fact the sandwich king. That extra slab of swiss? Pure ornamentation. Matzo Ball Soup It's warm soup, which we hear is good for a cold day. Not that we have any more of those in this drought-ravaged desert scape they call California." - Max Child

"Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen is a staple for Bay Area Jews, offering traditional Jewish foods like latkes. Kristin Eriko Posner plans to order latkes from Wise Sons and provide a toppings bar featuring persimmon, Fuji apple relish, sour cream, and fresh ikura." - Ray Levy Uyeda

"Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen finally put out a cookbook, subtitled “for Jews who like food and food lovers who like Jews,” and it’s delicious and hilarious, filled with old bar mitzvah snapshots." - Becky Duffett

"Museum food has a tendency to be about as edible as the art inside, but we’d go to the Wise Sons at the Contemporary Jewish Museum even if we weren’t here to check out an exhibit. They have everything from latkes to matzo ball soup, but if you’re in the mood for a more standard “lunch,” get the pastrami sandwich and load up on spicy mustard. Maybe check to see if your office gets discounted tours on the way out. photo credit: Tyler Ball" - Will Kamensky