places I miss (where can I get a good pastrami?)

Lazy Sunday and I had a relatively short todo list - got a few of them done, well partially anyway. Made a sweet front wheel for K. for cyclocross season, still need to make the rear - plenty of time, they're for his birthday, which is today, but he won't be home until later this week (he'll never know I was late with his present).

Went to Coolidge Corner for lunch. Still looking to fill that pastrami void gnawing at the pit of my soul - Michael's Deli comes pretty close, but damn, wasn't the pastrami at that dive sandwich shop in Harvard Square juicier and more flavorful, and more artery clogging? or is it just a dim memory made all the more magical with the passage of time? what was the name of that place anyway? you know the one, on Mt Auburn St, right near the Lampoon building?

So I went net surfing to find the place that made that special sandwich which no deli can ever live up to, and to no surprise, I found plenty of sentimental old farts (like me) reminiscing about their favorite haunts, now long gone. Here is my list...

* Elsie's Sandwich Shop in Harvard Square - the best pastrami that my memory can recall (thanks to Andy Lee for having a picture of it on his site)

* Michael's - Jazz At, on Gainsborough St in Boston - maybe it's real name was Michael's Pub like Bob Nieske said the other night at the Lily, but I will always remember the strange sign:

Michael's
Jazz At

* Sami's Falafel on Longwood Ave in Boston - I know it's still there, but it's no longer open 24 hours a day like it used to be way back when.

* Oxford Ale House in Harvard Sq (now that location is the intolerable Border Cafe)

* Jack's in Central Square - I never saw Bonnie Rait there, that was just a bit before my time.

* Orson Wells Cinema - across the street from Jack's and where I learned why art and cinema are one and the same. (thanks again to Andy Lee for having a picture of it on his site)

* In Square Men's Bar in Inman Square - once I realized the mystical noises at Michael's were actually music I couldn't live without, I began searching for it all over and (after getting over my silly paranoia about the place's name) I found Inman Square and it's treasure of dive bars with the music I craved.

* 1369 Jazz Club in Inman Square - now just a coffee shop, good coffee true, but just a...

* Ryles in Inman Square - still stands and all swanked up from the seedy place I went to so many years ago. Now it's a very nice place to hear great music. One of these days, I'll go upstairs and learn to Salsa.

* Pall's Mall and the Jazz Workshop on Boylston St in Boston - I saw Ron Carter play there. It was the first time I saw a trio made up of bass, bass and drums - it was eye/mind opening and wonderful!

I'll add more, if my memory dredges up any more gems...