Born August 1951 and raised in San Francisco by my Costa Rican / German family of carnivores, I had no idea what pastrami was.

Even though my Grandfather was a deli afficionado loving his German blood sausage, Italian Genoa salami and mortadella, he never brought home pastrami.

Not until Howard Heshi opened his Kosher Jewish deli on Montgomery Street, the “Wall Street” of San Francisco, did I devour my very 1st “strami”, as Howard monikered it.

400-pound Howard was famous for wearing a Tony Soprano “wife beater” sleeveless t-shirt, and perspired over the scrumptiously steamed pastrami.

He would kid the guests that queued-up around the block that his sweat added that little extra salt that was missing!

Moving to Los Angeles, Nate ‘n Al’s in Beverly Hills became the new home for my “strami” fix.

Surrounded by movie stars and the Hollywood hoi polloi that I purposely ignored, I was in heaven, vacuuming my Kosher delights.

Also in Los Angeles, I frequented Fromin’s in Santa Monica, where the “B” level wannabe actors were relegated to.

Yet Fromin’s featured the #1 matzo ball soup in all of Lost Angels.

Traveling the entire U.S. for 30 years, I was graced with eating several times at my #1 Jewish deli of all time, “Wolfie’s Rascal House” in Miami.

Shuttered in 2008, they served better “strami” than Katz’s in NYC, Mill Basin in Brooklyn, Harold’s in Edison, N.J., Wise Bros. in San Francisco and were “even-steven” with The Carnegie Deli that lamentably closed in 2016.

But thanks to Alexandra, my Daughter, she discovered that there is a “Wolfie’s Rascal House” in Sarasota!

I have been residing in Frankfurt, Germany the last 13 years and have not been able to enjoy the extraordinary home-cooking of a true Jewish Kosher Deli.

Bursting with anticipation, Alexandra and I went yesterday, and were enraptured by the authentic and identical to Wolfie's Miami quality.

The Sarasota restaurant welcomes you with an amazing array of deli delights that goes on forever.

As you enter the elegantly comfortable dining room, the back bar is absolutely spectacular.

We each started our lunch with a HUGE bowl of matzo ball soup that is a meal in itself.

A baseball sized matzo sits in the middle of a super savory broth, enhanced by tender chicken pieces, thin egg noodles and decorated by al dente carrots and celery.

Next at bat were our ’strami sandwiches that were as scrumptious as they were sumptuous.

Accompanied by crispy hand-battered onion rings, our lunch was an epicurean feast.

In front of the impeccable restrooms are B&W’S of the movie stars that frequented Wolfie’s Miami.

My favorite photo was that of Meyer Lansky, the legendary business man that I have always admired.

Meyer converted the dump that dictator Fulgencio Batista had made of Havana, into “The Paris of the Caribbean.”

Due to Meyer creating world-class casinos, the rich and powerful from all over the world traveled to Cuba en masse.

And then pitifully, megalomaniac Fidel Castro converted the wonderful island into a Communistic hell.

Owner Jonathan Mitchell, G.M. Dale, and the outrageously affable servers team of Yvette and Sierra “Nevada” Marie deserve our ******* Award for culinary excellence.

ENCORE TODAY: May 24, 2024

The hallmark of a superb restaurant is a commitment to excellence in providing delicious food quality and attentive service on a consistent basis.

I visited Wolfie's today with Christian, my Son, who loved to eat at the Miami deli when he was a little boy.

He was totally overwhelmed by the tremendous authentic quality of his "Jerry's Famous Ruben", and the kindness of Sommer, our server.

I erred on my previous description of the matzo ball.

As Christian confirmed, it is more the size of a large grapefruit than a baseball, the centerpiece of a meal in itself.

Bottom line___________we thoroughly enjoyed the richness of the fresh chicken broth and the colorful variety of the matzo's veggie accompaniments.

I heartfeltly recommend Wolfie's to all Central Floridians as an exceptional dining experience!

3RD CURTAIN CALL:TODAY MAY 26