Bites From the Big Apple

Just about everyone in Santa Fe comes in contact with a breakfast burrito or similarly be-chile’d item for breakfast or brunch, but sometimes you just kind of want an eggs/toast/hash browns kind of thing. There are many restaurants about town that do this, sure, but we all have our favorites. For me, New York on Catron (420 Catron St., (505) 982-9800)-née New York Deli-née-Bagelmania has topped that list—at least top five—for a number of years. But a mid-pandemic rebrand and, I’m just gonna say it, evolving tastes that err toward higher expectations on my part have not been entirely kind to the once proud downtown spot. I learned this recently while at brunch/lunch with a fellow food fan.

We both worked downtown previously (heck, my pal still might, I just don’t honestly know), and the restaurant had always been a great place for a quick bite. It was a place I could take my grandma where she could find the sandwiches and breakfasts she likes; for my pal, I think, it was just about not having a fruitlessly circuitous text-a-thon and agreeing to whatever would shut me up.

“Besides,” I said to myself out loud in an empty room, “I know the eggs there are good.”

Things have changed, though, over the course of the pandemic. In 2020, owners Jeffrey and Gary Schwartzberg rebranded the downtown version of their restaurant, dropping the “deli” bit for the “on Catron” bit. The Southside iteration, still New York Deli, remains the same.

Back on Catron, gone is the mural of New York City, which weirdly added depth to the interior. In its place, plain white walls and scattered tables that almost read like a fake restaurant set hastily assembled for a show wherein celebrities get pranked. I’m not so hard to please when it comes to decor, and I don’t fault New York on Catron’s ownership for altering its interior however the heck they want. When all is said and done, the Schwartzbergs are still using a bagel recipe their dad Hyman developed in the early-1900s, so that’s pretty cool. Plus, when my family moved to Santa Fe back in the halcyon days of the 1990s, Bagelmania, as New York on Catron was then known, was one of the first places we frequented, so it forever has a place in my heart. Still, something felt off, almost like one should whisper in their most hushed library tones.

Even so, the menu was mostly what I remembered, from the famous bagels and breakfast items (omelettes, egg sandwiches, a good ol’ fashioned American melange with eggs, toast and hash browns), and I recognized the staff on duty from previous years when I visited more often. I can’t say enough nice things about our server, even if the drip coffee I ordered never arrived, even if the espresso machine was down.

Seeking succor to soothe my new mural-free lunching experience, I ordered eggs Benedict ($13.50), a classic number with poached eggs, hollandaise, ham and just the right dusting of paprika. My companion selected the Rachel ($14.75), a pastrami and Swiss sando with sauerkraut on rye, plus a cup of the matzo ball soup. We were pleasantly surprised to see inflation and America’s egg woes didn’t push prices up to absurd proportions. Yes, it’s a little more expensive than the New York Deli days, but barely so, and certainly not to an unfair degree.

To New York on Catron’s credit, the meals came quickly and accurately, if only they’d been more notable in the flavor department. While possible that our attempts to eat around 1 pm—post-lunch rush—accounted for a less than fastidiously prepared pair of plates, we maintain we were there within posted business hours (they close at 2 pm). In other words, it was heartbreaking to find my hollandaise listless and semi-congealed as if it had been heated up in a panic just after I ordered it. It was, in fact, almost grainy. The ham was a disappointment, too, and clearly some sort of Sysco/Shamrock bulk item I wouldn’t be surprised to learn was microwaved. I have no meaningful evidence for that claim, I just know it was rubbery and bland.

Similarly, my companion’s sandwich, which reportedly contained “pastrami that was nicely smoked,” and found a good texture balance, had issues as well: “Wish the kraut had been more vinegary,” they texted later. “Soup was a bit lame, like the fries.” During the meal, they’d described the fries as similar to a high school cafeteria’s; it hurts to think they carried on thinking about that well after the meal. I didn’t ask for more details about the matzo ball soup, but we all know chef Alex Hadidi (formerly of Marquez Deli, now of Alex in the CHOMP food hall) has that one on lock in Santa Fe, anyway.

So what’s a boy who previously loved a restaurant to do? Oh, you won’t find me forever writing off New York on Catron, though I’m not interested in pretending we had a great meal, either. Yes, it’s a post-pandemic world and no one wants to harm restaurants, but let me just say this to the fine folks over there on Catron Street: I know you can do better, because I’ve had so much better there. I believe in you and so does my grandma. Your staff is wonderfully nice and your restaurant having a downtown parking lot feels miraculous. I’m ready to love you again if you’re ready to let me do that. I almost can’t wait to give it another try.