Leo Steiner
Encyclopedia
Leo Steiner was an Jewish American restaurateur
who was co-owner of the Carnegie Deli
, located next to Carnegie Hall
at 55th Street
and Seventh Avenue
in the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. While his partner, Milton Parker
, mostly worked behind the scenes, Steiner worked the crowd with his Jewish humor
in the restaurant, which became a destination for both celebrities and tourists in the theater district
.
Steiner was born in Newark, New Jersey
. He worked in his parents' grocery store in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey
, where he grew up. The one-time owner of Pastrami & Things, a delicatessen
located at Third Avenue
and 23rd Street
, he joined Milton Parker and Fred Klein in 1976, purchasing the Carnegie Deli from the trio of Bernie Gross, Max Hudas and Thomas North. Klein, whio had not been actively involved in running the business, dropped out shortly thereafter.
Under the management of Parker and Steiner, the deli became known nationwide, attracting celebrities such as Woody Allen
, Jackie Mason
and Henny Youngman
, and opened branch locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey
, Secaucus, New Jersey
and Tysons Corner, Virginia
.
Steiner became the public face of Jewish food, appearing in a television commercial for rye bread
. He created a 60-pound Statue of Liverty carved from chopped liver
, complete with a torch fashioned from a turkey wing, for the United States Bicentennial
and was asked to prepare corned beef
and pastrami
for visiting heads of state attending the G7 economic summit meeting
held in 1983 in Williamsburg, Virginia
. Portions of Woody Allen's 1984 movie Broadway Danny Rose
were filmed in the restaurant.
The deli's corned beef and pastrami, celebrated by smoked meat connoisseurs nationwide, were cured in the store's cellar using Steiner's own recipe in a two-week long curing process. The Carnegie Deli used a half-ton of brisket
to prepare a week's supply of corned beef by the time of his death. Steiner admitted that "you could eat it after seven days, but if you wait until the 13th you're in heaven".
A resident of Manhattan
, Steiner died at age 48 on December 31, 1987 at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center due to complications of a brain tumor
and was buried at Gomel Chesed Cemetery in Elizabeth, New Jersey
. He was survived by his wife, Irma, and his brother, Sam Steiner, who was a manager at the Carnegie Deli at the time of Leo's death.
Steiner was eulogized by comedian Henny Youngman as "the deli lama". Many felt that the Carnegie Deli had deteriorated, even just several months after Steiner's death. Corbett Monica, a comedian featured in some of the comedic scenes of Broadway Danny Rose filmed at the restaurant, lamented that "It's not the same kind of warm haimish feeling since Leo passed away". Mark Simone
, a radio personality at WNEW-FM reminisced that "The Carnegie used to be a party every afternoon, and the reason was Leo Steiner... You could go there any afternoon and sit with celebrities. Now it's just not happening. And a lot of those people are coming to the Stage
". Even Steiner's wife, who was then involved in a protracted battle with her husband's former partner over the valuation of the business, had abandoned the Carnegie, stating that "Since Leo died, I don't feel right about going to the Carnegie".
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
who was co-owner of the Carnegie Deli
Carnegie Deli
The Carnegie Deli is a restaurant located in midtown Manhattan on 7th Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets and was opened in 1937 adjacent to Carnegie Hall. Now in the third generation of owners, the Parker family's delicatessen is among the most visited restaurants of its type in the city,...
, located next to Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
at 55th Street
55th Street (Manhattan)
55th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-Sutton Place South:*The route officially begins at Sutton Place South which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive....
and Seventh Avenue
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. While his partner, Milton Parker
Milton Parker
Milton Parker was a co-owner of the Carnegie Deli, located at 55th Street and Seventh Avenue next to Carnegie Hall in the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the behind-the-scenes preparer of towering pastrami sandwiches while his partner Leo Steiner was the tummler who entertained...
, mostly worked behind the scenes, Steiner worked the crowd with his Jewish humor
Jewish humor
Jewish humour is the long tradition of humour in Judaism dating back to the Torah and the Midrash from the ancient mid-east, but generally refers to the more recent stream of verbal, self-deprecating, crude, and often anecdotal humour originating in Eastern Europe and which took root in the United...
in the restaurant, which became a destination for both celebrities and tourists in the theater district
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
Steiner was born in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. He worked in his parents' grocery store in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
, where he grew up. The one-time owner of Pastrami & Things, a delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
located at Third Avenue
Third Avenue (Manhattan)
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Cooper Square north for over 120 blocks. Third Avenue continues into The Bronx across the Harlem River over the Third Avenue Bridge north of East 129th Street to East Fordham Road at...
and 23rd Street
23rd Street (Manhattan)
23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of few two-way streets in the gridiron of the borough. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided at Fifth Avenue, in this case at Madison Square Park, into its east and west sections. Since...
, he joined Milton Parker and Fred Klein in 1976, purchasing the Carnegie Deli from the trio of Bernie Gross, Max Hudas and Thomas North. Klein, whio had not been actively involved in running the business, dropped out shortly thereafter.
Under the management of Parker and Steiner, the deli became known nationwide, attracting celebrities such as Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
and Henny Youngman
Henny Youngman
Henry "Henny" Youngman was a British-born American comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners", short, simple jokes usually delivered rapid-fire...
, and opened branch locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, Secaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 16,264. Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most suburban of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and...
and Tysons Corner, Virginia
Tysons Corner, Virginia
Tysons Corner is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Part of the Washington Metropolitan Area located in Northern Virginia, Tysons Corner lies between the community of McLean and the town of Vienna along the Capital Beltway . The population was...
.
Steiner became the public face of Jewish food, appearing in a television commercial for rye bread
Rye bread
Rye bread is a type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour...
. He created a 60-pound Statue of Liverty carved from chopped liver
Chopped liver
Chopped liver is a spread popular in Jewish cuisine.It is often made by sautéeing or broiling liver and onions in schmaltz; adding hard-boiled eggs, salt and pepper, and grinding that mixture...
, complete with a torch fashioned from a turkey wing, for the United States Bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
and was asked to prepare corned beef
Corned beef
Corned beef is a type of salt-cured beef products present in many beef-eating cultures. The English term is used interchangeably in modernity to refer to three distinct types of cured beef:...
and pastrami
Pastrami
Pastrami , is a popular delicatessen meat usually made from beef and, traditionally in Romania, also from pork and mutton. In Israel, "Pastrama" is the term used for sliced chicken and turkey. Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before modern refrigeration...
for visiting heads of state attending the G7 economic summit meeting
9th G7 Summit
The 9th G7 Summit was held at Williamsburg, Virginia, United States during the 28th to 30th of May 1983. The venue for the summit meetings was Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia....
held in 1983 in Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
. Portions of Woody Allen's 1984 movie Broadway Danny Rose
Broadway Danny Rose
Broadway Danny Rose is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen. It was screened out of competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.- Plot :...
were filmed in the restaurant.
The deli's corned beef and pastrami, celebrated by smoked meat connoisseurs nationwide, were cured in the store's cellar using Steiner's own recipe in a two-week long curing process. The Carnegie Deli used a half-ton of brisket
Brisket
Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the eight beef primal cuts. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectorals. As cattle do not have collar bones, these muscles support about 60% of the body weight of standing/moving...
to prepare a week's supply of corned beef by the time of his death. Steiner admitted that "you could eat it after seven days, but if you wait until the 13th you're in heaven".
A resident of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Steiner died at age 48 on December 31, 1987 at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center due to complications of a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
and was buried at Gomel Chesed Cemetery in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
. He was survived by his wife, Irma, and his brother, Sam Steiner, who was a manager at the Carnegie Deli at the time of Leo's death.
Steiner was eulogized by comedian Henny Youngman as "the deli lama". Many felt that the Carnegie Deli had deteriorated, even just several months after Steiner's death. Corbett Monica, a comedian featured in some of the comedic scenes of Broadway Danny Rose filmed at the restaurant, lamented that "It's not the same kind of warm haimish feeling since Leo passed away". Mark Simone
Mark Simone
Mark Simone is an American radio personality. Currently heard on WABC in New York, he also fills-in for ABC Radio hosts such as Don Imus, Mark Levin, and Sean Hannity.Simone occasionally appears on CNN, MSNBC and PBS....
, a radio personality at WNEW-FM reminisced that "The Carnegie used to be a party every afternoon, and the reason was Leo Steiner... You could go there any afternoon and sit with celebrities. Now it's just not happening. And a lot of those people are coming to the Stage
Stage Deli
The Stage Deli, located on Seventh Avenue just two blocks from Carnegie Hall, is a well-known New York City delicatessen, patronized by numerous celebrities. It was first opened in 1937 by Russian immigrant Max Asnas. The deli is known for Broadway-themed dishes including the "Mamma Mia!" sandwich...
". Even Steiner's wife, who was then involved in a protracted battle with her husband's former partner over the valuation of the business, had abandoned the Carnegie, stating that "Since Leo died, I don't feel right about going to the Carnegie".