Essentials: Pastrami sandwich at Larder, Cleveland, Ohio
The secret ingredient: koji
The most ambitious deli in the Midwest is inside an 1854 firehouse in Ohio City. Larder is an Eastern European-inspired restaurant and bakery that doubles as a laboratory for chef and co-owner Jeremy Umansky, previously the “larder master” and forager for renowned fine-dining chef Jonathon Sawyer.
What does that mean? It means that pastrami, knishes, babka, freshly baked challah, and other staples share a menu with cured vegetable “charcuterie” and apricot-scented chanterelle soda. It also means koji. Lots of koji.
Umansky is obsessive about koji, the Japanese fungus responsible for the umami-rich likes of sake, soy sauce, and miso—so much so that he co-authored a book about it, 2020’s “Koji Alchemy.” Nowhere is his mastery more evident than in the pastrami sandwich, which layers nuggets of koji-blasted brisket with pickled cabbage and house-made mustard, though the koji-cured fried chicken sandwich comes close. Pair the pastrami sandwich with potato salad, which is loaded with mustard and dill, and a spruce-tip seltzer. It’s a version of a familiar combo that you won’t find anywhere else in the Midwest. —Ryan Hamm
Ryan Hamm is a writer living in Cleveland. His writing has appeared on the Washington Post’s website, in Under the Radar and Relevant magazines, and beyond.
Kevin Necessary is a freelance illustrator and editorial cartoonist. He is currently the editorial cartoonist for The Cincinnati Enquirer. His cartoons are syndicated by GoComics, and his cartoons have been published in a variety of publications such as The Week and Politico. A Cincinnati native, Kevin will fight to the death defending Cincinnati chili. He lives with his wife, Julie, and three cats, Huckleberry, Grayson, and Bonnie.