Embarrassing but true: before this weekend I had never been to Koch’s, the tiny take-out deli located at 43rd and Locust. That means I never met Bobby Koch, the popular owner of the store, who passed away a couple of years ago.
If my belated exposure to Koch’s has any upside, it’s that my inexperience has allowed me to formulate a totally unbiased opinion, one untarnished by loyalties or nostalgia.
The verdict? Koch’s is overrated. Prices are ridiculous: my Restaurant School Special cost me $9.35. And the wait is even worse. People should stand an hour in line for Splash Mountain, not for reubens.
Apologists will say that all that meat makes it worth it, but Fresh Grocer packs about as much into its hoagies for about half the price. And while it’s true that Fro Gro’s meat is usually half-rancid, Koch’s isn’t anything to write home about, either. Their turkey, which looks and tastes like that Oscar Meyer-processed, is average at best.
I don’t feel great about bashing Koch’s because I know how much the place means to so many people. The walls are covered with postcards, photos, and letters of overwhelming love and support.
But that fabled Koch’s of yesteryear is long gone. Now, it’s only an institution in the sense that whoever still goes there belongs in one.
An RSS feed of The Spin is available
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I agree that Koch’s is not inexpensive, many of their sandwiches and Jewish foods are good quality. In addition, I recommend Koch’s chicken cheesesteak.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I’ve been there four times since the summer, the first of which was excellent - they gave out abundant samples during the waiting and cracked hilarious anti-Wawa jokes, and the food was great. Other times I’ve gone I have found the service to be slow, and the food to be good but not enough to warrant the price and the wait.
January 24th, 2008 at 9:11 am
If the sandwich I got a month ago is a representative of what they’re serving now, Nick’s review isn’t harsh enough. About half the meat of the ones Bobby served, and about 3% of the love. Although the prices haven’t even kept up with inflation, the sandwiches aren’t even close to worth it anymore.