mega yum. I’m very happy for you!!

Gorgeous lester’s and fast shipping. Big yay. Bon app :-)

For those who aren't FB friends with me...the Lester's arrived on Thursday but we didn't get a loaf of rye until today, so a Lester's smoked meat sandwich with mustard on rye was lunch. (I'm skipping dinner!) It hit the spot...we both devoured our sandwiches..

where’d you get the rye? How do you store the meat?

Local bakery.

The meat comes sliced and cryovac packaged in 1 pound bags. We put all but one in the freezer. To reheat you submerge the entire package in boiling water.

ooh pure genius! Great reheat instructions :-)

I'm afraid my recent experience was pretty bad. I've had better experience few years ago but this holiday season everything we ordered was meh to bad. Well packaged but...

-BBQ rib tips - dry, mediocre.
-cioppino - tasted a bit weird, overly sweet. Tons of crabs/seafood though.
-Cajun honey glazed ham - dry. Didn't taste the glaze or the cajun spice.

And a few months earlier - pineapple pie - way way too ickily sweet.

I am too much of a glutton to give up on goldbelly entirely so hopefully can get good recommendations here. But so far it's been really meh.

Our St Viator bagels arrived. They recommend slicing them before freezing so we now have sesame seeds everywhere. I should have had the vacuum in hand when Mr CE was cutting them, because between two humans and 12 animal paws I've found them in every room on the first floor.

we definitely slice any bagel before it’s frozen.
how are the bagels and how many did you not freeze?
still only sesame?

They're St. Viator bagels...I'm a NY bagel fan so I don't feel any particular passion toward them, but they tasted as good as a St. Viator bagel would taste a few days after it's baked. (I prefer my bagels still warm from the oven.) We froze all but a 1/2 dozen. And you are correct, they have not magically transformed from sesame to some other flavor of bagel.

When will you get essa bagels? I love them. Or do you prefer h&h or another ny brand?
I forgot to ask what you put on them after toasting. If cream cheese, then where do you get the cream cheese? I love the bagels from once upon a bagel and the cream cheese from there or sunset foods.

My preferred bagel is fresh from the oven eaten plain. We're not getting more bagels -- I just don't care that much, particularly for bagels that are days-removed from the oven. I do not like toasted bagels, so I'll probably only have a few, some in a breakfast sandwich. I had one with hummus and lox.

My brother used to live about 2 minutes from the best bagel shop in St. Louis, so I was always happy to walk there for a sesame seed bagel, but since I don't live there or in NY, I'm happy to abstain from bagels.

To me freshness is more important than the brand. There is a Western Bagel near me and they sell hot fresh bagels & that is good enough for me. If I feel like driving to Manhattan Beach there is a Noah's Bagels that also makes them fresh daily. I like H& H when I am in NYC and I have also had them shipped (it was a gift) to me. I still would rather have a fresh hot bagel locally than a 2 day old shipped one.

I've probably ordered from Goldbelly over 50 times since COVID hit. It's been a culinary lifeline for me now that I live in the Midwest. Some hits and some misses, but overall I'm happy with it, even though it is very expensive.

Hits:

• Bagels from Utopia Bagel (Queens NYC): bagels just suck where I now live, so these are a welcome treat. They are overnighted and reasonably fresh:
• Norwegian Smoked Salmon from Sables (Manhattan NYC): among the best we've ever had;
• Quiche from Mrs. London's Bakery (Saratoga Springs NY): we get a combo of 3 ham and bacon and 3 spinach and gruyere;
• Burger patties from Pat LaFrieda Meats (NJ): excellent burger blend that I enjoy cooking on my outdoor flat top);
• Pastrami from Langers Deli (Los Angeles): really liked this; and
• Biscuits from Callie's Charleston Biscuits (Charleston SC): biscuits are small but delicious.

Misses:

• Muffulettas from Central Grocery (New Orleans): bread was stale; and
• Beef on Weck and Mint Ice Cream Cake from Anderson's Frozen Custard (Buffalo NY): meat was nowhere near as rare as depicted and cake was so heavy it made us sick.

I have Beef Pho form the Slanted Door in San Francisco on order, along with Pudding Jars from 4Rivers Smokehouse in Kissimmee FL. Looking forward to both.

They also have an awards program that let's you take up to $30 off an order. Used that several times.

I also have ordered several times from Wild Fork. Had an amazing Bistecta Fiorentina last week.

Slanted door is so good - I live in sf and love vietnamese food overall although I’ve not had any Vietnamese carryout for ages. Sad! I actually love the northern Vietnamese pho from Turtle Tower, which was featured in Lucky Peach. Alas I haven’t had any Turtle Tower for maybe over a year.