Go Get a Sandwich at Manny's

[UPDATED BELOW]
It appears that it's time for another paean to Manny's. The deli has long been a Chicago favorite, and it certainly has anything but a low profile, but it got a shot of national attention on Friday when the president-elect stopped by to pick up a few corned beef sandwiches (and the latkes that are often served with them). He was there with adviser Valerie Jarrett, and they each got a take-out sandwich and then took one more for Rahm Emanuel. In fact, this may have been more than a simple photo op at a Chicago landmark--we may have received an insight into how the Obama administration will work on a day-to-day level. In The Price of Loyalty, Ron Suskind's account of Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's experience in the Bush White House, Chief of Staff Andy Card is presented as the guy who gets the cheeseburgers. Whatever else we may understand about the incoming administration, we now know that Rahm Emanuel won't be the sandwich guy.

But anyway, I started this post to talk about Manny's. They're known for their corned beef, and it is indeed delicious, but I've got to admit that I'm partial to their pastrami. I've got a standing appointment with a group of friends to meet there one Saturday a month. I was traveling in September and missed going for that month, and boy, by the time October came around, I sure was jonesing for my Manny's fix. If I ever have to miss a month again, I'm going to have to head down to the deli on my own, just to keep a decent amount in my system. We're halfway between months--if I can't hold out until December, I may just make a trip down there after Thanksgiving.

UPDATE--On their main site, Manny's has added a slide show of Obama's visit. In what we can only assume is an unintentional oversight, everybody's favorite counter man, Gino, is nowhere to be seen (he's just out of camera-range in the first photo in the set). Fortunately, though, you can get a glimpse of him, just over Obama's shoulder, in the photo accompanying this profile of Valerie Jarrett in Sunday's New York Times.