Mr. Parker was primarily the back-room planner who brought taam a Yiddish word suggesting great flavor and quality to the pastrami, corned beef, brisket and tongue; the cheesecake and matzo balls; the soups and the pickles that placed the Carnegie, at 55th Street and Seventh Avenue, at or near the top of deli maven lists. Theater district tourists have made it a regular stop.
His partner Leo Steiner, who died in 1987, was the shtick-happy frontman who greeted customers and escorted celebrities like Henny Youngman, Jackie Mason, Woody Allen and the French actor Yves Montand to their favored tables.
The five-inch-high sandwiches were largely Mr. Parkers domain.
Mr. Parker and Mr. Steiner, along with a less active partner who later sold his share, bought the Carnegie from three previous owners in 1976. Mr. Parker retired in 2002 and handed over control of the business to his son-in-law, Sanford Levine. According to savethedeli.com, a Web site that celebrates delicatessens nationwide, Mr. Parkers business card read Milton Parker, CPM (corned beef and pastrami maven). Mr. Levines card reads MBD (Married Bosss Daughter).
Besides the quality and belly-bulging portions of the Carnegie Delis menu items, several other factors brought fame to the restaurant. Dozens of delis dot the streets of the theater district. For years, the Stage Delicatessen near the Carnegie, on Seventh Avenue had a superior reputation. But in 1979, Carnegie pastrami was judged better by The New York Times. That touched off what newspaper articles called the Pastrami War. Both establishments fared well, with customers lining up down the block.
Them? Mr. Parker said at the time of his rival. Theyre living off our overflow.
