You'd think in a city of two million it would be fairly easy to score a great bagel or tender brisket, but it's Skokie that rules the Chicagoland deli scene. But even Skokie's great delis, like Barnum and Bagel, have started to disappear. If you don't go, the few remaining treasures like Kaufman's might dry up. Then, where would you get your deckle?

Don't know deckle from a pickle? Kaufmann's owner Arnold Dworkin is the perfect teacher. Most delis mix all the parts of a cured brisket when they slice or package their corned beef, but Kaufman's sells the marbled part, aka deckle, separately. Foodies tired of dry corned beef and looking for a melt-in-your-mouth sensation will be rewarded for driving to the burbs. If corned beef's not your thing, Kaufmann's also carries an array of kosher salamis, pastrami, chopped chicken liver and chocolate-covered halvah, a rich sesame-based dessert.

Housed in a low-slung building studded with gray flagstone, Kaufman's looks more like a mini-airport hangar than a great Jewish delicatessen. It's divided into two parts, and across from the deli sits the bakery. The yeasty perfume of freshly-baked loaves, the tang of puffy onion bagels and the beefy waft of reuben strudel will steal your nose and your heart.

Centerstage Reviewer: Michael Nagrant