Our $60 Trip For A New York Deli Sandwich & Cheesecake at Junior’s

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There were many things to consider once I booked flights to Iceland during a flash fare sale. The first thing we needed to do was to get from home in Florida to New York, since our flights were from JFK airport.

I arranged to arrive the day before our Icelandair flight and come home the day after we returned. I like to do this if we can since it takes some of the stress out of the trip if you’re hit with a flight delay or cancellation of a positioning flight.

Since we’d be staying for over an entire day, we took the opportunity to visit our favorite airport hotel, the TWA Hotel. We’d visited in 2019 and were looking forward to going back. While the hotel is unlike anything else you’ve ever seen, it does have some shortcomings.  Two of the main ones are that the hotel isn’t near anything except the airport, and there are limited options for meals on-site.

Since our flight wasn’t leaving until 7 PM, we had several hours between the hotel check-out time and when we’d need to be back at the airport to check in for our flight. We wanted to try and get some New York food that we can’t find at home. I tried to find a bagel shop but there wasn’t one nearby. The closest place was a 15-minute drive but pulling up Uber/Lyft showed a price of $30+ for a one-way ride. Paying $70 after tip for a $5 bagel with cream cheese and lox wasn’t happening.

Since using a Taxi/Uber/Lyft was out of the question, we needed to take public transport. Another disadvantage of staying at the TWA Hotel is that the best way to connect to the MTA system (Subway/Train) is the AirTrain which costs $7.75 per person each way. That would cost us $31 round trip before ever leaving the area. We figured we might as well make the trip worthwhile.

We decided that it would make sense just to head into Manhattan. I looked up our options and we decided to get a deli sandwich. Our previous favorite deli closed several years ago and we’ve started going to Junior’s as an alternate. It’s in midtown and is close to where we usually stay when we visit NYC. But then I remembered we were staying in Queens and came up with another option. Instead of going to Manhattan, why not head to Brooklyn and eat at the original Junior’s?

Junior’s
386 Flatbush Avenue EXT
Brooklyn, New York 11201
718-852-5257

If you’re visiting from JFK Airport, the quickest way to get there is to take the LIRR from Jamaica Station to the Atlantic Terminal. The round trip train tickets cost an additional $31, making the price for us to get from our hotel to Junior’s and back skyrocket to $62.

It’s also possible to get to the area from Manhattan by taking the B Train on the subway to DeKalb Ave. Station.

We walked up to the side door and the greeter told us to wait outside for 10-15 minutes for a table.

When our table was ready, we were led through the bar to the main dining room. It wasn’t anything like I expected from the newer Manhattan locations. While those are glitzy with bright orange colors everywhere, this location reminded me of a Howard Johnson restaurant, if you’re old enough to remember what those were like.

While the decor was different, the menu was basically the same. We only had to look at the sandwiches part of the menu to find our selections.

Sharon ordered her usual, a corned beef sandwich on rye bread with a Dr. Brown’s Diet Cream soda.

I went with one of the classics, a Reuben with fries and a Brooklyn Lager. I was a bit thrown off by the dressing on the side.

The meal also comes with pickles, beets and coleslaw, which we ate before taking pictures. Sorry.

While this would usually be enough food to fill us up for hours, we were planning to try to get some sleep on the plane and not worry about eating during our red-eye flight to Iceland. Why not finish up the meal with a slice of the World’s Most Fabulous Cheesecake?

I’m glad we got a chance to visit the original Junior’s location in Brooklyn. While the appearance isn’t what we’re used to, the food was just as good. If you’re looking for a sandwich or getting some cheesecake to bring back to the room, I’d choose whichever location is closest. If getting the original experience is important, it’s not difficult to get to Brooklyn.

Just try not to visit when staying at the TWA Hotel. Because if you do, be prepared for the $40-$60 price to get there.

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