Chicago Magazine has called it the best Jewish deli in the Chicagoland area, and more than four decades later, the Schlan family still runs the place day to day -- a real multigenerational operation, not a name that got sold off and kept for brand recognition. InsideHook's roundup of the city's best Jewish delis put it bluntly: this spot is big, but its following is bigger. The deli has also drawn attention from America's Test Kitchen's Proof podcast, which featured Max and Benny's in an episode about whether Chicago's Jewish delis can survive.
The Reubens and the smiley-face sugar cookies at the bakery counter are the two things longtime customers mention first. Around the Jewish holidays the deli becomes a logistics operation as much as a restaurant -- Lester Schlan has spoken to local TV news about the crush of Rosh Hashanah takeout orders the kitchen turns out every year.
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