Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

aside from what's specifically French Canadian in Quebec, not much really. It's basically the same as American...a foundation of continental, mixed with international (mainly Asian), paired with local ingredients.

the whole kosher thing is a morass.

Glatt Kosher: the highly certified, closed on sabbath and all holy days, watermark of orthodox eating. If you're frum, this is where you eat. Noah's Ark on Clinton is one.

Plain old Kosher: uses certified kosher products, though not necessarily glatt (Hebrew Ntl), open on sabbath, but no milk and meat, treyf. Kosher people will eat there, but not Orthodox. 2nd Ave Deli is prime example.

Kosher style: an outdated term. Once meant "hey, our meat may not be kosher, but we don't put cheese on our sandwiches, and no bacon will enter this store". Then kosher style places started serving treyf, and now it basically is a euphemism for Jewish Style.

Deli: any of the above, providing they serve steamed pastrami, corned beef, and other jewish specialties. They can be glatt kosher (Essex on Coney), or completely treyf (Carnegie), but you only know it when you visit. If the smell of salt and steamed meat doesn't knock you over, it ain't a deli.

Goldenberg's is actually a distant branch of the great Stage Door Deli of Detroit area, so it's roughly the same deal.
Kenny and Ziggy's just opened today in Portland. House cured and smoked pastrami, hand cut, on freshly baked bread. Head down that gorgeous coastal highway and check it out Stushi.

Hey Ed,
David Sax here of http://www.savethedeli.com Having eaten hundreds of deli meals in the past year (still alive!), here's the emmis on what I've found to be tops.

In NY:
-Great surprises from Pastrami Queen on Lex and 78th, which has excellent dry cured pastrami with the recipe from ex Pastrami King of Queens.
-agree on Liebman's, Katz's, Carnegie. Only Artie's experience was with you. Good local deli, but not tops in city or nation in my opinion.
-Essex on Coney, in Brooklyn, is the best glatt kosher offering, and the best atmosphere, cholent and chicken soup has to be Gottlieb's in Williamsburg, a hassidic place where everyone speaks Yiddish.
-For a chain, Ben's Kosher is a winner, with a wonderful house cured corned beef and tongue, not to mention golden kreplach with carmelized onions
-Katz's still rules the roost in Manhattan overall, despite the fries, or other cooked foods. It's a pastrami place, and if they just served that I couldn't fault them.

As for the rest of the nation/world, I'll include some of the tops

Detroit: no other city seves finer rye bread. It'll make the stuff in NY seem like pop tarts.
Stage Door Deli is the biggest and most popular overall
Zingerman's is a haven of fresh everything, made from the finest ingredients money can buy. I hope it's the model for future delis.

Chicago: Manny's is the Katz's of the windy city, and their corned beef is pink silk. Obama eats there...
Kaufman's, in Skokie, makes a killer reuben strudel, which is to die for.

Boulder: The best noodle kugel and house smoked fish I've had was at a new place called Jimmy and Drew's 28th St. Deli in Boulder, Colorado. they make everything in house, including meats and fish, which is rarely seen these days. Their kugel is so dense, sweet, and custardy, it slows the heart with joy.

LA: I know you're a New Yorker, and conceding anything to LA is tantamount to treason, but let me say as an objective observer, that LA is close to surpassing New York in deli quality per capita.
Langer's has the finest pastrami anywhere. Period. Better than Katz's. Hands down.
Nate n' Al serves up the finest matzo ball soup, and corned beef made from certified angus beef...so rich it melts on the tongue like iced cream
Factor's, Junior's, Art's are all top grade delis that can stand toe to toe with anything on 7th Ave, at a fraction of the price, plus you can get a movie deal just eating there.
Brent's, in the Valley, is the mother of them all...a place of such fine tuned perfection even their kishke tastes of crispy gold.
Say what you will about LA...until you eat their deli it's just words.

Houston: Kenny and Ziggy's is one of the best all round New York delis. It just happens to be in cow country. Ziggy Gruber is a deli man the likes of Abe Lebewohl or Leo Steiner. When he returns to New York one day, the city will take some serious notice. Kugels light as air, cabbage rolls that taste like fluffy veal.

Florida: a wasteland. The Rascal House will soon be torn down, and with it, the joy of Jewish Florida. That said, 3G's in DelRay Beach offers a glimmer of hope, with sandwiches on double baked rye and schmaltz filled matzo balls.

I've heard great things about Attman's in Baltimore and 4th St. Deli in Philly, plus Harold's in NJ, but can't comment from experience.

I will say that Montreal is the town to beat. Schwartz's is the king, but attention must be paid to Lester's, Snowdon Deli, Abie's, and Smoked Meat Pete. The grilled salami sandwiches at Wilensky's are the ambrosia of my youth.

I recommend all true deli fiends to check out my site http://www.savethedeli.com which is specifically dedicated to this most important cause. Ess Gezunt!