Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Come One, Come All: Katz’s Deli To Hold (Fake) Orgasm Contest For ‘When Harry Met Sally’ 30th

It could have been called “When Sex Met Deli Food”.

Thirty years ago this July, a nearly perfect romantic comedy was released.

“When Harry Met Sally” hit theaters July 12, 1989, and it combined all good things in the world — writer Nora Ephron’s wit, Central Park in the fall, Billy Crystal in a sweater, and, of course, Meg Ryan performing an elaborate, fake orgasm at the historic Katz’s Deli on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

To celebrate three decades of this gorgeous film (in which Carrie Fisher was under-used, if you ask us,) the family-run Katz’s Deli will hold a search for a person who can fake an orgasm as well as Meg Ryan did in the iconic scene in the movie, Forbes reports. The company’s World War II-era slogan, “Send A Salami To Your Boy In The Army,” is living up to its lascivious sound at last.

Heavy breathers of any gender can simply show up at the 131 year-old deli on July 12 and wait their turn to sit at the exact table where Meg Ryan displayed, on behalf of all women, the power of acting. A panel of judges will decide which fake orgasm (yes, it does have to be fake) is most likely to make other patrons say, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Coming soon to Katz’s: corned beef, hot pastrami, and climaxes.

via GIPHY

Jenny Singer is the deputy life/features editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.