BTS, the ridiculously popular South Korean boy band, took over The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote their new album, Map of the Soul: 7. As part of this takeover, they performed in Grand Central, played games on the subway, and, most importantly, visited the iconic New York Jewish institution: Katz’s Deli.
In a segment on The Tonight Show, we see Jake Dell, the current owner of Katz’s Deli, come over to chat with BTS and Jimmy. “We’ve been here 132 years, we’re known for pastrami, corned beef, brisket, turkey, matzah ball soup. We’re gonna feed the crap out of you!”
Jimmy then asks BTS — comprised of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — if any of them have watched When Harry Met Sally. (They hadn’t!) In the 1989 romantic comedy, Meg Ryan’s fake orgasm scene was filmed at Katz’s:
Then, they get food!
RM, looking at a pastrami sandwich, asks, “Is it for, like, one man?” Jake replies, “Yeah, that’s yours.” RM, surprised, simply says, “Okay.”
J-Hope starts to put ketchup on his sandwich, and Jimmy and Jake are like “no, no ketchup!” Jimin starts smelling mustard at one point. It’s chaos, and so much fun to watch.
Then, they head behind the counter to make sandwiches.
They help “make” the sandwiches, and Jimmy Fallon serves as the waiter. BTS just keeps shouting “order up!” It is very charming.
Watch the whole delightful video here:
Bonus? The video on The Tonight Show channel ends with “Subway Stories.” Guess who they added to this one? Fran Lebowitz:
She talks about sitting across from a baby on the subway, who drops a pacifier on the floor and the mom puts it back in the baby’s mouth. “I thought to myself that the baby was going to drop dead right here, or that baby will live to be 1,000 years old because he’s now immunized from every germ on earth.” (Cue the Sack Lunch Bunch quote about seeing Fran Leibowitz on the subway here.)
Anyway, back to BTS. Twitter, obviously, was obsessed with their appearance on The Tonight Show.
BTS going to a jewish deli and eating kosher to celebrate their lead single. This is officially my favorite comeback yall 💜✡️ I can’t #MapOfTheSoul7 #BTSonFallon pic.twitter.com/TlYJGhXeWX
— Mari✨with Luv ⁷ (@pornesiaparapio) February 14, 2020
My parents took me to Katz’s Deli when I was 5 years old in the Lower East Side. I still remember 67 years later. Seeing BTS there -where all the Jewish Immigrants gathered gives me joy and hope! https://t.co/9nHETv43O0
— Ellen Krauss (@elmame) February 25, 2020
wait I just got to watch the non-performance parts of bts with Jimmy Fallon and they went to a Jewish deli ??? Jewish armys it’s a win for us 🤩
— ☼⁷ | stream ON (@focusbts) February 26, 2020
If BTS made me a sandwich from Katz’s I’m definitely going to have a Meg Ryan moment from When Harry Met Sally. #BTSonFallon #BTS pic.twitter.com/6mg4zpLVJq
— Eevee 🌍✨🚀 (@eeveepanini) February 25, 2020
Do those people in Katz even KNOW #BTSonFallon
— yosub wyd ⁷ (@yosub) February 25, 2020
The details of BTS’s visit to Katz’s were kept secret until it aired. As owner Jake told Billboard, “We keep everything a secret here — we keep a pastrami recipe secret for 132 years. I think we can keep a visit secret!”
