New York - Veni, Vite, Vici.

Nick and Pastrami King at Katz's Deli

New York - I came, I saw, I conquered. Within a small window of time, I managed to visit Carnegie Deli, Katz's Deli, Mile End, and a RUB (Real Urban BBQ). Other highlights of my trip included the Empire State building, the Natural History Museum, and the Guggenheim - all very cool things I recommend doing in NYC. It was a crazy whirlwind trip - I didn't have one boring moment while I was in the city that never sleeps. Surprisingly, the first and last parts of this blog post being in America's second city - Chicago.

Manny's Midway

Manny's Midway extension - the shining beacon of Concourse A in Midway airport. The first time I saw it was about 2 years ago with my friend Peter on the way to a wedding in Florida. I knew nothing of Manny's before seeing it, but somehow the sign - the whole feel of the place - made me feel like it was the right choice for our lunch. It was a memorable corned beef sandwich and potato pancake - so much so that I insisted that we get it on our way back to the West Coast. I was excited to have a layover at Midway, how many people say that?!? This time I thought I wouldn't have enough time to visit this satellite extension of a Chicago classic - but wouldn't you know it? My flight was delayed an hour and a half - straight Midway style!

Corned Beef on Rye

Potato Pancake

While I was sitting in the dining room, I struck up a nice conversation with a man named Edward enjoying his pastrami sandwich. I went with the corned beef this time, which was excellent, because I know Manny's is famous for their corned beef, but I was looking at Edward's pastrami sandwich excited to try their pastrami the next time around. Edward was originally from New York and told me he liked Katz's over everything and he enjoyed pastrami as often as he could. Turns out he works in LA nowadays and knows the sandwich scene pretty well. "Oh yeah Langer's I been there. Yeah, man I just love places like Manny's and Langer's" Edward confessed to me. I know the feeling.

The plane ride from Midway to LaGuardia seemed longer than the first leg of the journey - I was giddy to get to New York City. For the first night, I had planned to meet up with my buddies Nick and Chris, then we were going to the world famous Carnegie Deli. My friend, Peter, has called the Carnegie the "epitome of all that is deli" and from what I'd seen on the food channel, I knew I was in for a special pastrami sandwich.

Carnegie - Mid-Manhattan January 2010

Nick and I met up with our other friend Chris and my new friend Janinne. Nick was just as excited about the pastrami as I was. "I went here a couple weeks ago for the first time - THE BOMB!" he told me at the same time he proclaimed he didn't even need to look at the menu. Nick, Chris, and I ordered pastrami sandwiches, while Janinne got a monstrous BLT (foolish not to get the pastrami...). When it came time to choose a drink to go with our sandwiches I had everyone surprised/intrigued. "I'll have a cel-ray soda." I said. My buddy Chris asked "What's a cel-ray?" I told him about the celery flavored Dr. Brown's soda and told the waiter that we were all getting cel-rays, four of them please.


As our food was coming out I was busy talking to our neighbors about what part of the beef pastrami is. They were from Russia and when they asked why I knew so much I told them I was the Pastrami King. His response "I bow to you king" Thanks man, who knows I might have a reader or two in Moscow! Our sandwiches came after a short wait, but the soda was the first thing my friends wanted to try. "It tastes like celery" my friend Chris said making a disgusted face "I hate it."

Carnegie Pickles

Carnegie Slaw

They stack BLTs like Pastrami

Carnegie Pastrami Sandwich - The King of New York

That pastrami sandwich above is just as tasty as it is large. The Carnegie pastrami is fatty, spicy and smoky - all the flavors that make pastrami the most sensual of all meats. The bread is a bit lackluster - which I found to be a recurring theme in NYC. Truth be told, I didn't have a decent piece of rye bread the entire time I was in New York. As I was eating my sandwich, pastrami falling out the sides, Chris was reevaluating the cel-ray. "You know with the pastrami....I just don't know...it's kinda refreshing. I think I love it." Haha! He went from hating it to loving it, but I have to agree with him - I don't drink cel-ray all the time, but with pastrami or hot dogs they're complimentary in a strange celery seed extract way. The pastrami was beyond excellent. I have to rate it up there with Langer's and the Refuge for the greatest pastrami in the USA. I left into the Manhattan night a fully satisfied man, although I did think to myself "Langer's has better bread."

Tommy LaSorda knows what's up - Carnegie Deli!

The very next night I reunited with Chris and Nick and joined another friend to the oldest deli in the United States. From my research, the first pastrami on rye was served in NYC sometime around 1885 and Katz's opened in 1888. Throughout the years Katz's has instilled itself not only as a New York institution, but also as a National Monument. From their efforts in WWII (Send a salami to your boy in the army), to the movie When Harry met Sally (I'll have what she's having), and recent Food channel specials (Man Vs Food), just about everyone has heard of Katz's deli.

Katz's Deli on a frigid January Night

1888 - Old School

Where the pastrami lives...

They still send salami to the troops at war today

I walked in and some guy handed us each a weird orange ticket, as I was approaching the bus boy whistled out part of the theme from the Good the Bad and the Ugly. A tumble weed ran through the place....high noon... I'm coming from out west - I'm talking a big game and I have the wood carving from the Mr. Pickle in SF backing me up...but this is the original - a milestone in pastrami blog history. The showdown at Houston and 2nd.

I dare to finish

Matzo ball soup

Split pea soup

Katz's Pastami sandwich

Katz's Mustard is excellent!
Lean and mean pastrami

My pastrami sandwich at Katz's was great, but not the best I've ever had. The pastrami from Katz's comes from empire national and I did a small taste test at Saul's in the East bay for the Save the Deli book signing. I thought the same of it when I tried it there - it's a flavorful cured meat but pretty lean for pastrami, I could see it being very palatable by deli non-regulars. The brine was right on and the mustard was sharp and spicy as well, I just preferred the larger, fattier Carnegie sandwich. We got waiter service, but the next time I think I want to go to the cutter themselves and ask for it juicy like Lucy and tip him well so I get a big fat Katz's pastrami sandwich. The best thing I had there was the pickle, by far the best pickle I ever had was at Katz's deli!

Showdown complete

Stay Puft Marshmallow man

The next excursion was to the Boreum hill neighborhood, Brooklyn, to try the Mile end deli. The Mile End has been hyped up for the simple fact they are the first deli to serve Canadian smoked meat in the United States. Smoked meat isn't pastrami, it isn't corned beef, it's something different that I've never tried so the excitement was high. I tried calling them around noon on Saturday and the phone just rang to voice mail. I was weary because of what happened in Seattle, but I went on their twitter page and saw the post "Meat will be ready in 10 minutes" at about 11:50 AM. Nick and I jumped on the subway, as we were going there in became increasingly clear that it's impossible to go North/South direction in Brooklyn on the subway - at least it's tough. It took us about 45 minutes to get there and when we showed up the place was packed, it was obvious why they didn't answer the phone - they were swamped!

The Mile End

Packed to the Glass!

Busy Owner

It was about 45 minutes wait for a table so I ordered 3 smoked meat sandwiches and an order of poutine to go.

Smoked Meat Sandwich

Avec poutine

My thoughts on the smoked meat - it was very spicy, almost too spicy - not for the faint of heart. I'm a much bigger pastrami fan as this was a far more spiced and smoked flavor. If you like brisket and corned beef more than pastrami than this one is probably not for you. If you like a deep hearty spicy flavor (almost jerky spicy) then it would be a good one to try out. The poutine was superb, I think I should have ordered two orders of the poutine - so don't skip out. We got our sandwiches around 1:30 and when we checked their status at 3 PM it read "sold out of meat today", so the best way to figure out if they're serving sandwiches is to check their twitter. Considering there was only a three hour window on the Saturday I was there, this is one hot ticket - much hotter than Nets tickets for sure!

RUB BBQ - Chelsea District

My last stop in the Empire State was a small BBQ joint that made their own pastrami. This place was picked out by a big pastrami blog fan - Ellen. We were set to "meat" up there Sunday afternoon around 1 PM to put the pastrami to the test.

Pastrami King meets Pastrami Queen

Ellen is from the Atlantic City area and writes her own reviews for roadfood.com and Chowhound. Many people know her as the pastrami queen. It was truly a pleasure to have lunch with another true pastrami aficionado!

I have to disagree - Pastrami is the true king - Brisket is the baron.

For lunch we ordered two reuben crushers, 1 order of coleslaw, 1 order of burnt ends, and some drinks (Ellen got home made lemonade). I had been trying to adhere to the Jewish style delis rule in New York, avoiding Russian dressing on my pastrami - opting for mustard instead. This time Ellen requested extra Russian dressing on the side and I was happy she did, as this is the true way I like my pastrami!

Coleslaw

Small side of Burnt Ends - 4$, great deal!

Reuben Crusher

Small brine, but tasty smoky flavor

The reuben crusher was actually my 2nd favorite sandwich I had in NYC this trip. The flavor of the pastrami was a bit different, but was distinctly different from the BBQ burnt ends which had a traditional BBQ flavor. The Russian dressing and the toasted bread were both very good - I liked the rye bread OK, but nothing was like the double baked rye bread I get in LA. This is a great place for lunch, sorta reminded me of Memphis Minnie's in the Haight of SF, but I liked the reuben at RUB better and they have pastrami everyday, not just Wednesdays (it's OK, Memphis, I still love your BBQ brisket). After the lunch Ellen and I saw the Guggenheim, which I highly recommend, it's short and pleasant (unlike the Met, which is fortress size). Once again thanks for "meating" up with me and keep on commenting on the blog, Ellen!

I left New York on Monday, the 1st of February, after a fun night out till about 3 in the morning. I had a great time while I was in NYC and I would like to return, when it's warmer, so I can check out Central Park. It was just too cold to walk around there this time around! Of course, there is still 2nd Ave Deli, Sarge's Deli, David's brisket house, Ben's Best and a whole bunch of place to try in NYC with legit, quality pastrami. I could only get to a handful this time and I think I did a pretty good job on the East Coast, I wasn't finished yet either. I had a 3 and a half layover in Chicago and I figured to try to swing by the original Manny's by taking the Orange Line from Midway.

Sears Tower from Roosevelt Street bridge

Roosevelt & Michigan

The 2nd coolest thing about midway airport (1st being the Manny's extension) is the train comes straight to the airport. You don't have to take a shuttle bus, like AirBART, you just walk straight to the platform and get on. The Roosevelt stop is about 7 or 8 stops in and it took me just about 30 minutes to get there from Midway, very easy on the public transportation.

Manny's Deli - Chicago

Like I said, it didn't take me very long to get there. From the Roosevelt station I took a bus straight to Jefferson Ave - just down the block from the 1942 Chicago Deli. When I walked in I greeted the old man with the 2 pronged fork who was standing in the register. "Yeah I've seen you in a video before, I write a blog in California. I'm just happy to be here" I told him. He said yeah as he piled on my pastrami on rye bread extra high coupled with their famous potato pancake.

Pile of Pastrami - Manny's

I sat down in the empty, large dining area. There was only one other table full, 2 couples with piled high corned beef sandwiches. I looked at the clock, there was still plenty of time to enjoy my visit to Manny's.

Thinner pastrami, large fatty brine.

Manny's pastrami on rye - Chicago

Finished

I liked the pastrami at Manny's a whole lot - more thank I liked the lean Katz's pastrami. You can see from the picture it was thinner, but the edges were laced with a fatty brine. The Chicago classic Manny's up there with all the heavy hitters, even President Barack Obama has visited the corned beef palace just off Roosevelt! As I walked off into the chilly Chicago day I waved at the man behind the counter at Manny's, he was a true deli man.

Barack eats corned beef

I got back to Midway with plenty of time to spare. My flight was delayed 45 minutes - Midway style - but I was happy to read and watch my Ipod movies after the last great lunch of my vacation.

Back to the Bay Area

I came back to the Bay Area and I meant to try Handy's deli on Irving and 19th as I read somewhere on the internet they have a good pastrami sandwich. I walked in and saw Columbus meats in a vacuum pack and looked at the sandwich board - pastrami sandwich 3.99$. I just couldn't do it to myself after coming back from NYC. I walked downed to 9th street and had a burrito instead that day. The only pastrami I've had since then was just last night at the Chick n' coop and that was just to get power for writing the blog entry. The meat cutter at Chick n' Coop knows me pretty well now. He makes me a large pastrami sandwich every time I order it, great guy. Lots of people tell me "You're making me hungry." when I talk to them about pastrami. I do find it hard, nearly impossible to write about the subject matter on an empty stomach.

Quincy's - Market Street SF - Closed

I featured Quincy's market a couple of weeks back. The hole in the wall shop on Market Street that sold quality sandwiches with a surly attitude has Closed with a capital C. I honestly only had two sandwiches there because it was a further walk from Ted's Market from my work, so it kept me from revisiting the place. Apparently the rent went up in the area as I believe the fried chicken place next door closed as well. So the egotistical, blog writer question is do I leave Quincy's on my Yelp list of California pastrami sandwiches or do I remove it because it no longer serves pastrami. Comments please.

I'm visiting my dad in LA this weekend on the account of President's day. I'm not sure if I'll get to any delis while I'm down there. There are still many stones to uncover in the Southland, so I might squeeze one in, will keep you guys posted. As always thank you to everyone who read the blog and please leave comments or e-mail me at Pastramiking@gmail.com

The Wood Tavern & Manhattan Hub - Prelude to NYC

As I write to you now I'm also packing my bags for New York. There was big news in the deli world this past week - Mile End (http://www.mileendbrooklyn.com/) opened up just this past week in the Boreum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, which is the first deli in the US to sell Montreal smoked meat. I thought I was going to have to go to Canada to try this special savory fabled smoked meat, but it's just my luck that they opened the week before my trip to the East Coast! Of course I'm going to try some other places when I'm there - I'm supposed to go to Carnegie deli with my friends Nick and Chris the first night I arrive there - so I'll be eating pastrami like a king as Thursday night settles into the city sky.

Speaking of Thursday night - my good pastrami buddy David Sax is going to be in San Francisco at the Jewish Community Center on California near 15th Ave - the Richmond District. Please come out and support his cause to save the deli. I think it costs about 10$ but it said "Expect a delicious surprise." Who know whats that means, but expect something good! I feel sad I couldn't make this event - as I would like to have met some new Bay Area pastrami lovers as well as see David again - don't be sad for me though - like I said I'll be at Carnegie Deli!

The Wood Tavern

This week I have two Bay Area spots to feature - the first is The Wood Tavern on College Ave, North Oakland, but you could throw a rock at Berkeley. I went to this spot the Sunday the Saints were playing the Cardinals with three friends who were all trying not to look at the game, because we had it on pause back home - how impossible!

Whiskey Laced Chicken Liver on the Left (knife attacking!)

We started with the prosciutto and whiskey laced chicken liver, accompanied with a medium cheese. It also came with small mini toasts, a Dijon mustard, and a relish or sorts. It was great to combine the prosciutto, the mustard, some cheese, and a little relish - a definite crowd pleasing taste bud tantalizer. The whiskey laced chicken liver - OMG! That was the best chicken liver I've ever tasted - the only one that'd I've had that was similar to it was The Refuge in San Carlos, CA which was a similar kind of French/California cuisine. The small difference between the two is key in the demographics they attract - The Refuge offers Belgian beers, like Chimay and Duvel attracting a younger college crowd as well as families - The Wood Tavern has lots of wines and attracts a slightly older, artsy crowd from my observations.

Wood Tavern Pastrami

The sandwich came out on a baguette roll with a sharp Dijon mustard - very nice presentation. The pastrami itself was a bit greasy - not the best pastrami - certainly not as good as my last pastrami sandwich I had at Moishe's pippic the day prior. I remembered my conversation with Matt Levin of The Refuge when he told me "You know the taste of pastrami when it hasn't been cooked long enough (properly) it smells a bit like hot dogs." This was what he was talking about, it honestly reminded me of the pastrami I had at Johnny's pastrami in LA except this was spruced up with a french baguette and sharp mustard. The coleslaw was more of a dill tasting slaw, not as sweet with much less mayonnaise - not really my thing but some people liked it. The pastrami I had was just OK but, I think there is alot of potential for this place for me to return. I'd really like to try their pan fried chicken or their duck confit! I think this would be a great place to take a date too, check it out for a more schnazzy option than the average deli.

Manhattan Hub - Reuben

The next place I went to was Manhattan Hub in the Financial District. It was recommended by one of our good pastrami blog readers - Sam. Thanks for the suggestion Sam! I went here on MLK day, they were open till 2 PM. I fumbled with the parking meter that ate my quarter and said out of order and started walking my destination, when I got to the address I was a bit confused. This place is in the back right corner of the building if you're facing the building facade head on - really on Sacramento street, not Sansome.

The Reuben was 7.50$, with that price considered, I was very impressed with the nice marble rye bread Reuben along with the generous portion of coleslaw with a large dill pickle on top. I thought the coleslaw was out of this world good! The pastrami wasn't that great, but not a fail. It had a brine, but a very small one that didn't have a nice thin layer of fat on it that I like seeing on pastrami.The marble rye and Russian dressing were also excellent - it just wasn't that hand sliced or steaming pastrami - it seemed like it was from a pack. Still in terms of the location it's killer - I would definitely eat here regularly for lunch if I worked in the FiDi.

That's all for now folks - I'll have a bunch of material from NYC and I still have plenty to get to in the Bay Area - so expect great things to come!

National Hot Pastrami Day, Mr. Pickles Sandwich Shop

This is an emergency posts of sorts - today is National Hot Pastrami Sandwich day. I was unaware until late last night Max's Deli in Birmingham, Alabama informed me over Facebook about the National holiday. From doing a little more research it looks like the day was conjured up by the deli franchise Togo's. "Our hope is to remind our guests about our fantastic pastrami and add a little spice to their lives on January 14."said Renae Scott, Togo's VP of Marketing. While I'm not a big Togo's fans, I can appreciate what they're trying to do and they are giving away free mini pastrami sandwiches to the first 100 people that show up between 3 and 5 PM today. Take advantage if you feel like it! I think you should celebrate the Holiday by going to your favorite deli and having a pastrami, making sure to thank your deli man for the hard work they put in, just so your lunch tastes good. I'm probably going to Ted's Market around lunchtime for my pastrami. If you go to a deli today or this following weekend to celebrate the holiday please leave comments on the blog letting readers know where you went!

Diyana Sandwich - Mr. Pickles Sandwich Shop

BAM, BAM! The pickle unleashes his mustard and mayo from his bandoleer holster! Mr. Pickles Sandwich Shop is located at South Van Ness and 20th Street in SF, you'll notice the large pickle wood carving resembling a pickle Pancho Villa on the outside.

Don't Mess with Mr. Pickle!

At Mr. Pickles they have specialty sandwiches called things like the SFSU gators, the Station 7, and the Illers. The pastrami sandwich is known as the Diyana. The pastrami is thick and tasty, but falls short of the holy trinity of M's in the city (Miller's, Moishe's, Max's). Afterwards I was upset I didn't get the chicken salad or the station 7 which comes with chicken, honey mustard, and some peppers. I highly recommend Mr. Pickles sandwich shop - but not for the pastrami. What can I say, you live and you learn.

It's about 30 minutes till I head out to Ted's and I've done this post very stealthy at work, just so I could try to post it to get everyone's attention to the National Holiday. January 14th will be on my calendar for years to come as the recognized National Hot Pastrami Day as I hope it will be for all who read this blog.

-Pastrami King

LA - Pastrami Capital of the World!

Part 1 : Fast Food Pastrami

Los Angeles is the Pastrami capital of the world. I was born in San Pedro, went to high school in Palm Desert and I'm proud to say no other city in America can compete to the number restaurants that serve pastrami in the Southland. Take this into consideration: I looked up the word pastrami on one of my favorite sites - yelp. SF yielded 317 results (I swear it's not just me, but I may have skewed the SF #s), Chicago lagged out at 79, Philly a mere 22, NYC only 289. Los Angeles beats them all out with a whopping 476 results. That's over one hundred more than the Bay Area and More than NYC/Philly/Chitown combined. How could this be? Why does LA have more pastrami than any other place in America?

Johnny's Pastrami

The simple, correct answer - the pastrami dip. The Hat is probably the most notorious place to serve this type of sandwich. The first "Hat" was in Alhambra, CA and my dad go there often as a high schooler to go down cheeseburgers with his buddy Bill. He currently works in Alhambra (only for another year old man! tough it out!) and today there is one about 5 minutes from my Dad's house on Atlantic Ave in East Los Angeles, however I did not visit the Hat on this journey - I wanted to try some different takes on the pastrami dip. I made it to Johnny's Pastrami after a night of chilling with my college buddy. I took the 110 South to the 10 West and got off on Crenshaw, pulled into the parking lot and approached the small grated window. "How may I help you." a lady asked, I could tell she had a bit of a chip on her shoulder. "May I get a pastrami sandwich." then she asked the key question "Do you want it dipped?" "Yes, please Ma'am. Thank you, Ma'am." I told her minding my Ps and Qs while being in Mid-City on an unusually chilly, windy LA night. She took out a medium sized roll put some mustard on and proceeded to PILE the pastrami mile high on it till it was bursting out of the bun then she grabbed more and put extra on the top, just so it was beyond bursting...I'm talking alot of meat here. I took it to my car in the parking lot and took a bite.

Johnny's Pastrami Sandwich (only about half pictured!)

Mmm...that's pretty good. The pastrami was fatty, very fatty....the taste bordered on hot dog and that's what my hand smelled like when I was done - like a hot dog. Still pretty damn good - no way they leave you hungry - by far the largest pastrami sandwich I've ever encountered under 10$ and yes they have very good pickles. The Hat and Johnny's Pastrami are probably the most popular fast food pastrami dip joints, but one place has been turning some heads with their take on pastrami.


I had to do some business in Pasadena and finished around lunch time. I thought to myself, "Eagle Rock is pretty close from here." Oinkster is located in an old Wienerschnitzel building in the Eagle Rock Neighborhood of Los Angeles, which is currently thriving after once being a rougher part of town.

This place is very much a fast food joint as they also serve burgers, chicken, shakes, and even some sneaky good cupcakes, but their true passion is their in-house cured pastrami. "We're the only ones that sell this pastrami" the manager behind the counter told me. The Oinkster pastrami is smoked over applewood and cured for two weeks then sliced and served into a roll - fast food style. There is one version that is served with gruyere cheese- how gourmet! I ordered the regular with the Belgian fries which were crispy and delicious.

Oinkster Pastrami W/ Fries

Applewood Smoked Pastrami

So how did the Oinkster taste? Imagine the texture and smokiness of pastrami crossed very much with the taste of applewood smoked bacon you get on some high price burgers. It had a lovely brine and perfect color. Oinkster has truly perfected the fast food pastrami sandwich.

Many fans of Jewish delis just gagged at the first part of my LA post. This version of the pastrami sandwich had to be represented for Los Angeles. It's unique to the area and I have not seen it outside of LA - sorry to say to my new reader Mr. Kirsonis. If you're looking to match this in the Bay Area - I'd say the closest I've had so far would be an AK sub pastrami or Tommy's Joynt (Tommy's review coming soon). They'd probably even dip it just tell them you want a roll and mustard only. It'd be your best shot to get this style pastrami in the City of San Francisco until I find or hear of a pastrami dip in SF.

Part II: The San Fernando Valley

When I was a young child living in the South Bay of LA, I remember my parents referring to the Valley as if it were another country. Things have changed - for one I have a good friend who lives in Woodland Hills - so I had to get over my Fernandophobia. Also, several more very trusted sources have told me great things about Brent's. Save the Deli spoke of their unique homemade kishke dish and Al S. told me "For overall quality on everything - I think Brent's is the best deli of all." As I looked into it more and more I've realized the San Fernando Valley has become a deli Mecca. Brent's has expanded into a new huge location just down the road in Westlake Village. Almost as a direct response, Nate n' Al's of Beverley Hills expanded into the Valley with a location in Thousand Oaks rounding out the already saturated deli scene.

I went to Brent's on a Saturday afternoon with my dad. We met up with his friend and former co-worker, Melinda, who exclaimed to me "I haven't been to Brent's in years!"

Cabbage Soup

She ordered the cabbage soup, which I had the pleasure of finishing. It had small pieces of beef in it and it tasted very good at first, but then seemed a little too sweet as I continued. I still finished the thing down to about nothing because the small pieces of beef were quite succulent.

Stuffed Kishke

The kishke made my dad squirm. You mean you'd eat this over lobster? I'm not a big seafood eater - sorry. My thoughts on the kishke - it was alright, but I don't think I would order it very many times, maybe to show someone who hasn't tried it, but not as a regular thing.

Half Sandwich - Brisket

The #1 - Pastrami, Tomatoes and Russian Dressing

As I looked over the menu I saw that my favorite way to have a pastrami sandwich (pictured above) was the first way they offered it. They read my mind! I found out at Brent's they use something called "black" pastrami, which is extremely lean. Our waitress told us "We can even cut it leaner if you'd like." To be honest I wanted more fat, more flavor. The bread, the dressing, everything else was perfect, but for pastrami it was very good, but short of perfect because of it's lack of fat content. This is however my opinion, some more health-conscience delis might find this information useful. Let me ask a question though - if you wanted lean meat, why didn't you just get the corned beef, a naturally less fatty cut of beef? Despite the leaner pastrami, overall I had a great experience at Brent's and I would definitely return. My dad said his Reuben was "the best he's ever had" which was surprisingly quite easily admitted by an LA guy like himself. I thought the dishes and sides were up there with some of the best traditional Jewish items that I've had - so Al was spot on about overall quality of Brent's - it's top notch!

The next day was Sunday and I headed out to Woodland Hills to meet up with my friend Chris D to watch the football games. After the games, we made it to Nate N' Al's new location in Westlake Village.

As we pulled in the mall parking lot adjacent to the AMC theaters, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this deli - located in the shopping mall center in the SFV. Before we ordered they brought us pickles and rye bread.

Nate N' Al's Rye Bread

As I took my first bite of the rye bread, I gasped - it was some of the best rye bread I've ever had. It had a nice crispy crust, chewy, but not too chewy with just the perfect amount of warmth and rye flavor. I ordered the New York (pastrami, Russian dressing, and coleslaw) and my buddy ordered half corned beef with french fries. He kinda grumbled at the fact they charge more for fries instead of a side salad.

The New York

Potato Pancake

Half Corned Beef w/ Fries

Nate N' Al's pastrami was lovely. It had the right amount of fat content with a smoky brine. The presentation as a whole with the superb double-baked rye was something to behold. Both my friend and I agreed - it was pretty damn amazing!

The next place I went to was on a solo mission - Fromin's in Encino. It's a pretty cool spot I think may have fallen through the cracks in the Valley because of the prolific number of spectacular jewish delis.

Mile-High Pastrami W/ Coleslaw

The sides at Fromin's were damn good! The potato salad pictured above was very creamy and rich. Out of all the potato pancakes I had - I liked the Fromin's one the most.

Fromin's Potato Pancake

The pastrami at Fromin's was proper. Thinly sliced - good flavor. The only thing I can know a point for would be the rye bread. It was good on the softer parts, but the crust was very lacking that chewy goodness that Nate N' Al's had. I still highly recommend Fromin's for lunch. They have a very large menu that could accommodate lots of tastes - sort of like Canter's in West LA. I did visit Canter's but I did not have a pastrami. I only bought things from their bakery, some more of those poppy seed rugelah. My dad and I ate the bag slowly of about 20 small bakery items. It might have lasted about 3 days! Their bakery is one of the main attractions, don't miss it on your way out - you'll thank me.

Part 3 : Langer's Hot Pastrami

With Norm Langer

Langer's is the pastrami institution of Los Angeles. As my friend James put it "How many restaurant's have a square named after them?" For their 60th anniversary an area right outside Alvarado and 7th just adjacent to the restaurant was given to Langer's by the City of Los Angeles. Sax said it was the best pastrami sandwich anywhere - many have expressed the same opinion. I made two trips to the famed deli on my vacation to Los Angeles.

The first time I went was with my friend James, just before christmas. When we walked in the place was packed, barely enough room for us to stand in there to put our name down on the list. We went outside of the restaurant to kill some time, take some pictures and grab a soda. When you exit Langer's, you enter a war zone. It's loud, heavy foot traffic, and rather unappealing, definitely not the most glamorous part of Los Angeles. After about 15 minutes we entered and our table was ready.

As my friend James and I sat down to me he continued to talk about his fondness of Langer's "Katz' has nothing on this place. They herd you in there like cattle, here you sit down at a nice, roomy table and waitresses call you hun." It was true, the scene inside was much nicer, friendlier than what's going on just outside the front doors. "You're getting the #19, right?" James asked me. Normally I get the #29 which comes with just tomatoes and Russians dressing, but I was obliged to do the most popular, famous sandwich at Langer's the #19 which comes with swiss cheese, cole slaw, and russian dressing on rye.

Most Famous Sandwich in LA - Langer's #19

As we scarfed down our pastrami I just thought to myself about all the delis I just had tried. Nate N' Al's really does come close, but nothing in LA beats Langer's pastrami. It's a deeper red than all the others and the bread is a killer double baked rye, crust is perfect. I said to James "You know they hand slice the meat here?" He didn't believe me, "The pieces are way to uniform". On the way out we looked into the window and a guy hand slicing the meat James was stunned. We went back up to his place on the top of Figueroa and started watching Jeopardy. The last question came up and the guy that was in the lead was far ahead and bet 0$ on the last question which he did not know the answer - he simply wrote "Hot Pastrami Sandwiches". I think that made my day even more than the #19.

The next time I went to Langer's was with my father the day after christmas. We drove from his house in Monterey Park to the new Gold Line stop at East LA Civic Center. The red line stops just by Langer's - the first time I went to Langer's was on the train with my Grandfather and I swear to you I remembered the right way out of the subway fifteen years later because of that. I ordered the #29 and a cel-ray. My dad said he would have whatever I was having. I guess I've earned his respect, he now trusts me to order for him. He actually said "I think you may have something with the #29 - I think it's better than the 19." I think it is too. You simply don't need cheese on that tasty pastrami. Russian dressing, tomatoes, and some Gulden's mustard smeared on when you feel and you're perfect.

Ted's LA Favorite - Langer's #29

If you read this whole post (it got a bit lengthy) you've earned a very special thanks from me. There's still lots to explore in Los Angeles and the Bay Area (Wood Tavern, Manhattan hub, and lots of Irish spots)! I'm going to NYC at the end of the month and I hope it can live up to the hype. It couldn't be as good as Langer's or The Refuge my favorite California pastrami - could it?

Al and Pastrami King do Miller's

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a fan of the blog for lunch. His name is Al - I got into contact with him on yelp and he made it up to my office to talk about architectural products. To be honest, we talked business for about 2 minutes and the rest of the talk was a great deli lunch at the best, most complete deli in San Francisco - Miller's East coast Deli.

We arrived around 11:40 to beat the lunch rush, as I was entering I saw the owner Robby Morgenstein working hard someone's order. I had read about Robby in the Save the Deli book and I made contact with him on Facebook - so I was ready to finally meet the man, the legend. I pointed him out to Al as were went to sit down at our table "That's the owner. Let's go say hi to him when we get a chance". I approached Robby and handed him my pastrami king card. "Oh yeah, it's you! You looked a little different in the pictures." Al and I had a nice conversation with him about opening of the deli years ago and also about his meat suppliers. "I rotate between Sy Ginsberg and Robert's Corned Meats. Every week we get palettes of meat!" I know of Robert's Corned Meats - the office is actually one whole block away from my office and I walk past it daily on my way to get a soda from the Shell Station. I did a little more research and they also supply Tommy's Joynt and Brennan's in Berkeley - one of my favorite spots in the East Bay. I shall have to get a tour/interview in the near future.

Before entering Miller's Al gave me a small pep talk - "Anything you haven't had the guts to order here - order it today!" We were on a mission to sample as much as we could for his introduction to Miller's. We got three appetizers - tongue polonaise, stuffed cabbage roll, and stuffed derma (kishka). All appetizers were very good. The tongue had a sweet and sour cabbage sauce that accented the cured meat excellently. The stuffed cabbage rolls reminded me of the cabbage rolls my Polish Grandma used to make. It had meat with small bits of rice in the cabbage roll - very traditional style. I had read about the derma before I ordered it. Someone called it "Old school even compared to New York standards". It looked like small brown hockey pucks smothered in gravy. The taste reminded me of a very rich stuffing in gravy within every bight. These are all great, unique dishes that truly make Miller's the premier Jewish-Style Deli in the Bay Area.

As we were ordering our sandwiches I told Al about the grilled New York style the Miller's does. "The way they grill the bread is outstanding - you have to try it." I sold Al on it and he got a 3-way combo pastrami, corned beef, and tongue while I just stuck to the pastrami. As you can see, both sandwiches look so large they could humble even the hungriest fresser. As soon as Al bit into his 3-way he exclaimed "This is just as good as my favorite spot in LA (Brent's in Northridge)". Coming after the smorgasbord of appetizers, Al and I were only able to finish half of our sandwiches, but I was very happy to take them home. Al wanted me to take his half as well because he was headed to Saul's in Berkeley that night to check out the digs of the East Bay chic deli - What a true deli lover! I took the sandwiches back in my car to work. When I left my office at 5 PM, I stepped in my car and the smell of Miller's hit me in the nose...hmm that makes me think - Deli air freshener's for cars? I looked it up and they do have bacon flavored air fresheners but not deli. Who would buy them? Probably Al for one! I want to thank AL so much for coming to lunch with me. He gave Miller's such a good review on yelp, Mr. Morgenstein himself asked me to thank him. Check out Al's yelp reviews here. He's very through with his reviews and he does a great job with his photo spreads - an awesome yelp profile! Thanks once again to Al for the photos!


This is a nice corned beef sandwich I made at work. It's just Primo Taglio corned beef on Corn rye bread with Beaver's hot mustard. I used a whole package of the meat to make it proper size. All in all, it was better than the sandwich I had at a place in Berkeley called the Stuffed Inn. I read about the Stuffed Inn and made the trip with my friend the brisket baron. When I ordered the double pastrami with cheese I was upset to learn they were out of rye bread, and on top of that the pastrami was some lunch meat equivalent to the one above. The saving grace of the Stuffed inn was their vegan split pea soup and their cookies. I told my buddy "This is like a 3 star on yelp, but a complete fail for the pastrami blog." I have some pictures which were hi-jacked by the brisket baron on his trip to Florida - I'll post them later on.

I just found out that I have all of next week off of work. I previously said I was going to be in the Bay for the next for posts, but this looks like the next one is going to be in LA. I have 9 days to roam my old home and check out some spot's I haven't gotten around to trying, as well as the obligatory trip to Langer's.