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We recently heard from Robert Novak, producer of this short film, and took a look at it. It’s hysterical, and a great example of Jewish humor that should bring a smile to your face. Thank you, Robert!
Travel writer Richard Atkins recently paid Los Angeles a visit and included Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant on his itinerary. His reaction to his first visit to Langer’s?
Spending most of my adult life in New York City, I’ve become somewhat of a fanatical connoisseur of great delicatessen and no one does deli like New York. That is until now. Across from the famed MacArthur Park is Langers Delicatessen. Proud recipient of the James Beard Foundation Award, Langers opened its hallowed doors in 1947 with a whopping 12 seats. Through trials and tribulations, adversity and screams of “there goes the neighborhood,” the restaurant has stood the proverbial test of time.
Moreover, it’s satisfied those ruthless deli aficionados who will run you out of town if they think your pastrami is not up to their pretentious standards. The potato latkes alone are enough to send you into delirium. However, while you’re savoring their aftertaste, ecstasy is just around the corner with the No. 19. Pastrami, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and L’Chaim! You’re on top of the world.
Besides the pastrami melting in your mouth, the real secret is the double baked and steamed rye bread, which is softer than a 1,200-thread-count Egyptian Cotton sheet. Don’t forget to say hi to Norm Langer when you’re there. He’s the friendliest host you could ever meet and the perfect gentleman. Bravo, Norm!
It’s a great article so we recommend you click here to read the complete piece
Thank you again, Richard – The Langers
Norm Langer surprised 710 ESPN High Noon Showdown hosts Andrew Siciliano and Mychal Thompson today with a very special creation for Mychal – the #43 Mychal Thompson Sandwich. Created using a whole loaf of honey wheat bread and all the ingredients of our traditional #19 (only much bigger – 2.5 pounds of steaming hot pastrami, cole slaw, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese), the #43 was specially designed to address Mychal’s belief that Langer’s sandwiches are better tasting with honey wheat bread (yikes!) and not our delicious rye bread.
Show producer Drew Belzer kept Norm’s walk-in visit a complete surprise from Mychal and Andrew, who were genuinely shocked to see Norm walk in with a tinfoil-enshrouded mystery present for Mychal. Norm proceeded to describe how he had listened to last week’s Langer’s visit when we brought lunch in for the entire crew of 710 ESPN, and was shocked to learn that Mychal had (in anticipation of the free food) brought in his own honey wheat bread to re-make his sandwich more to his liking. Despite honey wheat being borderline heretical to a good Jewish deli sandwich, Norm felt it was his duty to bring something more to Mychal’s taste. We even brought Mychal a full bottle of mayonnaise (his favorite condiment), another heretical moment that nearly caused Andrew to walk out of the studio in protest.
In all, it was a great visit and Mychal was a terrific sport about it. In fact, he plans to take the huge, oversized sandwich with him on his flight to London accompanying the Los Angeles Lakers for their European exhibition trip beginning with an October 4th game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at London’s O2 Arena. It’s our guess the #43 will be long gone by then, though.
Enjoy, Mychal – and don’t forget the mayo!
Click here to listen to the show – scroll to 12:00 for Norm’s segment
The Los Angeles Weekly’s Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold – a true Friend of Langer’s – was recently asked by a reader what he would have catered at his funeral. His answer?
But who am I kidding? In my family, funerals are occasions to stuff down truly heroic amounts of deli, and when I have to go, I will die as I lived: seen off with Langer’s pastrami.
Food travel blog TNT Adventures recently visited Langer’s Delicatessen and enjoyed a delicious #19 sandwich:
The outer crust of the rye bread is crispy while the inner part of the bread is quite soft. I love sinking my teeth into the generous portion of the smokey flavored pastrami and swiss cheese. I would think the cole slaw would come as a side, but piled atop of the pastrami just completes this delicious sandwich altogether. Every bite is scrumptious!
Norm Langer visited the Carmax studios of 710 ESPN AM today to guest-judge the Langer’s Lunch High Noon Showdown with Andrew Siciliano and Laker legend Mychal Thompson. But there was an even bigger reason for Norm’s visit – the debut of the Langer’s High Noon Showdown Tailgate Special – a feast of Langer’s food that’s enough to serve eight hungry tailgate fans for a great value price of only $99.95.
As Norm explained, because college football is so popular in Los Angeles, it makes total sense for Langer’s to offer something special for ESPN listeners and college football fans across Southern California. Just order by 3PM the day before you’d like to pick it up, and we’ll have it ready for you. (Note, no substitutions, thank you!)
Here are some great photos from the big day – thank you, Andrew, Mychal, producer Drew Belzer, and everyone at 710 ESPN. We are proud to be associated with you all.
Jason and Erin E. Barrett recently visited Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant and the results are nothing short of amazing. The reason, you see, is that Jason is a professional photographer, and Erin is a professional writer. The combination is nothing short of compelling:
Now, I am not a food critic, nor am I a professional blogger on the topic of food, but I will do my best to describe the experience. I am not a huge fan of the cured meats (bacon excluded), but for this particular sandwich, I will make an exception. In the past, I have had pastrami that was too fatty, too dry, and just too much. But this was a special brand of pastrami, my friends. The meat itself was a gorgeous red wine color, with a dark, almost black crust on the outside. The chefs were generous, but there wasn’t too much meat, as so often is the case with pastrami sandwiches. On top of the hot pastrami rested the coleslaw (just juicy enough), the dressing, and the cheese. All of these ingredients were piled high, but well contained in the most perfect rye bread I have ever eaten. The crusts were perfectly crisp, but the center of the bread remained soft and pliable, so that when you picked up the sandwich, the bread seemed to form around the ingredients inside, creating a kind of bread cage for all the goodness within.
Yep, it’s that good. Click here to read the entire essay and view Jason’s awesome imagery of the visit
The Huffington Post has released a list of the top delis in Los Angeles, and Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant is number one on the list. Here’s their introduction to the slideshow-article:
Last year, a book called “Save the Deli” by David Sax made a bold claim: “Brace yourself New York, because what I am about to write is definitely going to piss a lot of you off, but it needs to be said: Los Angeles has become America’s premier deli city.” And why not? Sax argues that while New York delis have degenerated into tourist traps, ours are “functioning” and “relevant” staples in our restaurant landscape. High five, LA! Let’s keep our matzo ball soup schmaltzy and our pastrami piled high. Here’s a round up of the best delis this city has to offer.
Click here to see all of their picks for best delis in Los Angeles
The Minty has published an interesting take on Langer’s pastrami from the perspective of someone trying to transition away from dairy products:
This week I was telling someone about my love for pastrami. Like most Angelenos, I love Langer’s. However, I have been trying to give up dairy. I continue to eat dairy sporadically but if I can skip it, I do.
Click here to read the complete transition to Langer’s no. 1
The writers of Refined Palate visited Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant again this past week, with another great eating experience immortalized in words and imagery:
#19, very famous…after 39 years of eating this sandwich I’m still impressed with the wonderful rye bread [I bought a loaf of bread and a quart of soup for tomorrow night]. The hand carved pastrami has a layer of swiss cheese with a generous portion of delicious slaw and topped with Russian Dressing.
Click here to read the complete story and see all the images