Los Angeles Times: Double-dipping waiters sandwiched between two delis

The Los Angeles Times has published an interesting story about Langer’s servers who also work at Canter’s on Fairfax. The story features two of our servers, Sal and Eva, and includes a mini-photo essay on Sal at work:

Salvador Lopez, a waiter at Langer’s, has the routine down pat. After a hectic lunch shift serving sandwiches on rye at the pastrami mecca next to MacArthur Park, he negotiates a series of surface streets — up Normandie, across Beverly — to make his way into the Fairfax district.

He beelines into the locker room of another renowned Jewish deli, shedding the signature Langer’s bow tie for a tight-fitting black T-shirt that reads: I ♥ Canter’s.

Lopez is not a delicatessen double agent, funneling trade secrets on Russian dressing and blintzes. The 29-year-old is one of several waiters who openly works at two of the delis that compete for the title of Los Angeles’ best.

Click here to read the complete story

Uncouth Gourmands: Savoring My Cultural Roots

Carina Ost of UncouthGourmands.com recently visited Langer’s Deli and had a great experience – but we’ll just let her describe it – it’s a great write-up:

The number 19 has thick pieces of pastrami, swiss cheese, coleslaw, and russian dressing. In the words of Joe Jackson, “Nineteen Forever!” It was so OMG! Anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge bread snob and this rye was fresh and perfect.

If you live in LA and have not been, this is a place that is not to be missed.

Click here to read the complete review

Funny Yummiez: Langer’s is My Little Slice of Heaven

Food blog Funny Yummiez posted a review of their recent visit to Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant and it’s a good one:

I love pastrami. Not the pre-packaged super deli-sliced thin type but the real juicy business. And Langer’s is some of the best pastrami that I’ve ever had. Like my friend said, “The meat melts like butter”. I never even eat coleslaw but in the #19 sandwich, I devour it all. The #19 comes with the best Russian dressing that I’ve ever tasted, delicious Swiss Cheese, crunchy yummy coleslaw, and the most wonderful Pastrami that has ever touched my lips. And the bread! Oh my! It’s the best rye bread and its so soft and fluffy but the crust is crunchy and perfect!

Click here to read the complete review

Yutjangsah: Langer’s of Los Angeles

Ready for a fun, well-written and nicely illustrated review of the Langer’s Experience? Then click right over to Yutjangsah for her recent appraisal of a visit to Langer’s:

The most outrageously fantastic revelatory thing about this sandwich was the rye bread. I’ve never had such excellent thick soft cushiony UPHOLSTERED rye bread. My word. The crust too was something else. It not only aspired to a baguette like rind, I’m tempted to say, it exceeded it. I know! What on earth! And the strong rye smell. My goodness. It was potent. It was more rye than your rye. It was ryer than thou.

Yep, it’s all like that – fun and very well written. Click here to read the complete review at Yutjangsah.

Unvegan.com: Legendary Meat at Langer’s Deli

Food review (and unabashed carnivore) site Unvegan.com published a review of their recent visit to Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant, and it’s instantly become one of our favorites:

All-too-often restaurants claim to have “the best” blah blah blah in the world, but sometimes there is a restaurant that makes no claim to have the best of anything and lets the customers tell the good news. Langer’s Deli is one of the latter. Located in the not-so-posh neighborhood of MacArthur Park, Langer’s has become known for their pastrami. Many who have tried it have claimed it is the best ever, so to do the unvegan world a favor, I had to try it out myself.

…

Wow, Langer’s was awesome. I had some pretty high expectations and this deli more than met them. Langer’s Deli is now the barometer by which I shall judge all Jewish-style pastrami sandwiches.

Click here to read the complete review at Unvegan.com

LAist: Eating on the Purple Line

LAist.com published a new entry in their “Recession Obsession” low-cost eating series, this time focusing on options along the Metro’s Purple Line (the subway service between downtown and Koreatown that overlays portions of the Red Line):

Westlake / MacArthur Park

  • Mama’s Tamales reminds us that the tamale is art, and art is love.
  • Langer’s may not be as cheap as, perhaps, all of its neighbors, but history is delicious with their legendary deli menu.

Click here to read the complete article at LAist.com

710 ESPN Radio: Dexter from Fontana

We just had to share this audio clip with you from a recent Langer’s Lunch High Noon Showdown, the midday prize competition on 710AM ESPN Los Angeles where listeners “compete” as hosts Andrew Siciliano and Mychal Thompson square off on the topics of the day, as suggested by producer Drew Belzer.

In this clip, listener Dexter from Fontana is the winner thanks to Andrew Siciliano’s strong answers to Belzer’s questioning, and Dexter reveals only last week, as a result of hearing our spots on 710 ESPN, he drove ALL THE WAY IN from FONTANA and got curb service hot pastrami and LOVED IT! Thanks, Dexter – and now you have a $50 gift certificate from Langer’s to enjoy on your next visit, courtesy of 710 ESPN and Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant.

Click here to visit Andrew and Mychal’s show page at ESPNLosAngeles.com

Click here to listen to 710 ESPN now

And make sure you listen weekdays at noon for the Langer’s Lunch High Noon Showdown – call in and you may be a winner of a Langer’s $50 gift certificate!

Chowhound.com: Langer’s Voted No. 1 in Los Angeles

The sophisticated food lovers of Chowhound.com (one of the internet’s most popular food-related destinations) have spoken – and they’ve voted Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant NUMBER ONE in Los Angeles for 2009! Langer’s would like to thank each person who voted for us – we greatly appreciate your support and dedication.

Langer’s narrowly beat out “world-class seafood emporium” Providence on Melrose to win the $25 and under category:

This year, by the barest of margins, pastrami trumped lobster and MacArthur Park trumped Melrose.

For the eighth year, Los Angeles Chowhounders have expressed their opinions about what constitutes “the ultimate Los Angeles restaurant”, following the dictum established by the poll’s founder, Mr. Grub: “The concept is simple: everyone is asked to list, in rank order, your five top restaurants in Los Angeles County that you would recommend to houndly out-of-town visitors or to Chowfriends for a special occasion. Since we worship at the altar of deliciousness, your ranking should be based 75% on food and 25% on everything else.”

For the last three years, the world-class seafood emporium Providence has owned the top spot in the Los Angeles Ultimate Chowhound. Last year, for the first time I ran two polls, one for restaurants in the category of over $25 per person for food, and the other in the category of $25 or less for food. Langer’s, home to what even the most chauvinist New York deli partisans will concede is the best pastrami sandwich in the U.S., received no votes in the 2007 poll. Last year, it rocketed to second place. This year, Langer’s has beat Providence by two points.

Click here to read the complete article at Chowhound

LA Weekly: Jonathan Gold on Langer’s

Food critic Jonathan Gold of the LA Weekly published a recommendation of Langer’s in this week’s issue depicted above.

Jonathan puts it best:

The fact is inescapable: Langer’s serves the best pastrami sandwich in America

Note that Langer’s is actually at the Westlake Station of the Metro RED Line; the Blue line goes to Long Beach, far away from the delicious taste of Langer’s!

Click here to visit the LA Weekly online

Jeany923Now.com: The Pastrami Sandwich

Bicoastal blog Jeany923Now.com discusses the author’s east coast – west coast preferences on pastrami:

As most of you know, I spent a good chunk of my life in Los Angeles as well. In LA with all my bulemic In and Out, Del Taco, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and El Pollo Loco fast food binges, there were times I just craved a good old chunky pastrami sandwich with jewish rye.

…

Langer’s actually has a pastrami sandwich on par with Katz and Carnegie; It’s the best in LA….Langer’s Pastrami Sandwiches are also a good $3 cheaper than Carnegie or Katz.

Click here to read the complete article