LATimes.com: An epiphany, and an evolving philosophy of policing

Los Angeles Police Department Chief-designate Charlie Beck received a thoughtful and well-written profile in today’s Los Angeles Times, discussing his evolution as an officer across 30 years of service, and his policing philosophies that led to his recent selection by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

One section of the article focuses on Beck’s tenure as head of Rampart Division, which encompasses the area around MacArthur Park (home of Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant):

Soon after being hired as chief in 2002, William J. Bratton identified Beck, by then a captain in the department’s rough Central Division, as someone who he believed had potential.

He sent Beck to run the Rampart Division, which was still recovering from a corruption scandal, and tasked him with one of the high-profile assignments aimed at winning back some of the public’s confidence.

…

Beck seized the chance. He reached out to a nascent core of local business owners and leaned on other city agencies to return the park’s lighting, sports facilities and landscaping to working order.

…

“They had to own the problem,” Beck said, using a favorite catch phrase. “I told them, ‘This is our problem, we are going to fix this.’ Everyone had to be involved. And we started talking about how we were going to do it. I told them, ‘When we get done with this, we won’t make any arrests in the park.'”

Click here to read the complete story at LATimes.com

Image caption: Chief-designate Charlie Beck enjoys lunch last week at Langer’s; LA Times photo

710 ESPN Radio: Langer’s at Lunch

As you may know, Langer’s Delicastessen-Restaurant is sponsor of 710 ESPN AM Radio’s “LA Sports Live” and the High Noon Showdown – a caller prize giveaway where hosts Andrew Siciliano and Mychal Thompson square off on the topics of the day, as suggested by producer Drew Belzer.

In case you haven’t had a chance to catch the program itself, here is a segment from November 6, 2009, when Norm Langer visited the studio with a care package of #19 hot pastrami sandwiches for the hosts and staff of 710 ESPN.

Click here to listen to 710 ESPN now

LA Weekly: Pastrami Battle, Langer’s Vs. Langer’s

Here’s something you just don’t see every day – someone pitting two Langer’s sandwiches against one another! But somehow it manages to work, as you can see in Noah Galuten’s piece for the Squid Ink food blog at LAWeekly.com:

The real question, though, as has been passionately argued multiple times on Chowhound, is which particular Langer’s pastrami sandwich is the best in the world. So is it the #19, their most popular sandwich, which features the classic pastrami on rye, but with Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and coleslaw? Or is it, quite simply, a small mound of pastrami, slid between two slices of rye bread and nothing more? With more years than I care to admit since my last visit to Langer’s, it is time to put these sandwiches to the test.

So what did Noah decide? You’ll have to read the complete post to find out!

Click here to read Noah’s pastrami challenge post and view the delicious photographs – thanks, Noah!

Life and Times of an LA Girl: Langer’s Deli

A new blog called Life and Times of an LA Girl recently posted a terrific experience-review of visiting Langer’s – it’s one of our favorites already:

Langer’s Deli off of Alvarado and 7th is a blast from the past, and a true LA gem. I’ve been going for the last year and have never once been disappointed. Everyone is so friendly, Greg the host welcomes you back every time with a big smile on his face, and seats you right away. Within seconds, Sal or another waiter will be over to take your order. You sit in brown leather booths, with faux wood tables and small partitions that separate you from the other diners.

And it gets better from there!

Click here to read the complete review

Flickr: djjewlz’s #28 mini-slideshow

Via LAist.com, we’ve discovered this great, 4-image mini-slideshow by Flickr contributor djjewelz on his encounter with the legendary Langer’s #28 sandwich, the Fresser’s Special. Great on-the-spot photography turns this fantastic, mouth-watering sandwich experience into a work of art. Thanks, djjewelz! Make sure you say hi next time you’re in the restaurant.

Click here to view djjewelz’s 4-image mini-slideshow at Flickr

Thanks to LAist.com for this tip – click here to read their story referencing David Sax’s “Save the Deli” proclamation as LA being top deli town and Langer’s being the world’s best pastrami

LA Downtown News: The Golden Age, Part II

Los Angeles Downtown News has an interesting story on the new Gold Line extension into East Los Angeles and references the local impact potential by recalling how the Red Line opening in the early 1990s transformed the fortunes of nearby businesses – including Langer’s:

When the Metropolitan Transportation Authority opened the first segment of the Red Line subway in 1993, the agency expected it to support two rush hours. But the line that now connects Downtown with North Hollywood, and has a stop in MacArthur Park, generated three peak usage times: In addition to the morning and evening work commutes, a lunchtime rush resulted, said Art Leahy, Metro’s CEO.

“With the Red Line, everyone was getting on the train to go to lunch, to go to Langer’s,” Leahy said, referring to the famous deli at Seventh and Alvarado streets.

Click here to read the complete article

Los Angeles Magazine: Meat and Greet

Our friends at Los Angeles Magazine attended David Sax’s “Save the Deli” booksigning event at Langer’s on October 28, 2009, and filed this report on their “The Digest Blog”:

“The gangs are waiting for me back in New York!” joked David Sax, author of the new book Save the Deli, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) before a crowd of about 50 who’d gathered to fress and hear him speak at Langer’s Delicatessen yesterday afternoon in what has to be the most unorthodox Vroman’s Bookstore reading of all time. Sax was referring to the scornful reaction from New York’s deli-going denizens incited by perhaps the ballsiest assertion in his new book: that L.A. is the best deli town in the country. Sax, who is from Toronto (full disclosure: we’re old friends from that city; he now lives in Brooklyn), refuses to take sides. “I’m not even from New York! I’m a neutral third party, like all Canadians!”

Click here to read the complete article at LAMag.com

BlogDowntown.com: Counter Culture: Langer’s Deli

Longtime Friend of Langer’s Ed Fuentes of BlogDowntown.com and View From A Loft covered our David Sax booksigning for “Save the Deli” on October 28, 2009, and filed this awesome report from the day of the event. The clip includes Ed’s trademark amazing still photography montaged with an interview of David Sax discussing his book and Langer’s in particular. Thanks, Ed!

Click here to read the complete story on BlogDowntown.com

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GoodGreasyEats.com: Langer’s Deli, L.A. – The Pyramid of Pastrami

Gary Weinberg of GoodGreasyEats.com made the trip to Los Angeles recently and experienced Langer’s hot pastrami for the first time. We’ll let him take it from here:

Just looking at this brilliant sandwich made me want to attack it like a fat kid going after an ice cream cake. I sunk my teeth in to the Pastrami, and then was whisked away into a different dimension of deliciously smoked, tender lunch meats. Oy Vey, it went down like BUTTER (that’s for you Grandma)!

’m really not an expert in Pastrami, but I think I figured out why this stuff just melts in your mouth. I’ve had Pastrami at a few different places in different parts of the country. The Langer’s difference is that it’s hand-carved pretty thick, it’s sugar cured and peppered, BUT….here’s the kicker: it’s slightly fatty. Not too fatty that it’s unpleasant, but just enough to give it some good flavor during the smoking and steaming process. Of course, that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Click here to read the entire (and very entertaining!) story at GoodGreasyEats.com

NBCLosAngeles: Los Angeles Named Deli Capital (Sorry, NY)

Great coverage of David Sax’s “Save the Deli” book over at NBCLosAngeles.com’s Around Town / Food & Drink blog this week:

Anyone who’s had the No. 19 at Langer’s already knows what David Sax has discovered: Los Angeles is the deli capital of the world.

In his new book, “Save The Deli,” Sax says forget about New York. LA is for lovers of sandwiches.

“It’s a very difficult business to be in, but the [delis] that are most inspiring, the ones that people cling to, the ones that people enshrine for years and years are the traditional Jewish delis. And Los Angeles just happens to have more of them than any city I’ve been to,” Sax [said]…

Check it out here