Backword.com: Interview with Christopher Meeks

Literary site Backword.com has a profile by R. J. Keller of acclaimed author Christopher Meeks on the release of his new book The Brightest Moon of the Century. In a surprise twist, it turns out the Meeks’ favorite is Langer’s pastrami:

R.J. Keller: Tell us about your apparent obsession with pastrami.

Christopher Meeks: Ha! You saw that from my website. Over the years, I’d noticed that many restaurants in Los Angeles would say, “The World’s Best Pastrami.” I hated pastrami, but I decided if there’s a true “best,” perhaps there was something better than I’d ever had. I could be open-minded. So over the course of a week, I went to three places that proclaimed they had the best pastrami. They first two places I didn’t particularly like, even though the restaurants were crowded. Then I went to Langer’s Deli near downtown Los Angeles by MacArthur Park. Wow. Even thinking about it makes me want to go back. It was like great steak with a coleslaw topping. It’s the best!

Click here to read the complete article

HuffingtonPost.com: LA’s New Top Cop Talks

The Huffington Post news portal has an excellent interview by Tina Daunt with new Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck. In the piece, it’s revealed that outgoing Chief William Bratton had recommended Chief Beck for elevation to the top position; that officers no longer need to wear their ties with long-sleeved shirts (except at official functions, of course); and that his favorite Langer’s sandwich is…., well, here’s the interview excerpt:

So, I heard you love Langer’s?

Yeah, I do love Langer’s.

Are you a Number 19 fan?

No. A half of a number 10 (pastrami with swiss cheese) on rye toast. Ask anybody there. They all know.

Click here to read the complete interview at The Huffington Post

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