Gianpiero Leone of El Niño Angeleno had a great post about visiting Langer’s recently on his well-written blog:
I had lunch today at the famous Langer’s Deli in MacArthur Park. A Los Angeles institution established in 1947 by Mr. Al Langer, Langer’s Deli serves up some of the best eats in the city and if you are from the east coast you surely will not be disappointed.
Thanks to Google Alerts, we re-discovered this gem of a story on Langer’s written back in 1997 by Denise Hamilton for the Los Angeles Times. Here’s a sample:
LOS ANGELES — Al Langer, whose pungent pastrami on chewy rye is widely considered the best in Los Angeles, knows it takes more than a tasty sandwich to keep a delicatessen afloat for half a century.
In part, it’s a crapshoot, admits the 84-year-old patriarch of Langer’s Deli, which has seen good times and bad in the MacArthur Park neighborhood where he opened shop 50 years ago this month with $500 in his pocket.
But the scrappy New Jerseyite says it’s also a matter of knowing when to hold, what to fold and how to change with the times.
Take the deli’s location. As the once-prosperous commercial and residential Jewish neighborhood became filled with struggling Central American refugees, Langer held on, convinced that there would always be customers for his matzo brei, kippers and those fat, famous sandwiches.
Maybe so, but not at night or on Sundays anymore.
MosaikaDesign.com has an interesting visual collection of the many tiles created by artist Sonia Romero for the Westlake Metro station. Her work includes a great one of Norm and Al Langer, sitting in a booth at the restaurant.
Langer’s received a very nice mention in the Cooking Corner: Homemade Pastrami article by David W. Cowles, carried by the Peninsula Gateway (www.gateline.com). In the article, which discusses the merits of and tasks behind creating your own pastrami at home, David discusses the historical background of pastrami preparation, its Romanian roots, and the non-controversy over which delicatessen has the world’s best pastrami:
New Yorkers may be partial to Katz’s, but the reputation for having the best pastrami in the United States (and probably the entire world) goes to Langer’s, a Los Angeles deli that’s been around since 1947.
Langer’s is located at 7th and Alvarado near downtown, a few blocks from MacArthur Park, in what is now a heavily Latino neighborhood. The founder, Al Langer, passed away in June 2007 at 94.
Right up to the time he died, he went into the deli several times a week for a few hours to help with the lunch crowd and to greet old customers. His son, Norm Langer, runs the place. Norm has worked the deli — a family affair — since 1963.
At Langer’s, you order pastrami sandwiches by the number. No. 1 is pastrami, cole slaw and Russian dressing. Add Swiss cheese and the number changes to 19. Pastrami, chopped liver, and Russian dressing is No. 6. A grilled pastrami, sauerkraut and “nippy” (American) cheese is No. 44.
And there are more. These sandwiches are on rye bread baked by Bea’s Bakery in Tarzana.
Thanks for the kind words, David!