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

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

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

MyWeekendPassport.com: If there’s a deli in heaven, I’m sure the #19 is on their menu

Alex of MyWeekendPassport.com recently visited Langer’s for the first time since moving to Los Angeles and had a great write-up as a result:

It took me way too long to come here, I soon discovered after my first bite into the Number 19 Sandwich. After coming here with my friend PJ, I took one bite and exclaimed a big “WOW” out loud. Everything that’s been written about this sandwich on Yelp and other blogs is so true that I don’t even know what to add. I can only say that I had just an amazing experience as everyone else.

It’s a great article with fantastic pictures, and worth a click over to read. Thank you, Alex!

SavetheDeli.com: Hand Slicing

David Sax of SavetheDeli.com has an interesting piece up on the merits and traditions behind hand-slicing deli meats.

At Langer’s Delicatessen, in Los Angeles–home to the greatest pastrami sandwich in America–owner Norm Langer took a blackened piece of pastrami out of the steam box, slapped it on the wooden counter, and began methodically slicing, flipping the meat over and around, excising tough connective tissue. “When you cut it on a machine, you won’t cut out this,” Norm said, removing a slimy yellow membrane with a twist of the knife. “This thing is like chewing a racquetball. It has the consistency of a diaphragm. If you cut your meat on a machine, that is going to be in your sandwich.”

Read the complete story here – it’s definitely worth the click

Langer’s is hosting an exclusive booksigning event with David Sax on October 28th – click here to sign up now for this limited availability event! The event includes lunch, a signed copy of David’s book (plus a chance to meet David), and a $10 Langer’s Gift Certificate for use on a subsequent visit to the restaurant.

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New York Times: David Sax Profile

The New York Times’ Dining and Wine Section writer Joan Nathan did a great profile of author David Sax on the eve of the release of his “Save The Deli” book. The profile features the writer and Sax visiting delis in Newark (home of Langer’s founder Al Langer) and discussing the state of the Jewish deli from his perspective.

And in his book he considers the pairing of “slowly steamed pastrami and hot crusty double-baked rye bread infused with caraway seeds” at Langer’s Delicatessen and Restaurant in Los Angeles a perfect sandwich.

Read the complete profile here at NYTimes.com

Langer’s is hosting an exclusive booksigning event with David Sax on October 28th – click here to sign up now for this limited availability event! The event includes lunch, a signed copy of David’s book (plus a chance to meet David), and a $10 Langer’s Gift Certificate for use on a subsequent visit to the restaurant.

Image courtesy NYTimes.com

Las Vegas Weekly: Proper Pastrami

Max Jacobsen of the Las Vegas Weekly had a great story up on their website about delicious pastrami:

For me, then, the Holy Grail of American pastrami is at Langer’s in LA, with Katz’s in New York City close behind. Both slow-steam and hand-cut their meat, but I’d give Langer’s the nod because the meat is served on double-baked rye bread from Fred’s Bakery on Robertson Boulevard.

Click here to read the complete article. It’s a great piece – thanks, Max!

AmateurGourmet.com: On Pastrami

We found this wonderful article on pastrami over at AmateurGourmet.com, a terrific food blog and culinary resource site. Here’s site author Adam Roberts:

It’s almost taken for granted that the best pastrami anywhere is in Manhattan. Specifically, the Lower East Side at Katz’s….

And yet, several years ago, in a Food Issue of the New Yorker, Nora Ephron shocked the pastrami-eating community by declaring the best pastrami in the world to be the pastrami at Langer’s in Los Angeles.

“Egads!” cried the pastrami-eating community. “Whatever does she mean?”
…
Nora Ephron was right: this WAS the best pastrami I ever had.

Click over and read Adam’s entire article, and browse around. You’ll be glad you did. Thanks, Adam! We hope to see you soon at Langer’s.

LA Weekly: Langer’s Makes Gold’s 99 Essential LA Restaurants List

Langer’s is proud to announce our inclusion in Jonathan Gold’s “99 Essential LA Restaurants” list for 2009, now appearing here in the current issue of the LA Weekly (pick it up!). Here’s a sampling of Jonathan’s very kind words for our pastrami:

The late Al Langer was among the last of the great deli men, a guy who could talk to you about sandwiches until your ears fell off but more importantly, knew the contours of a pastrami the way a great sushi chef does a side of tuna. In the course of the half-block walk from the Alvarado Blue Line station to his delicatessen, you smell the food from a half-dozen Central American countries, pass within sight of Mexican street murals, and are offered the opportunity to buy a counterfeit green card. Within the deli itself, run by his son Norm, you may wait for a table with customers speaking every language but Yiddish.

Bite into a Langer’s pastrami sandwich: thick slices of hand-sliced beef, glistening with peppery fat, as dense and as smoky as Texas barbecue; thickly cut seeded corn rye, hot, crisp-crusted and soft inside, with a slightly sour tang that helps tame the richness of the meat; a dab of yellow mustard, as important to the whole as a sushi master’s wasabi, and you’ll know the inescapable fact: Langer’s serves the best pastrami sandwich in America.

Click here to read the complete article in the LA Weekly

DigLounge.com: Langer’s vs. Katz’s Pastrami Showdown

Matt Mitchell’s new LA-centric portal DigLounge.net has an interesting head-on comparison between Katz’s Delicatessen of New York and Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant of Los Angeles. It’s an even-handed approach that takes on all elements of the dining experience: location and transit, environment, dining experience, and of course, food quality.

The competition: pastrami sandwiches. Matt had seen Rob Eshman’s report from the Jewish Journal on David Sax’s new book “Save The Deli,” and felt compelled to take on David’s assertion that LA is the new premiere deli town.

The result? We’re pleased to announce that Matt’s final decision was – Langer’s hot pastrami. Thanks, Matt – we’ll see you again soon for another sandwich, we hope!

While it’s a very close race, and Katz’s may win for locale and hours, but I lean towards Langer’s for it’s thin sliced, delectable, melt in your mouth pastrami.

Click here to read the complete article at DigLounge.net.