The Pinnacle of Pastrami
Langer's classic sandwich is the standout amid its traditional Jewish deli fare
By Richard Foss
The classic Jewish deli is an endangered species in Los Angeles. You can get a pastrami sandwich or a corned beef on rye just about anywhere, but most are pale shadows of the real thing. Authentic delis serve a richer, better product, and they're worth going well out of your way to experience. One of the best is in a seemingly unlikely neighborhood at Seventh and Alvarado streets. But Langer's was established in 1947, when this was a Jewish area, and stayed exactly the same even as the surrounding region became predominately Latino.
I went there recently with a friend who grew up in a Jewish neighborhood and fancies herself an expert on good delis. This being Los Angeles, it didn't matter that she grew up speaking Japanese at home - you don't have to be Jewish to appreciate a Jewish deli any more than you have to be Buddhist to like tempura.
We ordered some of the more traditional items: a kishka, latkes, a potato knish, and, of course, a pastrami sandwich. Kishka ($4.25) is a meatless sausage that tastes slightly like a British banger with the meat left out. Those who know British food will recognize that this isn't much of a change, since bangers are often 90 percent bread. Kishkas leave out the meat deliberately, substituting a mix of shredded vegetables, matzo flour, spices, and chopped onion. Langer's has the best I've tried, especially with the mushroom and tomato gravy on the side. The kishka's firm skin and soft interior had just enough textural variety to be interesting, and the mild but flavorful gravy made it a worthwhile side order.
I was more familiar with the knish ($2.35), though I had been unimpressed upon every previous encounter with them. A knish is a ball of lightly spiced mashed potatoes that have been baked inside a crust. Theoretically, this can be crisp on the outside and light on the inside, but I've never had one that actually fit that description. The more usual outcomes are crisp but heavy, or light but with a gummy crust. Alas, the Langer's knish had a light interior but a pasty crust. My friend gave it high marks for the spicing but said it seemed to have been microwaved, which is apparently a serious error.
Our side order of the potato pancakes called latkes ($4.25) was much more successful. They were crisp and arrived hot, and we made short work of them.
At last it was time for the item Langer's is famous for, its pastrami sandwich. While that might sound ordinary, the pastrami here is different from any other you'll find in L.A. Langer's cooks pastrami so that it loses up to a third of its weight but becomes much more tender and intensely flavored, and serves it on crusty rye that's been made by the same bakery for 40 years. At $9 a sandwich, it's one of the more expensive treats but very much worth it. My friend, who had arrived at the restaurant somewhat skeptical, was completely converted, saying it was the best she'd ever had.
For dessert, we selected a slice of a chocolate cream cake that was made in-house. It was better than average, if not up to the Olympian heights of the pastrami. Then again, comparing anything else to that sandwich is distinctly unfair.
Langer's feels like a real neighborhood restaurant in the central area - Art Langer is still there to oversee the place he founded more than 50 years ago, and staff members call most customers by their first names. Once you try the food, you might be inspired to become a regular yourself.Published: 12/04/2003
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