OT: Hot Pastrami recommendations?

HectorSpectre

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Nov 18, 2017
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I made a trip to University Village and I have a hankering for a hot pastrami sandwich for lunch today.

I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation.

If not, it's Johnnie's Pastrami on Sepulveda way out in Culver City, for me. Since I need to be in Marina Del Ray later anyway, the drive is no big deal.

Thanks anyway.
 

TravelerIV

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Not sure. Maybe the one in Culver City? Look it up on Yelp. They have the best pastrami in LA IMO.
Sorry, there is none in the Culver City. Monterey Park or Alhambra seems to be the closest:
 
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TrojanGiftHorse

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I mean--Langers is iconic.

Order the sandwich have have it for both lunch and dinner!

 

Hockey10

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I read Pastrami sandwiches and I imeditialy thought of Johnnie's Pastrami. I spent many a nights after playing a Hockey game at the Culver Ice Rink with my teammates around one of the fire pits. Good times.
I haven’t had a good Johnnie’s in ages. I forgot what a great pastrami sandwich tasted like. That’s probably the only thing I miss about California…. Of course there’s also Tito’s tacos and Sorrentos.
You only left off Hoagies on Lincoln Blvd and Superba in Venice. The best Philly Cheese Steaks.
 

HectorSpectre

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Thanks. The Hat was too far this time and I appreciate the Langers tip. After seeing it, I recall that’s where a friend took me a few years ago when in town for the ND game. It was good food for sure.

I ended up going to Johnnie’s after all. Excellent. Not sure $20-worth of excellent. It’s not the money, per se, but getting used to what y’all have to pay for a sandwich around here takes some time. :oops:
 

Alfa1

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Aug 24, 2017
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I had a job in Calabases when I was a teenager and my boss used to make me drive all the way to Langers for the Pastrami but I guess the Pastrami had to come all the way from New York.
Juniors on Westwood and Jerry’s on Ventura Blvd we’re runner ups for Best Pastrami…now both closed, Langers is probably the best in L.A. and I would say Wise Bros. In the Fillmore, San Francisco is the best in SF, maybe Max’s restaurant by the SF Airport is 2nd. Just sayin’ Opps, almost forgot Nate n’ Al’s Beverly Dr. Beverly Hills…great as well, maybe number 2.

Gotta’ keep in mind, there is Italian and Jewish…it’s Pastrami but totally different spices and preparation. Have gone to Johnny’s since the early 60’s Brown and curly with plenty of fat, dripping in sauce on the bun, Deli Pastrami, flat and red with Cole slaw and Russian dressing and a dab of brown mustard on Jewish rye. Totally different presentation, but equally delicious in their own way, if you can get a new pickle and Dr. Browns.

You guys in L.A. give them both a try and compare.
 

TrojanGiftHorse

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Thanks. The Hat was too far this time and I appreciate the Langers tip. After seeing it, I recall that’s where a friend took me a few years ago when in town for the ND game. It was good food for sure.

I ended up going to Johnnie’s after all. Excellent. Not sure $20-worth of excellent. It’s not the money, per se, but getting used to what y’all have to pay for a sandwich around here takes some time. :oops:

On the daily, we be like...

 

Jay4usc

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Jan 10, 2018
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I made a trip to University Village and I have a hankering for a hot pastrami sandwich for lunch today.

I'm wondering if anyone has a recommendation.

If not, it's Johnnie's Pastrami on Sepulveda way out in Culver City, for me. Since I need to be in Marina Del Ray later anyway, the drive is no big deal.

Thanks anyway.
HAT! now i want to drive there just for the sandwich
 

Canyon.usc

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Aug 24, 2017
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1. Jeff's Gourmet Sausage Factory, W. Pico Blvd, South Beverly Hills. Killer Pastrami Burger.

2. Brent's Deli, Northridge, Parthenia & Corbin

3. Label's Deli, Tarzana, Ventura Blvd & Tampa. $15, stacked high, so good-Ono, includes a side + pickles...

4. Jerry's Famous Deli, sad various locations-closed. Had one of the best Pastrami's in LA.

I found Johnnie's too fatty, wet & soggy.
 
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Torch901

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Sep 6, 2020
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Thanks. The Hat was too far this time and I appreciate the Langers tip. After seeing it, I recall that’s where a friend took me a few years ago when in town for the ND game. It was good food for sure.

I ended up going to Johnnie’s after all. Excellent. Not sure $20-worth of excellent. It’s not the money, per se, but getting used to what y’all have to pay for a sandwich around here takes some time. :oops:
Langer's is my favorite, but there's also Wexler's, one in Grand Central Market, another in Santa Monica. They're all pricey these days, $20 sounds about right.
 
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HectorSpectre

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I knew if I asked I’d get the straight 411.

I've got half-a-dozen places to tryout I never would have known about. Good stuff.

Mahalo to everyone.
 
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Pudly76

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Mad Greek used to have a heckofa pastrami burger… umm baby
 

AnArchitect

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The Hat for the down n dirty stuff.
Langer's for a nice one.
I used to love Izzy's Deli in Santa Monica.
Canter's is slangin' all night if you're on a different schedule.

Chano's (now el Huero) pastrami is ah... Street Food... but their Pastrami Burrito was "Dare Food."

Mind you, I haven't eaten meat in 13.5 years, so my info is old.

And to digress, if you're ever in Cincinnati, OH I would put Izzy's there (no relation to the Deli in Santa Monica) among the best in the world.
Same with Marx Hot Bagels there.
 

HectorSpectre

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Nov 18, 2017
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The Hat for the down n dirty stuff.
Langer's for a nice one.
I used to love Izzy's Deli in Santa Monica.
Canter's is slangin' all night if you're on a different schedule.

Chano's (now el Huero) pastrami is ah... Street Food... but their Pastrami Burrito was "Dare Food."

Mind you, I haven't eaten meat in 13.5 years, so my info is old.

And to digress, if you're ever in Cincinnati, OH I would put Izzy's there (no relation to the Deli in Santa Monica) among the best in the world.
Same with Marx Hot Bagels there.

Brother, are you in Cincinnati now? I used to haunt the jazz joints there. Surprisingly hip jazz scene.

Please stop by Fickell’s office and tell him, “Hector says, ‘Go west, young man!’”
 

USCSAE

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Sep 14, 2019
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The Hat for the down n dirty stuff.
Langer's for a nice one.
I used to love Izzy's Deli in Santa Monica.
Canter's is slangin' all night if you're on a different schedule.

Chano's (now el Huero) pastrami is ah... Street Food... but their Pastrami Burrito was "Dare Food."

Mind you, I haven't eaten meat in 13.5 years, so my info is old.

And to digress, if you're ever in Cincinnati, OH I would put Izzy's there (no relation to the Deli in Santa Monica) among the best in the world.
Same with Marx Hot Bagels there.
Great call on Chano’s. When I saw the thread my first thought was Manny’s (pre-Chano’s) after 9-0 pastrami and chili cheese fries. So bad but so good!
 

Pooh Bah

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Sep 7, 2021
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1. Jeff's Gourmet Sausage Factory, W. Pico Blvd, South Beverly Hills. Killer Pastrami Burger.

2. Brent's Deli, Northridge

3. Label's Table Deli, Tarzana

4. Jerry's Famous Deli, closed, various locations. One of the best Pastrami's.

I found Johnnie's too fatty and wet.
Brent’s Deli on Parthenon. Home run in any man’s league
 

MU5CLE

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Aug 24, 2017
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I moved to Las Vegas and I would love to find The Hat here or something close. Maybe I should inquire about a franchise. I miss the The Hat that much.
 

Torch901

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Sep 6, 2020
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Aside from the aforementioned, The Oinkster in Eagle Rock has some good pastrami

Speaking of Cincinnati, please start a thread about Cincinnati chili. I have never had it in Ohio, just made a bad imitation at home.
Ah, Skyline Chili, poured over spaghetti. I used to travel to Cincinnati for business sometimes and always tried to slip this in.
 

AnArchitect

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Sep 3, 2017
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Brother, are you in Cincinnati now? I used to haunt the jazz joints there. Surprisingly hip jazz scene.

Please stop by Fickell’s office and tell him, “Hector says, ‘Go west, young man!’”
I'm Tri-State Area born and raised until I left at 16.
My mother's still there, my father was until he passed away.
I'm a day's drive away instead of being in LA for almost 20 years, so I've been back frequently the last couple years.
And I eat it up - literally and figuratively - every time I go back.
I stay in the Netherland Plaza and hit all the classic restaurants and bars.

Cincy had a GREAT jazz scene back then. And all the clubs would let underage kids drink.
The only one that sticks in my mind is the Blue Wisp, but you could find me there - back when it was in that basement on Garfield - every couple weeks when I was 19-20 and back from SC.
Those old cats burned that place down every weekend and raised it from the dead the next Friday ;)
We had WVXU out of Xavier U that was one of just a few jazz stations in the country, back before the internet.
My father was the working man's thinking man, an IAM Machinist at GE, and that's what he listened to all the time when I was a young one.

To bring this all back around to the subject at hand - my father was all about finding out what the world had to offer. Our hillbilly coal-miner descendant family had nothing to do with Judaism, but you may know that Cincy has a strong community, and Reform Judaism was born there. And so, every chance he got we'd have some different diverse food, and a special delight to all of us was hitting Marx Hot Bagels (which I'll put up against the best bagel in NYC) or Izzy's or one of the other many Jewish delis that were still around when I was little.

So when I got to LA and found out that Pastrami was a Jewish AND Mexican thing (and the story of cultural exchange in Boyle Heights that led to that) oh man, was I ever in heaven.

As for Fickell's office - Cincinnati is a vastly different vibe than LA, and if you walked in almost any place like you were supposed to be there, no one would hassle you.
Being an architect, and a fan of the building's architect Bernard Tschumi, I ah... "gave myself a tour" of the Lindner Center right after it opened in 2006 or so. So yeah, you might still get away with that.
 

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