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

BlogDowntown.com: Counter Culture: Langer’s Deli

Longtime Friend of Langer’s Ed Fuentes of BlogDowntown.com and View From A Loft covered our David Sax booksigning for “Save the Deli” on October 28, 2009, and filed this awesome report from the day of the event. The clip includes Ed’s trademark amazing still photography montaged with an interview of David Sax discussing his book and Langer’s in particular. Thanks, Ed!

Click here to read the complete story on BlogDowntown.com

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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

NBCLosAngeles: Los Angeles Named Deli Capital (Sorry, NY)

Great coverage of David Sax’s “Save the Deli” book over at NBCLosAngeles.com’s Around Town / Food & Drink blog this week:

Anyone who’s had the No. 19 at Langer’s already knows what David Sax has discovered: Los Angeles is the deli capital of the world.

In his new book, “Save The Deli,” Sax says forget about New York. LA is for lovers of sandwiches.

“It’s a very difficult business to be in, but the [delis] that are most inspiring, the ones that people cling to, the ones that people enshrine for years and years are the traditional Jewish delis. And Los Angeles just happens to have more of them than any city I’ve been to,” Sax [said]…

Check it out here

LATimes.com: The deli capital? It’s LA

Elina Shatkin of LATimes.com has great coverage on David Sax’s “Save The Deli” book which comes out in just a very few days:

“In the 1930s there were something along the lines of 1,500 kosher delis in New York,” Sax says. “Now, there are about two dozen in all of New York City. That’s an 80% to 90% decline. This has been echoed in other cities around the country.”

Yet Los Angeles delis have managed to thrive in a niche market. Acre for acre, Sax maintains that Southern California boasts “more delicatessens of higher quality, on average, than anywhere else in America.”

…
But Sax reserves his highest praise for Langer’s, near MacArthur Park — where the pastrami sandwich “encapsulates perfection at every turn”

Click here to read the complete story at LATimes.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.

JewishJournal.com: World’s Best Pastrami Sandwich

JewishJournal.com has published a new video documentary on Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant, entitled “World’s Best Pastrami Sandwich.” The video coincides with the latest issue’s focus on delis as well as coverage of David Sax’s new book, “Save the Deli.” Produced by Rebecca Steinberger, this is a fantastic video that captures the essence of the Langer’s experience. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do – thank you Jewish Journal and Rebecca!

Click here to visit JewishJournal.com

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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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