Gold Dig #8

Langer’s is a NY-style deli… only it’s in LA! It has been around for something like 70 years, and it’s safe to say it’s something of an LA institution. Jonathan Gold actually said “Langer’s servers the best pastrami sandwich in America.” Wow, BOLD statement… so of course it makes Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list.

The Dish

The first thing you see if you visit the Langer’s website is a giant call-out as “Home of the Original #19 Pastrami Sandwich”. The #19 is what everyone talks about. It’s definitely the thing to get.

The #19

Hand-Cut Hot Pastrami, Cole Slaw, Russian Dressing, Swiss Cheese on Double-Baked Rye Bread. It is as good as it sounds. The flavors come together perfectly. The pastrami is hot and juicy. The cole slaw provides great crunch. The dressing adds a touch of sweetness, offset by the cheese. And the bread has a good strong rye flavor, which I’ve found can be difficult to come by in LA. Get the #19!

Egg Cream

I ate my way through NYC a few months prior to going to Langer’s and became obsessed with egg creams. I love them. I don’t know how I managed to live so much of my life without them. So when I saw them on the menu at Langer’s, we had to get both a vanilla and a chocolate. Not as good as Katz’s in NY, but solidly satisfied the egg cream itch.

There were lots of other tempting items on the menu, but Langer’s was only the first stop on the 3-restaurant Gold Dig we’d decided to do that day. So we slurped the remains of our egg creams and were on to Baco Mercat – follow me to that post!

Want to watch us get really excited about egg creams? Check out our video!