We're not sure when and where another epic, sandwich-focused event will happen, an event like the one that happened at Langer's Deli last June, but we're on the lookout.
Oh, you remember that, right? The MacArthur Park-adjacent landmark turned 65 and decided to give its most famous sandwich away all day? The pastrami-piled-high #19? If you remember anything, you remember the mega queues to get into the restaurant, a place that hasn't changed too much over the years.
National Pastrami Day, which is Monday, Jan. 14, doesn't bring the same deal -- don't go to Langer's looking for a free 'wich come that day -- but it does spotlight the fact that Los Angeles is home to some rather famous meaty treats.
The #19, which is heavy on the Russian dressing and cole slaw, in addition to the other staples of a pastrami sandwich, is way up on the local love roster (one reason Langer's Deli turned 65 last year).
Canter's on Fairfax has a variety of pastrami-licious (yeah, we just typed that word, and we're leaving it) delicacies, including the the Pastrami Reuben, which contains just about all of the sauerkraut you didn't know you were craving (but totally were). That's good eatin', especially when it is midnight and you're under the lit-up yellow-leafed ceiling.
And up at Brent's Deli in Northridge? It's the Black Pastrami Reuben all the way. Calling this dish the signature offering of the always-bustling strip-mall restaurant doesn't quite go far enough. What's the world beyond "signature"? That's the word we want. That word.
Wherever you mark the day, raise your sandwich high. Just be sure to have a napkin nearby, because, yeah, Russian dressing. Tasty on bread, not so much on the slacks.
