Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant

Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant has anchored the corner of Alvarado Street and 7th Street, facing MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, California, since 1947. The Jewish deli is family-run and has outlasted the neighbourhood's many changes to become one of the city's best-known culinary landmarks. Its reputation rests on one sandwich above all: the #19, built from hot pastrami that is hand-sliced and piled between slices of twice-baked rye bread, with coleslaw and Russian dressing. The rye has a crackling crust that holds up to the thick stack of meat, and the pastrami is steamed, peppery and fatty in the traditional manner. Food writers regularly cite it among the finest pastrami sandwiches in the United States, and it is the dish most visitors come for. Beyond the pastrami, the menu covers the standard deli repertoire: corned beef, matzo ball soup, potato pancakes, chopped liver, blintzes, smoked fish, and breakfast plates built around eggs and lox. The dining room is plain and unhurried, with booths, a counter, and a long-serving waitstaff, and the atmosphere is that of a neighbourhood diner rather than a formal restaurant. Dress is casual and noise levels are moderate, rising at the lunch peak. There is no wine programme to speak of; the drinks list centres on sodas, egg creams, coffee and tea. Reservations are not needed, and the restaurant operates on a walk-in basis. Waits at the weekend lunch rush can be noticeable, but turnover is quick. The restaurant is open on weekdays and Saturdays only, and a drive-through pickup window for sandwiches has long been part of its operation. Prices are mid-range for Los Angeles, with a pastrami sandwich and a side typically coming to around 20 to 35 US dollars per person. The surrounding Westlake and MacArthur Park area is dense and urban, and the nearby Metro B and D Line station makes the deli reachable without a car, which is useful given limited street parking.