Eye Nosh: Is This the Best Pastrami in America?

Three deckers of delish (Photo by djjewelz via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)

If we're talking nosh, there's no item perhaps more quintessential than pastrami on rye. The one pictured above hailed from a plate served up at Langer's, a deli that has been a longtime favorite of locals, but has now been praised for offering up the best of its kind in the whole country. The accolade comes from writer David Sax, whose pursuit of the pastrami--and other deli delights--was profiled recently in the LA Times.

Sax, author of the new book Save the Deli, went on a deli pilgrimage, tasting cured meats around the nation and globe, and came to the perhaps surprising conclusion that the best delis can be found here in Los Angeles (much to the chagrin of many a New Yorker). Sax says SoCal has "more delicatessens of higher quality, on average, than anywhere else in America" and that Langer's pastrami "encapsulates perfection at every turn."

Speaking of turning the sandwich, LAist Featured Photos pool contributor djjewelz made his own pilgrimage to Langer's, and turned the plate to the camera, calling the above shot "A quarter of way too much." In fact, this was the sandwich that kept on giving--in a good way: "I ate a quarter for lunch, a quarter for dinner and I still have half the sandwich in the fridge that I will be eating for another lunch and dinner. Truly, a cost effective and tasty meal." Bonus: Get fries with that! Earlier this year another Eye Nosh photog declared Langer's had the best fries in the city