The magical source behind your favorite pastrami sandwiches and chili dogs

There are food names in Los Angeles that thrill the soul. Canter’s. Pink’s hot dogs. Roma Market. They’re all known for quality, tasty food. But if you look closer, there’s a common theme — they all get their meat from the same supplier: RC Provisions.

Which probably should be as well known as the other marquee names.

It seems like everyone in Los Angeles uses it. Old-school Jewish delis like Factors, Canters and Langers. New-school Jewish delis like Wexler’s and Belle’s.

That world-famous chili used by Original Tommy’s, Pink’s Hot Dogs and Dodger Dogs? The capocollo served at Italian delis like Bay Cities and Roma Market?

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Pink's Classic Chili Dog — chili courtesy of RC Provisions

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Courtesy Pink's

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Yup. RC Provisions.

It all comes from a 25,000-square-foot facility on Victory Boulevard, right off the Burbank exit of the 5 Freeway. The company just bought the building on the corner, which will add 2,500 square feet. It’s such a large operation that the federal government requires they have a USDA office on site.

RC Provisions "our best in the west" pastrami

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Josh Heller

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LAist

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Owner Matt Giamela says, “We’re extremely honored and privileged to be a part of such a large organization of great establishments.”

Missing Italian subs

Matt Giamela’s grandparents left Plainfield, N.J., for Southern California in the early '50s because they "heard the weather was so beautiful out here.” They moved to Olive Avenue and Beachwood Drive in Burbank, where there already was a small enclave of Italian Americans.

His dad, Bill Giamela, “loved the submarine sandwiches back home as a kid, growing up in an Italian American family,” Matt Giamela said. “You eat pasta on Sundays and you eat Italian sandwiches a couple of times a week. So there’s delis all over New Jersey. He missed those Italian-style sandwiches.”

The only spot he could get his fix was at Santoro’s Submarine Sandwiches, which has been open on Burbank Boulevard since 1956.

So at about 20 years old, Bill Giamela opened his own shop on Riverside Drive in 1964.

“He got an old O’Keefe and Merritt stove that he bought at a flea market,” Matt Giamela said.

Bill Giamela eventually grew Giamela’s into a regional sub sandwich empire with nine stores.

Giamela’s sold Italian cold-cut classics, pepper steaks and their famous meatballs. Matt Giamela says, “My grandma would wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and make the meatballs at the house on Beachwood, and then would take the bus to the Riverside Drive location and help my dad make the sandwiches.”

These days, there are three locations left, but Matt Giamela says they’ve recently expanded the dining room at Giamela’s in Atwater Village to allow more people to dine in and host events and dinner parties.

Italian dishes were the family’s natural calling. However, pastrami, of Eastern European origin, was less familiar. The Giamelas didn’t always know what to do with it. Matt Giamela says, “My dad used to serve pastrami cold. He didn’t know any better. He’d just put the cold meat directly on the slicer.”

But that would soon change.

“Being an Italian-American hustler, [he] wanted to go straight to the source — so he came here to RC Provisions,” Matt Giamela said.

The business originally was founded in 1958 by Alex Russak and Lou Cholodenko, who lent their last initials to the brand name. By 1966, the business had been sold to Ron Fisher, who became Bill Giamela’s friend.

“They developed a relationship over the decades, and then in 2000, Ron wanted to retire, so he sold it to my father, and we’ve been running it ever since,” Matt Giamela said.

A slice of pastrami heaven

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Josh Heller

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LAist

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Best pastrami of my life

Today, the RC Provisions team makes sure it can serve the exact specifications that each restaurant is looking for. (If you sell over 500 pounds per week, RC will make your own white label custom blend, like they do for the big boys Langer’s, Canter’s or Brent’s.)

The specific flavor is determined by the amount of time the meat spends being brined — it can take four to five days — and smoked and how it’s cut and prepared by the end user.

In the pastrami category alone, RC Provisions sells a range of styles: navel pastrami, New York pastrami, brisket pastrami, pepper beef pastrami, eye of the round and pastrami pepper beef flats.

And nothing goes to waste — all the trim goes into making that world famous chili.

When I visited the factory, I got a chance to try one of the newer recipes: Wagyu pastrami, with meat sourced from Brandt Beef in Brawley. It had been heating up in a makeshift steamer for a few hours, so that the fat marbling in this fine cut of meat could become undeniably buttery.

Matt Giamela — who’s been making professional sandwiches since he was 12 years old — toasted the rye bread, loaded it with the meat and added some Swiss cheese and Russian dressing, which came from a deli account they’ve been trying to lock in.

It was no doubt the best pastrami I’ve ever had in my life.

On my way out the door, Giamela offered me a 2-pound hunk of meat.

When I got home, I called my great buddy Mike, whom I’ve known since Hebrew school but who hasn’t been able to hang out for months because he’s been too busy with Law School. Within a moment's notice, he said he was coming over and bringing a corn rye loaf from Bea’s Bakery. This future lawyer has a lot of notes about a lot of things, but this was also the best pastrami he’s ever had.

My mom happened to be at the house, and she doesn’t eat red meat unless she’s on vacation in Europe. But she tasted this and loved it so much she wanted to bring home some meat for my dad. Later, he literally broke his veganness to give this a try, which he absolutely loved.

So when a friend from out of town marvels at the pastrami at Langer's — you can hold the secret to your chest — or you can spill. Up to you.