by Holly Sklar

I teethed on bagels, grew up trying to get my child-sized mouth around the overstuffed sandwiches at New York’s Carnegie and Stage, and still make annual pilgrimages to the greatest of all, the Second Avenue Deli. So I looked forward to sampling L.A.’s classic Jewish delis with my well-educated taste buds. The rules of our contest were simple: Order the same classic fare at each establishment — a pastrami sandwich, a potato knish, matzoh ball soup, pickles and an egg cream — and compare them. It turns out my adopted city boasts several excellent —and some not so excellent — delis, mostly family-run, many dating back more than half a century. And one of them offers what may be the best pastrami on the planet ...

Pickles range from half-sour to dill, they come with sauerkraut, and they’re complimentary, placed on the table as soon as you sit down by a bossy, if mothering, waitress. Unfortunately, there are no egg creams. Apparently the late co-founder Al, who bought out partner Nate early on, and who emigrated from Russia by way of Canada and Detroit, never spent time at a New York soda fountain. But you can get a Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda. Nate N’ Al isn’t inexpensive, but it’s not just a meal, it’s an experience.

(704 S. Alvarado Street at 7th — MacArthur Park area, a bit west of downtown, 213/483-8050; parking lot a block away). If you work in the Hollywood area, you’re within easy driving distance of pastrami paradise. No other pastrami can compete with Langer’s hot, succulent, thick-sliced, sweet, wildly flavorful yet not overly fatty sugar-cured meat. The house specialty, it comes on nearly a dozen different sandwiches — with Swiss cheese, chopped liver, cole slaw, Russian dressing — but I prefer it unadorned between slices of Langer’s crunchy-crust, twice-baked rye bread, also unique and equally outstanding. Other deli staples are far less stellar. My knish, so tall it was reminiscent of Wyoming’s Devil’s Tower, came cold. The soup was just passable. Pickles have to be ordered on the side and aren’t terribly sour. But the egg cream comes with an extra glass of seltzer to stretch it. (For the uninitiated, an egg cream is chocolate syrup — preferably Brooklyn-made Fox’s U-Bet — mixed with milk and seltzer.) Langer’s is off the beaten path, but the pastrami’s worth the detour. Price-wise, the eight-dollar soup and half-sandwich combo is a good value.

ART’S DELI (12224 Ventura Blvd., between Laurel Canyon and Whitsett, Studio City,
818/762-1221; they deliver). Art’s is a congenial, booths-only kind of place. Its well-seasoned, peppery, warm pastrami on springy rye comes in second only to Langer’s (though still a fair distance from Langer’s magical meat). Matzoh ball soup is on the bland side but it’s a meal, packed with pieces of white meat chicken, carrots, noodles, and a substantial matzoh ball. The knish is just fair, with a thick, overly eggy shell and a mild-tasting, brownish filling. A single, not terribly sour pickle comes with your sandwich. The egg cream is pleasingly sweet, but it doesn’t come with extra seltzer. Service is super-friendly, and nobody does delivery or take-out like Art’s. Order a bunch of sandwiches, and they’ll come individually labeled with each person’s name. Art’s falls on the pricey side; it’s nearly six dollars just for soup.

JUNIOR’S (2379 Westwood Blvd. at Pico, West Los Angeles, 310/475-5771; they deliver). Hospitable Junior’s wins hands down when it comes to sides: They boast L.A.’s top potato knish, bitingly sour pickles, and the perfect egg cream. The knish exudes a comforting, fragrant, oniony steam when you slice it open. Pickles, which are provided for free, along with sauerkraut, are simply great: briny, cold and crisp. And the egg cream comes exactly as it should: with a good inch of syrup on the bottom, a white, frothy top like beaten egg whites (hence the name) and a side glass of seltzer. Junior’s also does a pretty good matzoh ball soup, chock full of carrots, celery and noodles, not too salty, with a softball-sized, yet surprisingly light, matzoh ball. The substantial, though not over-stuffed pastrami sandwich is decent but not life-altering. The seed-laden, crusty rye is quite good; I often stop at the take-out counter to bring home a loaf. Prices run a little less than Art’s or Nate ‘N Al.

CANTER’S (419 North Fairfax Avenue between Melrose and Beverly , Los Angeles, 323/651-2030; they deliver). As L.A.’s 24-hour, grand-daddy of delis — it opened in Boyle Heights in ’31, and moved to Fairfax in ’48 — Canter’s is an institution. Too bad much of the food is disappointing. Matzoh ball soup is no more flavorful than a cup of chicken boullion; the matzoh ball was so firm it was resistant to being broken up with a spoon. The knish is as dull as mashed potatoes. The pickles — which have to be ordered on the side — are cool and crunchy, though more dill than sour (half-sour pickles are not available). The egg cream is acceptable, but comes without extra selzer. Fortunately, the pastrami is a welcome surprise: far and away the leanest, it’s pleasingly smoky, its edges dark brown. The rye bread it comes on is nothing special, but at $7.75 for a half sandwich and a cup of soup, Canter ’s lunch is certainly the cheapest.

Did I miss your favorite deli?
E-mail me: hollysklar@yahoo.com.