Langer's Delicatessen & Rstrnt   

Looking to escape the chazerei of LA's inferior delicatessens? Langer's is the city's unofficial home of the hot pastrami sandwich, a lean but towering colossus often credited with putting New York's finest to shame. With nearly 30 variations on standard pastrami, Langer's array makes even the crabbiest corned-beef-and-cabbage kvetchers start to kvell with pride. The downtown landmark has been serving up piles of hand-sliced meats since 1947, packing it between fresh challah, rye and pumpernickel, and serving it curbside to drive-up customers. Nowadays, Big Apple refugees hankering for Katz's or Carnegie Deli can hop aboard the subway like actual New Yorkers and get off at Westlake-MacArthur Park -- just a yarmulke's toss from all the kishka you could ask for. Other deli favorites are in full glory, from gefilte fish and corned beef to blintzes and chopped liver, but such selections may make your nosh companions collapse.