Langer's Delicatessen – Westlake

The pastrami is brined, peppered, smoked, steamed and sliced by hand, and the #19 piles it on rye with slaw, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. If you'd rather not sit down, order through Ritual for walk-in or curbside pickup; for curbside, put your car's make, model and color in the order. Norm Langer, the founder's son, is often working the dining room. There's a pastrami dip on the menu too, which the LA Times thinks may be the best in the city, though Langer admits few people order it.

Nora Ephron called it "the finest hot pastrami sandwich in the world" in The New Yorker in 2002.

Sources: langersdeli.com (address, phone, the #19, how the pastrami is made, Ritual curbside, checked 2026-11-01); Brant Cox, The Infatuation, Langer's review, 2025-03-05 (same address and phone; Norm Langer, the founder's son); Andrew Amelinckx, Chowhound, 2025-01-07 (Seventh and Alvarado; Nora Ephron, The New Yorker, 2002); Los Angeles Times, "The best pastrami dip sandwich in the city may be at this Westlake deli" (syndicated, undated).