L.A. Brisket, which has popped up around town since 2015, recently opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Chinatown. The tucked-away space serves brisket, chicken and pulled pork, offered by the pound and on sandwiches, rice bowls, salads and fries.
736 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, (562) 741-7700, LABrisket.com
They have locations in Costa Mesa and Artesia/Cerritos. I’ve been to the Artesia/Cerritos location. I particularly like their slaw, but with regards to their meats…while seasoned well, I don’t get a whole lot of smoke from them.
I went to LA Brisket back in 2019 and while it was fine, it didn’t really do much for me, especially being next to Wax Paper, which I enjoy. But I had a taste for something different so I gave it another shot last week.
Like all the restaurants, they closed during COVID, but were slow to reopen. In the meantime, they remodeled the restaurant, now just a takeaway counter in the front and the whole back is the kitchen. It has nicer finishes and looks more inviting. There are six different combinations you can order for the brisket sandwich, named after local freeways. I got the “10”, which has horseradish sauce, onion, pepper, tomato and gruyere.
The brisket was tender and very smoky, which I didn’t expect. And there’s a lot of sauce on the sandwich, which I like. This sandwich was right up my alley, one of the most memorable sandwiches I’ve had in recent memory. I’m going to work this place into my rotation and try the other brisket sandwiches.