Yet another example of our poor educational system and the general dumbing-down of our society. (We are all winners!) Try ordering a third of a pound of meat at the deli and see what happens. I’ve been given between .18 lb and .78 lb, because the person behind the counter seems to understand neither fractions nor decimals, let alone the relationship between the two. (And yes, I’ve tried ordering .3 lb or .4 lb, and also received blank stares.) Apparently I need to stick to quarter-pound or half-pound orders because that’s what the help understands.
I read somewhere that a McDonalds competitor tried to market a 1/3 lb burger, but failed because too many people thought that it was less meat than 1/4 lb.
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Some marketing type working for Toho.
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I agree that Langer’s is not good and education is a waste of money and human resources.
You’re only agreeing with yourself there. What is the sound of one thumb downing?
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Split a corned beef and a pastrami the other day for lunch. As incredible as always. What do they do differently? Why is the pastrami and corned beef at Langer’s SO good, while the same at Fromin’s, Izzy’s (RIP), Wise Sons, etc. is barely edible? Other than Langer’s, the only other deli in LA I find to have excellent corned beef and pastrami is Brent’s.
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Read the article I linked to in the first post of this topic.
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Thanks, that answered pretty much all of my questions. Equal parts ingredient sourcing, preparation and love.
And slicing skills.
And the double-baked rye bread takes it over the top.
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My late sister always made a point of picking up a few loaves of that double-baked rye when she visited L.A. from San Bernardino.
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As detailed in the article I linked to in the first post, what makes the rye bread special at Langer’s is they keep it in a warming drawer. If you get it to go it"s no better than buying it direct from Fred’s.
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3 posts were split to a new topic: Cafe Sierra’s infamous prime rib buffet: threat or menace?
“Not long ago I came upon a zombie-like scene of contorted people gathered in the northwest corner of the park, their bodies rigid from overdoses of fentanyl or other killer drugs. That’s two blocks away from Langer’s Deli, and I thought about him, and how disorienting it can be to grow old in a world unlike the one we remember or the one we imagined.”
"“I’m considering closing,” Langer told me, even though he considers his customers and employees “100% safe,” perhaps in part because uniformed cops frequent his deli and the southeast corner of the park is relatively calm.
Langer’s, closing? That would be a hole-in-your-soul development.
Los Angeles is constantly reworking itself, but maybe that’s why the age-defiant, resilient establishments hold a special place in our hearts. Philippe, Guelaguetza, Pink’s, El Cholo, Musso & Frank, and Langer’s — the Hall of Famers. It’s hard to imagine MacArthur Park — and the city — without one of its most iconic anchors.
“It’s a strong consideration,” Langer insisted, saying he’s exhausted by City Hall’s face-plant when it comes to answering the basic needs of nearby residents and merchants."
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He’s not going anywhere. This is just him trying to negotiate through the media.
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Considering the city isn’t doing jack to help small business this might be the only way to get more attention. His concerns are legitimate and he has a bigger platform than most other restaurants considering how many influential people have eaten there. I pretty sure any restauranteur right now is not happy with the current business environment.
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A few thoughts:
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I’m not in the restaurant business. But I listened to some podcast recently (maybe Taste?) with an LA restaurateur and it was informative about how opening and maintaining a restaurant is just such a regulatory / red-tape morass, with overlapping and conflicting jurisdiction and authority spread out over all these different agencies. This seems like a pretty clear area for reform.
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I don’t begrudge anybody for negotiating through the media.
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I thought that this exchange on reddit (also about the Langer’s article) was insightful. It does seem like a big part of Langer’s problem is its shrinking customer base (in part because of WFH) and comparatively high price (to be clear — i think the food is worth it).
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Yes this is accurate-- I went to Otis in the early 80s, when it was across the street from MacArthur Park. Homelessness wasn’t as bad, but crime was worse. There were shootings in the park at night and lots of stabbings. When they drained the lake to do repairs, I believe they found a body. In the daytime, I felt safe walking around the neighborhood as a 19 year old and would go to Langer’s all the time. But walking home from class at night (most students lived in the neighborhood as did I) felt dicey.
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