@PeonyWarrior, I like Russ and daughters too, great place but they don’t offer pastrami, corned beef, brisket, tongue, etc. So pretty tough to compare to Langer’s. As for Ess-a-bagel, you’re telling me you had their pastrami or any deli meats and they were comparable to Langer’s? We must have very different taste preferences then. I didn’t even think their bagels (their specialty) were all that great. When I was growing up, we got our bagels at a bagel shop and we got our deli at a deli. I’ve never gotten good bagels at a deli. To me R&D and Ess-a are bagel shops. But I admit I’m splitting hairs here, just my 2 cents.
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Warrior: thank you. I had no idea about this aspect of Jewish tradition, and I appreciated learning about it. I also apologize for a trolling tone in some of my posts.
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Warrior: I have only had the fish and bagels at Ess a Bagel. Personally, I like the fish and bagels there better than any other place I’ve tried in NYC, with Russ and Daughters being a close second (though I would guess the fish there is better than at Ess a Bagel). As I mentioned in the Langer’s thread, I have only eaten pastrami at one restaurant — Langer’s — and it was very good.
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Who wouldn’t be “fanatically devoted” to a place that serves the “worlds best pastrami”? If you love pastrami. 
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Ess a Bagel is my favorite NY spot for bagels and fish. Russ and Daughters’ bagels, IMO, are equal but not superior to Ess A Bagel. I haven’t been to Langer’s, but I remember my first visit to Katz. I was disappointed and did not think that it lived up to its hype. In fact, there was a small deli not far from Katz, which I thought was much better and returned to frequently. I haven’t been to Langer’s, but since it is so loved by so many, it must be doing something right.
“There is no sincerer love than the love of food." George Bernard Shaw
You consistently use this word as if there is such a thing. The examples you site work sometimes i.e. “gritty defrosted whitefish” but the others are pretty darn classist or are without substance i.e. “cheap convenience store condiments” “factory cheese.”
Some people dont have access to anything better than convenience store condiments, canned black olives and factory cheese. Some people do amazing things with their limited resources. Don’t get me wrong this is not me saying that a restaurant like Langer’s cant do better with its ingredient choices. It can. What I am saying is the criticisms you are lobbing that have to do with class are absolutely not objective.
A lot of your writing on this forum feels like it is punching down. Just because some tire-shilling gatekeeper gives a cassoulet or a pastrami sandwich a gold star never forget that a lot of the food that you seem to value came out of poverty. Next time you shove a taco in your face or eat some salami use that as a reminder of the level of possibility and deliciousness that exists in the spaces you talk about so pejoratively.
To quote Kendrick “even a small lighter can burn a bridge.” Please stop acting like there is anything objective about what you are saying. It’s killing the vibe.
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Unless you’re being sarcastic, “objectively mediocre” just means you don’t understand the difference between fact (objective) and opinion (subjective).
For anything other than pastrami, maybe brisket, and rye eaten straight from the warming drawer, you don’t even need to leave LA to do better.
I think the tongue sandwich at Langer’s is worth mention as well. It might be their second best item.
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Are you saying there are objective truths in preferences of food, music, art, etc?
Facts are objective. Opinions are subjective. Stating an opinion as a matter of fact can be a joke or a sign that you don’t understand the difference.
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So, no?
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Yes, Langers being the best pastrami on the planet is an objective truth 
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Ok, I’ll take your word. I usually stick to pastrami, corned beef or brisket.
Warrior: Gosh, this discussion can’t come to closure even after I said I really liked Langer’s pastrami and apologized for my tone? Let me note one more thing in response to the “punching down” comment. I think Langer’s is outrageously expensive. Our meal—just one pastrami sandwich and one whitefish appetizer with water to drink— came to over $60. This is hardly a restaurant serving the needs of working class people. As for whether food can be objectively good or bad, we are going to have to agree to disagree.
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Agree that this is contributing to the emotional aspect of the responses, but I also think that this “knowledge” is assumed… At least on this board. And that the lack of acknowledgment of this in the OP was also contributing to the type of responses.
I mean, in LA, who goes to a dim sum place specifically just to eat XLB??? And, if you get XLB at a dim sum place, would you expect them to be made in-house and to be anything better than passable? Should that one dish be used to pass judgment on the restaurant as a whole?
Specialization applies to so many diff types of cuisine, esp in LA, where there is enough “interest” in specific dishes/regions to support that (even if the majority of the menu needs to cater to non-food enthusiasts for survival).
None of the above “should” be surprising to anyone who has lived in LA for a significant length of time or is familiar with what makes LA’s food scene special.
Which is why the obstinate refusal to acknowledge otherwise (until recently) has been… perplexing.
It will. Just give it some time. 
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Wexler’s, which some people claim to prefer, charges $18 for a pastrami sandwich, Canter’s charges $17.50 for their inferior one, Langer’s charges $20 (up from $18 when I was there in March), a modest premium given the extra time and expense required to optimize the bread.
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*jewish style delis are outrageously expensive
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Warrior: The whitefish appetizer was $25. I thought it was appalling quality for $25. For $25, I would expect a decent restaurant to get legit bagels from a bagel shop and quality tomatoes from a farmers market or somewhere. Anyway, we’re going to have to agree to disagree on Langer’s. I feel like folks’ devotion to Langer’s is quasi-religious in nature, which makes for a poor conversation topic.
I don’t necessarily disagree with you but it doesn’t sound like you’ve been to many delis either. $25 for a whitefish platter is about the right price but I’ve never seen anything resembling farmer market quality produce at any deli of this ilk.
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There’s nothing religious about my strong recommendation to go somewhere else if you want bagels and smoked / cured fish.
Actually, if you’re getting delivery, order Blue Hill Bay whitefish salad from Costco (if they haven’t run out) plus whatever bagels they carry
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