Pastrami

Earlier in the week, we stopped at Johnnie's in Culver City for a pastrami sandwich lunch.  Johnnie's is an institution, opened in 1952 (that's old by LA standards) though not quite as famous as Langers, which is generally regarded as the best pastrami in Los Angeles.  I know it's sacrilegious given how much I love food, but I actually haven't been to Langers yet.  It's too far east for me!

Johnnie's is a slightly divey retro diner with jukeboxes on every table and two nice simple patio areas.  It even has the requisite slightly grumpy older female waitresses.  We ordered a pastrami with swiss on rye and a hot pastrami with swiss on a roll.  My favorite was the hot pastrami on a roll which is dipped in their specialty sauce, like an au jus with a french dip.  The sandwich is warm, juicy and salty and the soft bread just sops up all the goodness.  You need the pickles and hot peppers that they give you on the side for a little variety.  I like how they slice the very thin; I actually don't like the pastrami at Katz's Deli in NYC because their pastrami is so thick, and I suspect Langer's is similar, from the pictures.  The thinly sliced pastrami just makes biting into the sandwich somewhat airy and nice.  My favorite sandwiches in the world are found at Koch's Deli in its prime, near the UPenn campus in Philadelphia, and I'm convinced that their sandwiches are so good because they slice it so thinly.  The sandwiches at Johnnie's are good, though pricey at over $10 for a sandwich.  You won't go hungry though!

Hot Pastrami on a French Roll

Hot Pastrami on Rye

Johnnie's

4017 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230

(310) 397-6654