Why should you have to choose between meatballs and sausages on your sub? Or, for that matter, between roast beef and pastrami? Thankfully, at Eastside Market Italian Deli, you don't.

Though it has been around for 73 years in the same beige and brown corner building, the deli is a hidden gem tucked in the hillside neighborhood just above Chinatown, once a thriving Italian enclave. Current owner Johnny Angiuli came to Los Angeles in 1956 from Adelphia, Italy, at the age of 12. In 1975, lean years for the neighborhood, he invented the hot roast beef and pastrami sandwich. Known to regulars simply as the #7, it is the most popular menu on the sandwich -- and rightfully so.

More >>

Susan Park

Rosario Mazzeo of Roma Italian Deli and Grocery in Pasadena

​
If you grew up in Los Angeles, you were probably introduced to your first Italian market some time in elementary school. At some point during your formative years, you took a silent oath of filial piety to never cheat on the first Italian market owners in your life by even looking for another one.

Whether or not you're Italian, there's something about these mom-n-pop shops that engenders loyalty and nostalgia. Perhaps it has do with characters like Rosario Mazzeo, owner of Roma Italian Deli and Grocery in Pasadena, who is known for being fiercely opinionated, generous and dedicated.

"I've been here for fifty-seven years, seven days a week," he says. He gets a gleam in his eyes when we notice the chunks of hard pork fat in the fresh sausages he makes daily. Mazzeo's work ethic, encyclopedic knowledge of ingredients, and exhaustive pantry of imported foods deserve our unwavering monogamy. So, we feel a little guilty suggesting trysts with other Italian markets in our round-up. But we're going to do it anyway. Turn the page...

More >>

F. Friesema

Jonagold apples

​
Everybody knows what a deli is supposed to be: an enormous dining room, stinking of garlic, bolstered by corned beef and chicken in a pot, with giant halvah displays teetering by the cash register. And then there's Moore's Delicatessen, a sparkling diner across from Burbank City Hall: The backroom is an animation dweeb's delight, walls crawling with drawings from the sweaty imaginations of the animators at Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network, both of which have studios within a couple of blocks.

More >>

​It's funny because it's true. Thank you, Wil Wheaton (@wilw) and Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane), for making our day.

J. Ritz

Nate 'n Al

​
Matzo ball soup is a comfort food with a relatively simple taxonomy. Camps are mostly divided along the lines of sinkers vs. floaters, clean broth vs. noodles/crackers/carrots/etc. Opinions range and styles vary, and a perusal of the literature by authorities such as Claudia Roden and Gil Marks suggests that what we currently see in delis around Los Angeles is a very limited expression of the matzo ball. But it's hard to shake the fact that the typical matzo ball lover's most idealized version was probably cooked in the home of a relative or friend, rather than served in a restaurant. When your family's point of reference is, say, tender matzo balls with a firm pumpernickel center that took a couple days to make, no deli kitchen churning out monochromatic dumplings can ever compete.

Some of the most interesting and best matzo balls currently served in Los Angeles are presented in a manner that is obviously not kosher -- and we're not using that term metaphorically. (For a primer on the history of mazto balls, known as matza knaidel in Yiddish, read Marks' historical insight published in the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.) The local matzo ball situation improves vastly during Passover, when some L.A. chefs revisit and often put their own spin on this classic. In the meantime, here is our list of the Top 5 Matzo Ball Soups in Los Angeles.

More >>

This was supposed to be part 2 of our Giant Donut Fight, but thanks to some rather inconvenient hours of operation, it will have to wait until next week. So during this donut bye week, we've decided to focus on another unhealthy treat -- the Reuben sandwich. Today's fight places the famed Canter's Deli up against Du-par's, another 24-hour Fairfax institution. The schools of thought on a Reuben vary based on personal preference. But let's say it's three o'clock in the morning, and you're cruising down Fairfax with a deep craving for corned beef (we tend to leave our pastrami to Langer's), sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese, grilled between two slices of rye bread. Where should you go? Let's find out.

N. Galuten

The Reuben at Du-par's

​

More >>

Star Foreman

Broadway Deli

​

Broadway Deli, which Bruce Marder and Marvin Zeidler opened in 1990 on the Santa Monica promenade, closed its doors for the last time on Monday. Santa Monica Daily Press reports that the lease had expired, the rent had tripled, and Marder and Zeidler were threatened with a lawsuit if they didn't vacate the premises by November 30th. Thus they closed up shop. Promenade Gateway, which owns the space and has requested permits to subdivide it, has not announced who the new tenants will be. Read Chowhound's collective, albeit hardly glowing, eulogy here.

Felicia Friesema

Moore's rare roast beef on ciabatta with arugula and house made aoli.

​
Little Flower Candy Company owners Christine and Robert Moore have been dreaming a little bigger these days. Inspired by Robert's parents' 1947 San Francisco sandwich spot of the same name, they opened Moore's Delicatessen on October 4th in the civic center of Burbank (across the street from the police headquarters), serving pancake breakfasts in the morning and bacon-wrapped meatloaf during dinner. And in between, of course, there are the sandwiches, piled high, in generous deli-style, with medium-rare roast beef, pastrami, and delectably slippery slow-cooked brisket.

On the exterior, deli fans from Attman's in Baltimore to Langer's here in LA will recognize the deli signage standard cursive above the all-caps, blocky descriptive. Fans of Little Flower, which has its own savory line of gourmet meat and bread combos, will also notice a few happy similarities. The ubiquitous crispy and just-right-sour pickles that come with the sandwiches at Moore's are from East L.A.'s A-1 Eastern Pickle Company. And just like the menu at Little Flower, Moore's has an ample selection of vegetarian options, including tempeh with onion sprouts, a yellow lentil dal, brown rice bowls, and for any cheese head, an open-face toasted brie sandwich covered in garlic mushrooms. Salted caramels are also technically vegetarian and are happily available as more modest, single bites at $0.50 a pop.

More >>

Michael Doret

​

In 2008, Michael Doret drove past Canter's Deli, but instead of lox and bagel chips, the ambitious designer found the long-awaited inspiration for his latest font: Deliscript. "Perhaps it was that mid century marquee vibe that called out to me," he explains, "but at any rate I saw something in the straight up and down script that I liked, and that somehow I thought I'd be able to extrapolate into a font."

More >>

D. Gonzalez

Vegan Curry Chicken Sandwich from Green Peas

​
Leftover. Two four letter words back-to-back, which is exactly how many feel about them. But leftovers are not always a bad thing. Leftover bones make the best stocks because they come pre-roasted and then there is the magical golden liquid known as bacon grease. When it comes to a dish that is synonymous with a good use of leftovers, there is chicken salad. And at Green Peas, Mikes Deli and Attari Sandwich Shop, we found chicken salad sandwiches that are leftover worthy themselves.

Jose Maciera's recipe for the curry chicken salad was a leftover from his 14 years as a chef before he opened up his casual eatery, Green Peas. With Green Peas, Maciera's goal was to provide his customers with healthier and ethical meal choices. It is that reason that most of the items on his menu have a vegan counterpart, including the curry chicken salad.

More >>