New York and Los Angeles — two world-class burgs, divided by thousands of miles of flyover country, disagreeing on almost everything.
How should cities be built, for example? Do they belong to pedestrians, or to cars? And what’s “cold weather” — should we break out the shorts when it goes above freezing, or start shivering when the mercury plummets to a chilling 59?
And who, more importantly, has the better pastrami?
For years, food writers and fressers from the Big Apple and City of Angels have been battling it out — each with plenty of smoke to blow on the delicious subject. Never mind our many differences — we’ve always shared a historically strong Jewish deli culture.
In New York, the answer is Katz’s on E. Houston Street, greatest deli on earth — Katz’s of “When Harry Met Sally, “I’ll have what she’s having,” Rob Reiner-of-blessed-memory fame.
And while Langer’s in Los Angeles may not boast so high a profile, or so many iconic movie moments, the city behind those movies has always been able to find the way to the timeworn corner of 7th and Alvarado, a knish’s throw from infamous MacArthur Park.
Katz’s, dating back to 1888, home of “Send a Salami to your Boy in the Army” — it’s one of NYC’s most beloved dining institutions and one of Gotham’s top tourist attractions, with lines down the block.
Langer’s, opened in 1947, is by contrast a local’s paradise — a vintage California-style coffee shop where politicos, power brokers and construction workers alike gather to break rye bread.
In the New Yorker in 2002, Nora Ephron pronounced the restaurant’s famed #19 special sandwich a “symphony orchestra” of flavors. (“Soft but crispy, tender but chewy, peppery but sour, smoky but tangy,” she enthused at the time.)
But what about now? To celebrate the historic launch of the California Post newspaper, we took the opportunity to put the clear favorites from both coasts to the test.
Staging blind tastings in both of our newsrooms, we fed hungry journalists (is there any other kind?) all the pastrami, rye bread and mustard they could eat — then asked them to pick a winner.
Here’s what happened.
NEW YORK WEIGHS IN
Langer’s triumphs — 4 to 3
In a final moment of calm before last weekend’s snowstorm, seven willing tasters gathered at the New York Post’s offices in Midtown, where they were presented with two identical spreads of pastrami, rye bread and mustard. One was from Langer’s, dubbed “Pastrami 1” — the other from Katz’s (“Pastrami 2”). The results were nothing short of astonishing, with a relative unknown edging out the pride of NYC.
Each participant tried Langer’s first, tasting the pastrami on its own before building a sandwich — with crusty, fennel-flecked rye bread and Morehouse-brand mustard.
Then it was on to Katz’s — which came with bread from Rockland Bakery, house-made mustard and NYC’s favorite pastrami. Finally, everyone delivered their scores — from 1-10 — for both.
“After eating this, I think I’ll be orgasming like Meg Ryan,” said Lifestyle desk staffer Andrew Court of the Langer’s sandwich, which he pronounced “super tasty. “I think this one is Katz’s,” he said, giving it an 8.5 out of 10.
Post restaurant critic and all-around New York expert Steve Cuozzo appeared to know an out-of-towner when he spotted one, pronouncing the LA fave “good, but nothing special.” He gave the sandwich a 6 out of 10, calling the bread “too big,” saying there was “a lot of fat in the meat,” and that it was “cut too thick.”
Head of Lifestyle Natasha Pearlman, who grew up eating “salt beef” in the U.K., had more mixed feelings, saying that while Langer’s pastrami had a “nice amount of fattiness to it,” she found it “a little disappointing” without the mustard and bread, which she ranked highly, partly for its “nice crust.” Overall, it was a 6.5/10.
Managing Editor, News Lia Eustachewich found Langer’s to be a “good pastrami,” with the combo of the three “what I think of when I want a pastrami sandwich,” calling it “really tasty and not overly salty,” with a “really good bite.” She also found the rye bread to be “a standout,” saying that “with the mustard and the bread, I don’t think this sandwich is missing anything.” For her, Langer’s was an 8/10.
Then it was time to tackle Katz’s. “This meat looks a little better and juicier,” Court said of Katz’s. But, biting in, he found it “fattier, and not in a good way.” It was also cut too thick, chewier and drier, he noted. Score: 6/10.
After razzing Langer’s, Cuozzo turned to hometown favorite — which he was able to identify on sight. “This tastes like New York,” he announced, handing it an easy 8/10. “I like this one better,” he said. “It has a slightly deeper flavor and isn’t as salty.”
Pearlman loved the “fruity” mustard and the meat from Katz’s, but had harsh words for their off-the-shelf rye. “I feel almost certain that the first one is Katz’s, because Katz’s would never dare serve to serve you bread that isn’t rye with fennel seeds.” Overall? 5.5/10.
Eustachewich loved the “bark and the char” of Pastrami #2, pronouncing it “more appetizing” on sight. But she also razzed the rye, pronouncing it “not enough,” explaining that she “needs the fennel seeds.”
Tasting the meat brought further disappointment. “It doesn’t have the signature pastrami taste that I think of. I wish I could make the meat more flavorful,” she said. “If I was blindfolded and I ate the meat from Pastrami 2, I wouldn’t be like ‘oh, I’m eating pastrami right now.’ I’d be like, ‘I’m eating roast beef.’” Her score? A tragic 2 out of 10.
After three more diligent eaters had their say, the New York team delivered a final, stunning verdict — the winner was Langer’s, by one point, leaving the two deli titans tied in this bi-coastal match-up.
“We have a lot of respect for Katz’s, but when you’ve been doing pastrami the right way for generations, the food usually speaks for itself.” said Langer’s owner Norm Langer, when reached by The Post with news of the shock East Coast verdict.
“We’re always happy when people discover what our customers have known for decades — the results didn’t really surprise us.”
THE BATTLE IN LOS ANGELES
Katz’s knocks it out of the park, 5 to 2
Once again, seven staffers gathered at the California Post’s new offices in Century City, where they were presented with two identical spreads from Langer’s (Pastrami #1) and Katz’s (Pastrami #2) — result-wise, let’s just hope this crew is still welcome at Langer’s.
First up was Katcy Stephan, Media Reporter for Page Six Hollywood, who right away “liked the look of the seeded bread” that came with the Langer’s spread, selecting just one slice for her sandwich, “because in LA we don’t eat carbs.” The meat she found “plain” in appearance — finding the combo ultimately worthy of a 6 out of 10.
“This one is kind of like California,” joked Sports Editor Ryan Kostecka after a bite of the Langer’s offering. “New, upcoming, good still learning as we grow.” While he liked the sandwich well enough, saying he’d be “pleased” to be served another one, he wouldn’t “drive out of my way” for it. His score — another 6 out of 10.
Veteran Dodgers reporter Dylan Hernandez, now batting for the California Post team, found the Langer’s meat “nice and fatty,” soft and “fall apart in the mouth.” Calling the sandwich “really good,” he gave it an 8 out of 10.
Senior Sports Reporter Edward Lewis was even more bullish on Langer’s — finding it “significantly” better, pronouncing it “fattier, but more flavorful,” a “steak dinner that tastes like pastrami, for a 9 out of 10.
Entertainment reporter Luisa Rodriguez delivered the same score, calling Langer’s “really good,” while politics reporter Ben Brown found it “a little fatty” and “chewy” — earning Langer’s just 6.5 out of 10.
Overall, enthusiasm seemed to build when it was time to taste Katz’s.
“Oh, it’s this one — this one is so good,” raved Stephan, declaring it “no contest” between the two. “I don’t know where it’s from, but I would like to go to this place,” she said — handing down a 9 out of 10 for the New York fare.
“There’s so much more flavor,” said Kostecka. “You can tell this one has been mastered through decades and decades of experience, experimentation and perfection,” he explained — giving Katz’s another 9 out of 10.
“Please don’t poison me if I happen to walk near your deli,” Native Angeleno Hernandez pleaded, before declaring Katz’s his favorite for its “bolder” pastrami — yielding yet another 9 out of 10.
On the voting went, until seven tasters in total had given their reviews and scores.
And in the end, it wasn’t even close — our crew of Los Angeles eaters preferred Katz’s by a mile, 5 to 2.
THE FINAL VERDICT
The pastrami is always better … on the other coast?
As seen, New York picked Langer’s as the winner, while Los Angeles picked Katz’s. Maybe it’s the love of the new, and the local option was just too familiar.
Or perhaps it just proves that whether you’re in Gotham or La-La Land, chances are you’ll get a good sandwich.
With Marissa Matozzo in New York and Chris Nesi in Los Angeles
