Wednesday, July 7, 2010

This little piggy went straight to my stomach...

Look out! DANGER ahead!

...and by DANGER, I mean PASTRAMI!

For this week's adventure, I headed deep into the concrete jungle of Eagle Rock in search of another of Los Angeles' highest rated sandwiches:

The Oinkster Pastrami Sandwich from legendary eatery...Oinkster.

I had heard about The Oinkster a number of times: wonderful reviews in LA Weekly, Top 17 Sandwiches of LA in LA Magazine, and through numerous personal reviews.

When I first arrived at Oinkster, I was greeted by a very lengthy line that stretched out the door and around the corner. But have no fear readers, as this lengthy line moves very quickly, and will not keep you away from your own taste of heaven for too long.

Wanting to tackle another of LA's 17 Best Sandwiches, I ordered the Oinkster Pastrami Sandwich: Pastrami cured for 2 weeks, Gruyere cheese, carmelized onions, and red cabbage slaw.

Wow. Seriously. For those less daring, the regular Pastrami sandwich does not contain those extras.

But seriously, why would you want to miss out?

The first challenge of the sandwich was figuring out how to eat it: It was oddly wrapped in paper and oddly cut, so that if you tried to pull it apart, the pastrami poured out into your basket.

So here's a tip: don't try to figure it out, just bite into the deliciousness, head on!

One of the things about Pastrami, for those that don't know, is that if it's not prepared right it can be tough, bitter, and fatty. If you don't take time preparing it well enough, it can be an incredibly offputting experience.

Oinkster's Pastrami is cured for two weeks, and is just perfect. Soft, delicate meat with an exceptional seasoned flavor. Not too strong, but not too weak.

Gruyere cheese is probably one of my favorite cheese of all time. it's lumped on here pretty thick, and is very gooey. If you're not used to cheese on a pastrami, it may be off-putting at first, but be adventurous!

The red cabbage slaw is the real surprise winner here. At first it's sweet, then it's a bit tangy, and is a great contrast to the rest of the sandwich. For how little is actually there, it's pretty noticeable, and very delicious.

The only part of the sandwich that I was not that impressed with was the roll. It was flaky, a bit dry, and didn't complement the sandwich well. I would have preferred the grilled rye of Brent's that I sampled a few weeks ago. Regardless, it's not bad enough to take away from the overall enjoyment of the sandwich.

If make it out to Eagle Rock to visit Oinkster, make sure you order a side of their fries (crispy, warm, lightly salted, and delicious), and get the spicy sweet Chipotle ketchup to dip the fries in.

You won't be disappointed.

So, another week, another sandwich.

A highly recommended sandwich at that.

This is my 11th entry here at The Danger Sandwich, and I hope it is as enjoyable for you as it has been for me so far. Please keep the suggestions coming (even for places not in Los Angeles), as I plan to keep moving forward in my mission of sampling delicious sandwiches, so that you may not have to face the DANGER by yourself.

Unless, of course, it's delicious.

Then by all means, have at it.


**** Stars
The Oinkster
2005 Colorado Blvd
Eagle Rock, CA
323-255-OINK
http;//www.theoinkster.com

1 comment:

  1. The Oinkster pastrami sounds really good. Speaking of pastrami sandwiches, Shapiro's here in downtown (avoid the carmel location) Indianapolis is amazing. And their Reuben is a hell of a dangerous sandwich...

    ReplyDelete

hey, totally leave your name in your post so i know who is posting! thanks for commenting!