It's Alive!

Dear Readers,

It's been nearly five years since I started the blog here at Blogspot, but it's time I moved on to a bigger, better website to keep track of my sandwich exploits.

And one with an even easier address to remember.

Head on over to TheDangerSandwich.com for all of the past blog posts, and posts from now and into the future.

Video posts are coming soon and so much more.

I'd like to thank all of you for coming to this blog on the regular, because without your support, I would not have decided to take this writing exploit further, and strive to make it even better.

Thank you, this truly could not have been done without you.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to TheDangerSandwich.com to continue this sandwich adventure with me.

A Victory For Taste

Greetings, Readers, and Happy New Year!

It's been awhile, but for the holidays I took a little trip back to Philadelphia and took some time away from the internet in order to relax at the end of the year.

But don't think this means I disappeared from the trail of a good sandwich!

I reached out to the Visit Philly twitter account for suggestions and they were fantastic (one of them will be spotlighted in the coming weeks), but for my first trip, we went out to Downingtown to visit Victory Brewing Co. for beer, a brewery tour, and lunch.

The brewery tour is great experience, and one I would highly recommend. If you also haven't ever had any Victory beer before, I would also tell you to try everything on tap.

We can't forget the food though. Settling down to a table with family after a few pints of Victory's beer (the Gose and then Storm King for me), I settled on the Pastrami with Swiss sandwich.

A simple choice, but if you've been reading this blog long enough, you know that it's one of my favorite types of sandwiches. For Victory's offering, they filled it with house-made hickory smoked pastrami, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and cole slaw between two slices of grilled rye bread.

The pastrami was fantastic. Warm, thin slices full of flavor, juice and tenderness. The smoky Swiss permeated the entire sandwich, holding it together, and the crisp cool cole slaw presented an excellent contrast to the rest of the sandwich.

The fries were crisp on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside with great seasoning. Pair these two together with a light-in-color-but-not-in-flavor beer and you have a great way to spend an afternoon with friends and family at one of Pennsylvania's best breweries.

My journey over the holidays continues next week in Philadelphia itself with a great sandwich from Jake's Sandwich Board. So for the next few days let this sandwich's savory flavors mellow in your mind.

Until next week...

Pastrami and Swiss
**** Stars
Victory Brewing Company
420 Acorn Lane
Downingtown, PA 19335

An Afternoon with a Legend

Greetings, Readers!

After five entries of sandwiches from Hawaii, it seemed difficult at first to find a good sandwich to mark my return to Los Angeles based sandwiches.

How could I find something so good here, in LA that would be able to put my memories of my time in the 50th state behind me for the time being so that I may impartially judge a sandwich here.

Such is the hard life of a sandwichologist.

Taking away the great responsibility of picking a place though, my former roommate Ross suggested we meet at Langer's Delicatessen for a belated birthday lunch. Only a one block walk from a Red Line Metro Station (yes we have a Metro system), I approached what would soon turn out to be a momentous occasion on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Stepping inside this Los Angeles institution, one is transported back in time. The interior hasn't been updated in what seems like quite some time but it absolutely adds to the charm of the place. The warm and welcoming staff don't hurt either. The experience of Langer's reminds me very much of many of the East Coast diners I've been to, and I mean that as a statement of high compliment.

While at times the lines to get into Langer's can be exceptionally long, and the fact that they close at 4pm, this is a great place to order a sandwich, have a drink and soak in the history and homeliness of a fantastic dining establishment.

But you're here to find out if their sandwiches are any good, right? You want to know if it's possible that all the talk about Langer's pastrami or corned beef sandwiches are really worth the hype.

Take it from me, it is not hype at all. It is honest truth.

Langer's is known for their #19, a pastrami, Swiss cheese, cole slaw, and Russian Dressing affair. I had considered going with this, but I am not always a fan of the cold cole slaw contrast with the warm pastrami and so did the #19 without cole slaw.

The pastrami was delicious. Thick, tender cuts stacked high between two slices of rye bread, it's obvious why their pastrami is so famous. Smoky cuts combined with the smoky melted Swiss and a bit of tang and sweetness from the Russian dressing, this sandwich is a great excuse to take Metro and meet a friend for lunch. It's simple and straightforward. This sandwich doesn't need flashy ingredients to make it stand out.

And compared to the other pastrami sandwiches I've had, this one is top notch, conversation or not. If you live here or are just visiting, make sure this is the stop you make if you're looking for great pastrami.

Until next week, Readers...


Pastrami w/ Swiss and Russian Dressing
*****
Langer's Delicatessen
704 S. Alvarado Street
Los Angeles, CA 90057

A Little Slice of New York

Greetings, Readers!

I am currently sitting here, thinking about the rain that is coming to Los Angeles for the next few days. There's nothing I enjoy more than a cool rainy day in the city with some warm soup, a good grilled cheese sandwich and a dark beer.

Before I get to that weekend activity though, I must recount a recent trip to a spot out in Camarillo, only a short jaunt from Los Angeles.

Stopping at the Old New York Deli and Bakery Company, I was immediately overwhelmed by the size of the menu. Even with the length of line I waited in to order my sandwich, I still didn't have enough time to take in all of the items on the menu. Immediately drawn to the Deli Sandwiches section on the menu board though I decided that it was a pastrami or corned beef sort of day.

Straying away from a straight forward option, I went for the Coney Island Style on Rye with Pastrami and Swiss. Essentially I was going to recreate a Reuben, which I had not seen on the novel of a menu until I had already ordered.

Pastrami, Swiss cheese, cole slaw and Russian Dressing stacked between two slices of rye bread, this sandwich started off in a good direction. The temperature contrast between the warm corned beef and the cold cole slaw was an interesting mix. It was slightly off-putting though since I had initially wanted a Reuben, with its warm sauerkraut, instead of this option with a cold and warm temperature competition.

The pastrami was good, though a few pieces could have been cooked a little longer so that it fell apart in your mouth. The combination of Russian dressing, Swiss cheese and sweet cole slaw produced a variety of flavors in my mouth that was enjoyable from start to finish.

The rye bread is also made in house, and is fantastic. So much so that an entire loaf was purchased on the way out the door.

Overall, the sandwich was a bit of a letdown, but I feel it was mostly due to the fact that I was hoping, or expecting, something else. Next time I'm in the area, I believe I'll just shoot straight for the Reuben and see how that sandwich fares. If you happen to be nearby the Old New York Deli and Bakery Co. though, I suggest you take your time in deciding which sandwich to take on. I'm sure there have to be some real winners on that massive menu.

Until next week, Readers...


Coney Island Style on Rye w/ Swiss
*** 1/2 Stars
Old New York Deli and Bakery Co.
4972 Verdugo Way
Camarillo, CA 93012
http://www.oldnewyork.com/

Big Bear, Big Sandwiches

Greetings, Readers!

As much as I love sandwiching here in Los Angeles, it is always fantastic to get out of the city and enjoy sandwiches in other locales.

Mostly, I've sandwiched in other major metropolitan areas but this past weekend I was lucky enough to not only enjoy the clean air of the mountains near Big Bear, but also enjoy a sandwich from a local deli nearby.

Heading up to Big Bear with friends for their annual Oktoberfest celebration, I wanted to do a bit of research beforehand so that I could find a highly rated local sandwich shop to visit. After reviewing quite a few, and needing to find one that was dog friendly, Bear Belly Deli and Cafe immediately shone through as a standout.

Off the main road that runs through Big Bear, this shop has a wide selection of classic deli sandwiches as well as create-your-own options. While the Reuben originally caught my eye, the John sandwich quickly took center stage and became my choice.

The John is stacked high with pastrami, and is topped with pepper jack cheese, Dijon mustard, pickle chips, chopped pepperoncinis and grilled onions on a grilled sourdough.

The sandwich, as well as the ingredients list, is quite the mouthful, but the combination works.

And works incredibly well.

To start, the pastrami is tender, juicy, well seasoned, and at no point was it chewy or fatty. This is some of the best prepared pastrami I have had in quite a long time. The pepper jack cheese was only on the top of the ingredients, but was melted so thoroughly that it permeated the entire sandwich.

The added pickle chips, pepperoncinis and grilled onions complemented the meat and cheese excellently. While the pastrami had the tender bite and smoky flavor, the added vegetables brought the crunch and tangy heat. As much as I love the flavor of pickles and peppers, there was just enough on this sandwich as it avoided becoming too overpowering compared to the other ingredients.

The sourdough bread was lightly grilled and gave a bit of a crunch without becoming too much like toasted bread. The sour flavor of the bread with the smoke added by grilling fit in perfectly. Even with all of these ingredients, it stayed together until the end as well.

Overall, this was an excellent stop for anyone to make if you're in the vicinity of Big Bear Lake, and is a place that will definitely become a yearly stop of my own every year that I return.

Until next week, Readers...

The John Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
Bear Belly Deli and Cafe
42530 Moonridge Rd.
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
http://grizzlysbearbellydeli.com/

The Burgers of Burbank (Part 10)

 Greetings, Readers!

Have you been waiting patiently over the past week to hear more from our exciting Burgers of Burbank tour?

A few days ago Bryan and I hit up two excellent places, starting off with Apollo Charburger.

This tiny, greasy-spoon type restaurant at the corner of Magnolia and Glenoaks Blvd. is a place I have known about for quite some time but had never tried, mainly due to its very limited hours.

During the week they close up at 4pm, so the race was one as soon as I left work at 3pm.

Arriving only 20 minutes before they closed, I was greeted by two burgers that Bryan had already ordered (and with quality decision making skills): The Pastrami Burger and a Bacon Cheeseburger.

I know what you're thinking, Readers: "We appreciate your dedication to the art of sandwiching, especially when you share two burgers at the same time just for our benefit."

It's a hard job, but someone must do it.


Both burgers were pretty straightforward offerings with cheese, lettuce and pickles topping the burger patty and their differing additions.

Speaking of the patty, it was delicious in both cases. Even though it was a fairly thin patty, it was full of delicious all beef flavor that permeated the sandwich and worked well with the condiments, never giving them a chance to even partially overpower its flavor.

For someone who enjoys pastrami as much as I do though, the Pastrami Burger was the lesser of the two burgers. Sure it was topped off with a healthy dose of pastrami, but it was a bit chewy and the flavor didn't shine through.

The Bacon Cheeseburger worked much better. The smoky bacon flavor mixed very well with the beef patty, and the crunchy lettuce and pickles broke up that flavor with their salty and fresh flavors.

Despite my love for pastrami, my love of bacon once against trumps in this burgering adventure as well. Even if you're not a bacon or pastrami fan the burgers here are pretty basic, yet solid and delicious offerings. You won't be disappointed even with a straight up cheeseburger.

Until next week, Readers.



Pastrami Burger
3 1/2 Stars
Bacon Cheeseburger
4 Stars
Apollo Restaurant
401 N. Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502

Straight Outta' Steel City

Greetings, Readers!

It seems that lately I've had some luck finding restaurants or food trucks that I have been trying to get to for awhile.

It turns out that one of these sought after food trucks, Steel City Sandwich, happens to hang out in my neighborhood every Thursday night, and somehow I've never known this until the other week.

Well obviously I remedied that problem quickly, and on a Thursday night headed out to finally try their famous Yinzer sandwich.

Named after a slang term for a Pittsburgh resident, the Yinzer is stacked high with your choice of meat, Italian slaw, tomato, fried egg, provolone cheese and french fries.

Now, the size of this sandwich surprised me. It's an absolute monster and isn't exactly easy to take a bite out of because of all of the ingredients stacked as high as they are.

But it is a very tasty sandwich nonetheless.

The bread was thickly cut and rightfully so as a tough base was needed to hold this sandwich together until the end. The Italian slaw added a nice crunch to the sandwich in contrast to how thick and soft the bread was. The tomatoes were fresh and not mealy at all, and the french fries added a great seasoned flavor with a different textural contribution than the other ingredients.

At first I felt like the fried egg was an odd choice to add to this sandwich, but upon eating it  I was greatly surprised by the flavor contribution and how well it blended with the rest of the ingredients.

My main complaint about this sandwich would be with the meat. Don't get me wrong, the turkey that I had on the sandwich was good, but I had showed up a little later in the evening only to find out that my intended choice of pastrami had sold out.

One of the driving factors to visit this truck was seeing Primanti Bros. featured on an episode of Man vs. Food in which a pastrami sandwich topped with french fries was the main course.

I guess my problem this week is that Steel City Sandwich has become pretty popular. So applause is still handed out to these sandwich purveyors, and next time I'll make sure I'm first in line to get a pastrami Yinzer.

So Readers, in the coming weeks I will be heading back out into Burbank along with writer Bryan Mahoney to find some of the best burgers the neighborhood has to offer. You may remember from last year we worked together to find some of the top delis in Burbank (Deli 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). While those places were great, we are now focusing strictly on burgers as that seems to be the the unofficial sandwich of the city.

So for a little preview on our massive burger outing, Bryan has written an excellent intro here. Check it out and make sure to come back next week to see the beginning of a double digit burger tour.

Until next week, Readers...


The Yinzer
**** Stars
Steel City Sandwich truck
http://www.steelcitysandwich.com

Cold Weather, Warm Sandwich (Part 1)

Greetings Readers and Sandwich Lovers!

I am back from my trip to the East Coast, but not all had gone as planned.

Originally the goal for the blog was to not only sandwich in Philadelphia, but also New York and Washington DC. I had hoped to build up quite a collection of sandwich outings that I had been researching for months.

Numerous roadblocks surfaced with that plan.

For starters, I caught a stomach bug that was going around in the Northeast which sidelined sandwiching as my stomach fought back against me for a number of days, and caused me to cancel my trip to DC altogether.

Secondly, the entire week was absolutely freezing. The day I was in New York the high temperature was only 27. So I had to cut my trip short, but not before I revisited a place I hadn't been for about 6 years.

Carnegie Deli.

This place is known far and wide, even by people who had never been there or even in Manhattan.

I'm sure if you live in or spend more time in the city you could find many other quality delis, but this is THE one of prominence and fame.

Years ago I had tried THE sandwich of sandwiches here: The Woody Allen.

This is a sandwich that is stacked about 6 inches high with pastrami and corned beef with only four small triangles of rye bread keeping the two halves of the sandwich together. It was a monumental task that, sadly, I never finished.

This time around I figured I would tone it back a bit to have a sandwich that would be much more manageable to eat by one person in one sitting. I simply ordered a pastrami sandwich on rye, something that I haven't had in a few days.

Or hours.

Though not as tall as the Woody Allen, this sandwich was still stacked about 4 inches high with freshly sliced, warm pastrami.

This meat was absolutely delicious. Slow cooked for an extended period of time with the slight bite of pickling spices. The flavor was complemented well with spicy deli mustard that I added, but besides the meat, there wasn't anything else on the sandwich.

So while I did love this pastrami sandwich, it was essentially like eating a pile of delicious sliced meat with four scraps of bread. I would have enjoyed some onions, pickles, cole slaw or even Swiss cheese to top it off and add a little textural contrast to the sandwich, because as much as I love pastrami, I like a little variety too.

My return to Carnegie was much more successful than my previous visit, and while many people will enjoy a plain pastrami and bread sandwich, I was hoping for something above and beyond the usual. While the meat was some of the best pastrami I have ever tasted, this sandwich left me wanting more.

And so ended my trek through the cold streets of Manhattan. Wanting to stay for more sandwiching adventures, but absolutely too cold to wander anymore, I left looking for my next place to review in Philadelphia.

Until next week, Readers...



The Pastrami Sandwich
*** 1/2 Stars
Carnegie Deli
854 7th Avenue
New York, NY
http://www.carnegiedeli.com

The Great Burbank Deli Hunt - Part 4

Greetings, dearest Readers!

I hope that the Sandwich Gods have treated you this past week to deliciousness as I further retell my tale of trekking through the city of Burbank.

The one thing I've been noticing while writing these blog posts is that Burbank, for being a small suburban town, is packed to the gills with great places to eat. It's a shame that more people do not have reasons to drive up to Burbank on the regular, as there are so many culinary gems in this town, it's hard to count them all.

Another shop that @818NewGuy visited was Tony's Market, but this wasn't a pre-planned trip.

A few of the shops that we had tried to visit on this day were closed, and instead of giving up and going home, I did a random search through Yelp and this place popped up.

Good thing I did, because compared to the other shops we visited, this was out of the way, and a place we wouldn't have come across casually.

Dom Manente was behind the counter when we arrived and was very talkative not only to us, but all of his regulars who came through the door on our visit. It's always great to have a rapport with the people at your favorite shop, and Dom was just further proof of that.

He took the time to suggest some sandwiches, gave a little history on the shop and just talked about our journey with us. In the end though, we ended up ordering the pastrami compared to the many other sandwiches that he offered up as top choices.

Heading to a local park, we sat down and sampled this sandwich from Tony's Market. Hands down, this is one of the best pastrami sandwiches out there. Biting into it, the only way to describe the meat in this packed sandwich is buttery.

The meat had been cooked and marinated for so long that the fat had mostly melted away, lending its buttery flavor to the rest of the meat, and did not leave it even remotely dry.

Tender and lending its usual marinated spice flavor to the rest of the sandwich, it is hard to remember even tasting anything else. Sure there was mustard, sure there were pickles, and absolutely there was a roll that stayed together until the end, but my mind was solely concentrating on the delicious pastrami.

It is worth the trip to North Burbank for this sandwich alone. If you're a fan of the cured meat, then I highly suggest you take a little drive to this part of the valley just to meet Dom and try one of his best sandwiches.

And so ends another week of touring Burbank's sandwich offerings. One more to go in this series, but if you're in the area, don't just limit yourself to these shops I've mentioned. Always explore on your own as well.

In other non-sandwich related news, I will be skydiving tomorrow for my 30th birthday. If it were at all possible, I'd jump with a sandwich for the blog's new logo. Sadly i think any bread would be annihilated by falling at 120 mph.

Until next week, Readers...



Pastrami Sandwich
**** Stars
Tony's Market
2813 N. Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91504

The Great Burbank Deli Hunt - Part 3

 Welcome back, Dear Readers, for our third week of trekking through the city of Burbank, CA.

For this stop, Bryan (@818newguy) and I headed over to Moore's Delicatessen in downtown Burbank. This deli is a hot spot during lunch hour for people who work at Cartoon Network, which is just around the corner.

If you get to stop in here one time, definitely make sure you take a peek at the back dining room, as cartoonists from CN mark up the wall with sketches from the shows that they work on.

Talking to Ollie at the counter of Moore's we inquired about what their best sandwich was. It didn't take her long to suggest the City Hall, a customer favorite.

The City Hall is essentially a Reuben, although in this case, you have your option on which meat you would like to include. Your choices range from the typical corned beef to pastrami, turkey, ham, or roast beef. For this time around we went with straight up pastrami.

It had been a little while since my last pastrami sandwich, and I have to admit that I was itching to get some.

Generously added to the sandwich with cole slaw, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese and grilled rye bread (make sure you ask for it to be grilled), the City Hall is a real winner in Burbank.

This pastrami had some excellent flavor. All of the usual spices were in play, but without being overpowering. Pastrami really does have a fine line between perfect and sadly over/under flavored.

The other positive about the meat was its tenderness. Even some of the best pastrami tends to have a problem when its cools down (if you've cooked it) in that the fat re-congeals or becomes tough, making the meat somewhat inedible. This was not a problem here. If anything, the meat may have been a little dry, but overall was very well prepared for this sandwich.

The Swiss cheese and Russian dressing blended together in a creamy melange of smooth, smoky flavor which matched the pastrami well. The cole slaw added a sweet crispy crunch to the sandwich that contrasted well with its savory interiors.

And the grilled rye? Well that held together until the end with excellent rye flavor, brought out by the light toasting.

Let's face it, I have a true bias when it comes to pastrami, and in that sense I tend to judge those types of sandwiches on a tougher scale. Despite that, I have to highly recommend this sandwich. While the pastrami could be a little less dry, overall it is a can't miss sandwich in downtown Burbank.

I have to say that before this sandwich journey with Bryan even began, I knew of some great sandwich shops in Burbank, but I have to admit that I never thought there would be so many! So far, we've either hit all of the best places in town, or every sandwich shop should be on par with a five star restaurant.

It seems like the city of Burbank does not disappoint.

Until next week, dear Readers!


City Hall Sandwich
**** Stars
Moore's Delicatessen
271 East Orange Grove Ave.
Burbank, CA
http://www.mooresdeli.com/

Sub Hunting in Burbank

Greetings Dear Readers!

You know, some days there's nothing more that I want besides an excellent sub (or hoagie for those of you also from the East Coast).

Sometimes though, I find it hard to actually find a good deli in Los Angeles that can make a delicious one for me.

It's nto that I haven't found any yet, because if you've been reading this blog long enough you know that I've found quite a few great ones like Giamela's in Burbank or Bay Cities in Santa Monica. it's just that it seems much harder to find really good ones out here.

So when I was doing some dangerous research this past week into a new sandwich shop in my area, I was intrigued to find Santoro's had so many excellent reviews.

Obviously I had to check it out.

It only took a minute to decide after I saw a Hot Pastrami Sub on the menu. The pastrami should be my measuring stick for many restaurants and delis because it can so very easily go wrong. If not of highest quality or preparation, it quickly can become fatty, chewy and downright inedible.

But this pastrami was not. Packed into a foot long Italian roll, the pastrami was flavorful and tender. Thinly sliced and thoroughly chopped, there wasn't even an opportunity for the meat to become tough or fatty. It was honestly, some of the best pastrami I've ever had.

On top of the pastrami was a little bit of mustard, chopped tomatoes, onions, peppers, pickles, salt and pepper.

The only downside was the roll. By the time I got back to my apartment with it, the roll was looking a little sad in spots, and by the end of the sandwich it was falling apart. The heat and the juicy pastrami made the roll work a little too hard.

Now you all know how much I talk about the importance of good bread for a sandwich, and even though this bread was a little sub-par (get it?...sub-par) this should in no way turn you against this sandwich. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and is a definite must for anyone who is a fan of pastrami.

That being said, I think I need a vegetarian sandwich for next week.

I also must mention the service at Santoro's.

It was awesome.

I walked into the shop, and even with taking my time on decided which sandwich to order, I was out the door again in about 5 minutes. Not only was the staff incredible fast, and very friendly, but they didn't just throw the sandwiches together. They were fast and efficient, but also took care not to create a messy sandwich.

So if you're in Burbank and looking for an excellent deli sub, then I can highly recommend Santoro's as another great sub shop in the valley.

For now though, I have a date at Golden Road Brewery for a special beer tasting and dinner this evening. The work of a foodie and sandwichologist never ends.

Until next week...


Hot Pastrami Sub
**** Stars
Santoro's Submarine Sandwiches
1423 West Burbank Blvd.
Burbank, CA
http://santorossubs.com/

Cold Hands And A Warm Sandwich

Hello again, dear Readers!

I have traveled many miles back east in time for the holidays, and while I enjoy the season here in the freezing cold, I figured I would find some amazing sandwiches on the other side of the country.

The work of a true sandwichologist never ends.

This week, in my trek East, I stopped in State College, PA...home of THE Penn State.

I had to throw a bit of a plug in there, didn't I?

Settling in at local favorite, The Deli Restaurant, I looked through their menu, deciding which would be the first sandwich I reviewed back east. Every option on the menu sounded delicious, but one stood out the most to me: The Pastrami Reuben.

Yes, I know. I review these types of sandwiches a lot. But there's a reason, well two: 1.) they're my favorite and 2.) when made properly, they can be phenomenal.

This was hands down, the best pastrami reuben I have had since beginning this blog. I don't have a single complaint about it.

It's really your standard reuben, with sauerkraut, melted swiss cheese and rye bread, but instead of corned beef, pastrami takes center stage.

The pastrami was was a beautiful color of dark read with black edges. It tasted sweet and savory at the same time. Still warm from the kitchen, it practically fell apart in my mouth.

The sauerkraut had its usual pungent aroma and matched well with the smoky swiss cheese. But one of the most impressive aspects of this sandwich was the bread.

Your typical toasted rye bread for a reuben, except it did something not so typical.

It didn't fall apart.

It was a double decker sandwich, with toasted rye in the middle, and even that bread was able to handle the weight of these three ingredients without disintegrating or even becoming mushy. I was impressed, and this most of all ranks this sandwich near the top. Too many times my Reuben experience leaves me picking up pieces near the end because the bread has moved on to sandwich heaven. But not this time.

It was delicious, plain and simple. The person who made this deserves a hearty handshake.

So the next time you're heading to Penn State, or traveling across the beautiful state of Pennsylvania, make sure you stop in at the Deli Restaurant and order the Pastrami Reuben.

You will not be disappointed.


Pastrami Reuben
**** 1/2 Stars
113 Heister Street
State College, PA

A Diner I Can Call 'Home'

Greetings Followers of Danger!

Did you have a most excellent Thanksgiving Holiday?

Did you enjoy post-holiday leftover sandwiches like I did?

Well this week, it's back to the grinder and tackling another sample of one of my favorites.

If you haven't noticed already, people in Los Angeles love pastrami sandwiches. I mean, absolutely adore. You can get one at practically any restaurant you go to.

Granted, this does not mean that they are all good.

And that's where I come into play, I will continue to sort out the delicious from the disappointing for you, and this week's entry is a a definite nod to the former.

I've passed Art's Deli on in Studio City numerous times as I work nearby at CBS Studios, but I had never gone in even though I had always heard it was a great place to eat at, and somewhat slightly better than Jerry's Famous Deli down the street on Ventura Blvd.

From the retro stylings and bright neon exterior, to the 1950's style cafeteria look inside, Art's had me at first look on atmosphere alone. This was a style I could get used to.

This place had the look that said "we make a killer Pastrami" and so my internal Sandwich Radar (...Sandar?) urged me to order it.

When it arrived I was hit in the face with a delicious smelling sandwich. There wasn't much competition for my nasal attention in this place when I was there, but still it was noticeable.

The rye bread was lightly crisped and held up over time with eating. The problem with a properly made Pastrami is that the bread can't always hold everything together until the end. Sometimes, the cheese and sauerkraut can make the bread weak, mushy, and unusable by the end. Not the case here. It held the test of time, and was delicious.

The pastrami was perfectly cooked. It fell apart with every bite, and was full of that spiced flavor. The problem with a pastrami sandwich is the cooking time. Sometimes the meat isn't fully done (or it could be a lower quality) and you're left with meat that is still full of fat, making it too tough or chewy.

The sauerkraut and cheese blended very well together and didn't weaken the bread, much to my relief. For those not keen to sauerkraut though, you may be turned off by this pastrami sandwich specifically because it is absolutely loaded. It seemed to take up more space on the sandwich than the meat. Even with this though, the taste didn't overpower or conceal the pastrami.

My first experience with Art's was definitely a positive one. The atmosphere brought me back to late nights in diners of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, while the sandwich brought me back to the experience of the best pastrami sandwiches I've had in the past.

So that's it for this week, dear readers. But before I go, what bugs you the most about pastrami sandwiches (if you even eat meat)? I'm curious if the downfalls of pastrami sandwiches is universal.

Until we meat again, dear readers!

Daaaaaaaaaaaaanger!

**** Stars
Art's Delicatessen
12224 Ventura Boulevard
Studio City, CA

Fun Times in San Diego (Pt. 2)

Another day, Another Sandwich in San Diego ladies and gentlemen of DANGER.

This time, my adventures took me to a corner bakery in Ocean Beach: Charlie's Best Bread. A little shop on a street corner with a very small town square feel. I liked the atmosphere of the neighborhood, but would this highly recommended shop make waves with me this week?

Walking into the shop, I was overwhelmed by the smell of bread. Every bit of bread used in this place was freshly baked that day.

After spending a significant amount of time narrowing down to one sandwich from a seemingly endless list of deliciousness, I settled on the pastrami sandwich.

Ah the pastrami sandwich. My friend, and sometimes my biggest letdown.

For me, when there is a sandwich you revere so much, one that truly possesses the talents to achieve the status of Danger Sandwich, it is all the more disheartening to find one that is a let down.
First and foremost, the positives: The bread really was spectacular. A rye bread that was incredibly fresh, and doughy, with a perfectly even rye flavor It really showed that this had been hand crafted by someone who worked there and not delivered in a bag by some unknown megaconglomerate.

Although, I still feel as though it could have been better for the sandwich overall if it had been toasted.

This sandwich had two types of cheese: swiss and bleu cheese. Both excellent choices. The swiss with its smooth and mild flavor played well with the pungent dry taste of the bleu cheese. I enjoyed these two so much that I didn't even taste the pastrami at all.

No, really, seriously. You couldn't taste the main attraction at all.

I had to tear a piece off of the sandwich just to be able to taste it.

And I should have just left it alone. The meat wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. It lacked a definite taste and I could have been eating plain old ham for all I knew.

Maybe that's why they packed on so much cheese.

So, dear readers, I am asking you now for some recommendations for San Diego.

Have you ever been there? Have you heard of a great sandwich that needs to be tried out? Let me know, I'd like to hold onto hope that my next trip there will be devoid of subpar sandwich tastings.

Until next week!

*** Stars
Charlie's Best Bread
1110 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92106

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