Art's Deli
Last Monday, as mentioned previously, I went to Studio City to see Jon Provost give a book talk. That event was at 7 p.m. This rare outing to the Valley provided an opportunity for a meal in a strange locale.
Thus I had dinner at Art's Deli, a highly regarded delicatessen on Ventura Boulevard a bit west of Laurel Canyon Drive. It was my first time, but the place comes recommended by Jonathan Gold, who seems to like everything on the menu.
"Every Sandwich is a Work of Art" is the punning motto at Art's, which had its 60th anniversary a couple of years back. I picked a booth by the window and settled back with the menu. They have all the Jewish specialties and some regular diner food.
I went for the corned beef, a half-sandwich ($10.50) size, with cole slaw. (Full size is $13.50; in retrospect, I should've ordered that and taken the other half home.) The sandwich was piled high, the corned beef thinly sliced and warm, lean and with a little fat for flavor. It was terrific. The slaw was good too.
That dispensed with, I had a warmed apple strudel for dessert ($5.95, and worth it).
One piece of sage advice from the menu: "Anything that is hot can be made cold." I liked this phrase enough to write it down. Among other everyday uses, it accurately describes the philosophy of temperature control in the Daily Bulletin newsroom.
How does Art's compare to Langer's? (Aside from the neighborhood of course.)
Occasionally the wife and I will make a full day out of a trip to Langer's. Starting in Pomona, we take the Metrolink to Union Station and then the Red Line to Langer's for lunch.
Afterwards we'll ride the subway to visit various other landmarks before eventually making it back to Union Station. Once there, we'll have a nice dinner at Traxx before catching the train back to Pomona.
[Art's is comparable to Langer's, but you can't get there by Red Line, so it loses points. I do the Metrolink/Red Line thing myself and am always glad to hear of others out here who like to get around that way. -- DA]
Jerry Seinfeld considers Art's the only authentic deli west of New York City.
Actually it's not tough to traverse there off the Red Line -- you can hop off at Universal Studios and grab a connecting Ventura Blvd. bus (MTA #750 Rapido or 150/240 local) straight to downtown Studio City -- maybe catch a sitcom taping nearby at CBS Radford Studios and make a day out of it. But of course you'd need to take the 24-7 Montclair-based Silver Streak back.
[Tip your tour guide, folks, the fabulous Don J. -- DA]
Please try the barbeque at Up N Smoke. There are 2 locations. The owners are Rick & Felicia Stapleton; telephone number (909) 215-4773;
7373 East Ave, Fontana and 883 Foothill Bl Rialto.