For me, no trip to LA would be complete without stopping at Canter’s Deli, the legendary 24 hour Jewish deli located in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. While there we indulged in pastrami, borscht, a knish, kugel and of course sour pickles. I ordered cherry phosphate, well, because I could. As chance would have it, Holly our waitress is orginally from San Francisco and had once been part of the Devil-Ettes. Talk about kismet. She was great. If you find yourself at Canter’s, be sure to ask for her.
photo credit: Scott Beale
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I wonder how it compares to the Lower East Side Katz’s Deli
Yes Canter’s rules!! I love the Cheesecake there, but for hot pastrami, I have to say that Katz’s in NYC has it all over them.
Maybe it’s just the New Yorker in me.
So glad you got to visit my old stomping pad. This place was always the late nite destination for post wild weirdness in Hollywood.
I was talking to a 4th generation (Jewish) San Franciscan, lamenting that we have no delis here. He was telling me the old Jewish neighborhoods, and that there used to be a line of Jewish bakeries and delis (in the Sunset and somewhere else).
Too bad they are all gone.
As an L.A. Native transplanted to San Francisco’s East Bay, I have to say I miss Canter’s. There isn’t a whole lot I mis about L.A., but I wish we had decent deli food here. Greek would be nice too!
Thanks for the photos! Brings back good memories.
Canter’s has the best pastrami/corned beef combo that is possible to make. We discovered Canter’s in December 2004, and every time we come back to LA (from Monterey) we have to go there. In fact we will be in LA this coming weekend (Dec 1 – 3) and Sunday is a planned family pilgrimage to Canters.
In September 2005 we were in NYC and made a stop at Katz’s deli specifically to compare against Canters. Well there is not much of a comparison. Katz is good but not great…. Canters is great. If I had been to Katz and never been to Canters I might think Katz was great but it has to take a back seat to Canters. Someone who has a NYC bias (which I do also) said that the Carnegie Deli is the one to compare. So the next time I am in NYC I will make the trip to Carnegie Deli.
If you have never been to Canters, make sure that you take time to go it is unbelievably good.