61404 Thu Jul 08 12:18:08 -0700 2004 41 2 Los Angeles Area 0 325743 Hi Hounds-- I'm moving to a new apartment around the corner from Canters, and the idea of having a 24-7 Jewish deli accessible to me is heaven. I really want to like Canters. Everyone else does, it seems... but the few times I've been there, I have been very unimpressed-- watery matzo ball soup, unexceptional and expensive pastrami sandwiches. One time I asked the waiter for kasha varshishkes and he said to me "you don't want to order that". Has Canter's reputation as a hipster hotspot diluted its chow standing? (i.e. people will go there no matter how crappy it is, because of the neighborhood and 24 hour thing) I will admit that the items I've had from their bakery are not bad (like the challah) and they slick a mean Hebrew National salami. Any imput (i.e. exceptional menu items, or insight into how a Jewish deli in the heart of LA's Jewish district has declined to such depths) would be most appreciated. Thanks-- Mr. Taster Thu Jul 08 12:18:08 -0700 2004 0 Mr. Taster 1 325747 I've always viewed it as a "hip-replacement-ster" hotspot! Have you tried Eat-A-Pita yet? Link: http://home.pacbell.net/dagravy/html/eap.html Thu Jul 08 12:24:27 -0700 2004 325743 0 Curt 2 325753 Ah yes, I've been to Eat-A-Pita once, and as I remember it was quite good. Mr. Taster Thu Jul 08 12:49:57 -0700 2004 325747 0 Mr. Taster 3 325755 Funny - I moved a block away from Canter's six months ago and haven't felt compelled to go there once (after a series of gruesome experiences over the years). I guess it's just an institution that people go to for the novelty. I don't think I know a single person who really enjoys the food there. Thu Jul 08 12:57:47 -0700 2004 325753 0 BrianSM 4 326056 I also live very close to Canter's and have only been to eat there once since I moved. I've only eaten there a couple of times on the whim of friends and I remember liking the hummus appetizer. Other than that it just seems like your standard 24 hour diner food. Good in a pinch, but you wouldn't eat there all the time. But I go there all the time to get baked goods for dessert. I like to try the different cookies, and I like the cupcakes, brownies and black and white cookies. They also have these crazy cupcakes that are a cupcake with a marshmallow on top that is then smothered in chocolate. My husband almost fainted when he found out about it, because that concept embodies his ultimate dessert. Fri Jul 09 22:54:50 -0700 2004 325755 0 kikyo 5 326317 Canter's Bakery is a guilty pleasure of mine - the ladies behind the counter always hook me up with samples of this and that...much better food quality than what's available deeper inside "The Canter's Cave"! Mon Jul 12 14:55:48 -0700 2004 326056 0 Mrs. Taster 1 325757 Even when we were in college, 15 years ago now (!), my friends and I regarded Canter's as a place where one would never actually eat. I definitely don't think 'everyone else likes it,' not by a long shot. The attraction I think is that it's open late, it "looks" like a deli, it's centrally located, and it has some history. Damiano's across the street used to be really fun late at night, though when I return now I miss the celery and carrots with dip, and I notice that the pizza seems somewhat dry. It's still very dark inside though. Though this doesn't help you living on Fairfax, you should check out Brent's Deli in Northridge sometime. Thu Jul 08 13:13:43 -0700 2004 325743 0 Scooty 2 325763 I've been to Brent's many times and love it, but let's keep the focus on this thread on Canter's however. Mr. Taster Thu Jul 08 13:26:27 -0700 2004 325757 0 Mr. Taster 3 325858 Are you guys related? Thu Jul 08 20:01:55 -0700 2004 325763 0 Scooty 2 325784 I second Brent's in Northridge! Thu Jul 08 15:35:43 -0700 2004 325757 0 Mrs. Taster 2 325791 But Brent's is sooo far and Langer's closes sooo early. What's a boy in need of killer pastrami on killer rye to do? Thu Jul 08 16:02:22 -0700 2004 325757 0 Robert Lu 3 325797 Junior's on Westwood has EXCELLENT rye bread. Thu Jul 08 16:17:12 -0700 2004 325791 0 Mrs. Taster 4 325803 Greenblat's on Sunset may be a possibility but don't quote me on its goodness. Thu Jul 08 16:45:38 -0700 2004 325797 0 kevin 5 325807 The last time I went to Greenblat's I ordered a pastrami on rye. I watched in horror as the guy sliced the pastrami and then gave it a zap in the microwave. Needless to say, I haven't been back since. Thu Jul 08 17:04:54 -0700 2004 325803 0 2chez mike 3 325804 Deal. Thu Jul 08 16:47:54 -0700 2004 325791 0 Jerome 3 325830 Go to Victor's Deli on Franklin and Bronson. They do a very good job on deli sandwiches, especially corned beef and pastrami and turkey and ...! Not sure of the lateness factor, but they outshine Canters in EVERY WAY, from a food perspective. Now as to the late night factor, you are on your own. Thu Jul 08 18:31:47 -0700 2004 325791 0 carter 4 325883 great matzoh ball soup, too Thu Jul 08 22:34:36 -0700 2004 325830 0 ll 3 325860 You are very correct. I can only manage to get to Brent's maybe once or twice a year. It has to be one of the most inconveniently located culinary destinations in L.A. I think you're just sort of out of luck - the delis in L.A. I've tried are all either mediocre or horrid. Art's and Factor's are passable (barely,) and Jerry's, Junior's, Izzy's, Greenblatt's and Canter's are god-awful. Hopefully somebody has made a find somewhere in the region. This Victor's suggestion below is worth a try. Thu Jul 08 20:12:21 -0700 2004 325791 0 Scooty 4 325866 Nate n' Al's in B. Hills is certainly decent to better than decent, depending on what you order. Thu Jul 08 20:36:40 -0700 2004 325860 0 WLA 5 326312 Agreed, though they aren't the cleanest place...shut down a couple times for health violations. Mon Jul 12 14:42:41 -0700 2004 325866 0 Scooty 2 325899 Recent small sign posted in Canter's window stated that the business has now been transferred to a "family trust". Probably means they'll be there for another 100 years. I live 10 minutes away, whenever I pass I pray that the sign will someday say, Langers. Fri Jul 09 06:41:58 -0700 2004 325757 0 ciao ny 1 325765 It was bad long before it became a hipster hang. Thu Jul 08 13:28:06 -0700 2004 325743 0 Gene 1 325781 Canter's is really more about BEING at Canter's than the food. The food is much better at Brent's and/or Langer's but there is something wonderful and magic and nostalgic about Canter's and I'm always happy when I go there (about once a year...) I order barley soup or eggs and onions with a toasted bagel or a knish and watch the world go by. Just order carefully (don't forget the Celray!) and savor the experience, if not necessarily the food. Thu Jul 08 15:26:03 -0700 2004 325743 0 Slow Foodie 2 325834 I totally agree. There are a few "safe" things here (although the potato pancakes are not one of them) -- order a piece of New York cheesecake or a bowl of matzo ball soup, preferably at 2 am and don't stress about the rest of the menu... Thu Jul 08 18:46:38 -0700 2004 325781 0 Chowpatty 1 325795 Since I posted earlier today, I spoke with a co-worker who was born and raised in LA, and she tells me that Canter's has always been poor for food-- and that the reason it has remained through the years is simply because historically there haven't been any good Jewish delis in the area. Your take, hounds? Mr. Taster Thu Jul 08 16:11:58 -0700 2004 325743 0 Mr. Taster 2 325868 Way back when, say the 50's and 60's, there were a number of little mom'n'pop delis along Fairfax, Beverly Blvd. and Third Street, so there were other options. As those went out of business (due to the many economic and social factors in a growing LA), Canter's remained. Perhaps it succeeded because it brought its' Boyle Heights clientele with it from its' original location when the LA Jewish population moved west; or because it's a "one stop shop" (deli, bakery & restaurant). I don't remember eating there when I was little, but I do remember going to Canter's deli counter & bakery to pick up "Jewish soul food" with my grandfather for Sunday morning brunch. Thu Jul 08 21:10:35 -0700 2004 325795 0 LBQT 1 325824 It literally stinks too, not just the food...I almost tossed my cookies just walking in...and oof, that room is so depressing, possibly the most depressing place I have ever been. It was filthy, badly lit, and the food was terrible. It was the antithesis of everything a restaurant should be. Thu Jul 08 18:18:08 -0700 2004 325743 0 snackish 2 325836 The "Canter's" smell is an interesting thing... I grew up in a neighborhood in New Jersey with a huge Yeshiva school, and so ultraorthodox/kosher bakeries were everywhere and they all have that bizarre smell that Canter's has. I wonder why Jewish bakeries have that bizarre smell? Mr. Taster Thu Jul 08 18:52:39 -0700 2004 325824 0 Mr. Taster 2 325850 No way is Canter's the most depressing. That HAS to be Nibblers. Thu Jul 08 19:38:59 -0700 2004 325824 0 jcwla 1 325845 Hi there... I was always partial to the martini with extra 'side car' portion at Canters adjacent Kibitz Room. Not hip enough for the true trendoids and not divey enough for the Bukowski set. Just right. As for food, the wife 'enjoys' their Monte Cristo sandwich. There are way better versions of such greasy fare elsewhere; but factor in the "transgrssion factor" (for example, people with perfectly lovely husbands and wives still go to massage parlors as a means of being naughty, right? Going to Canters is the sleazy culinary equivalent, me thinks)... Anyway, Canter's suffers from what I'll call the "Journey Syndrome" (the band). No one I know admits to ever remotely liking the band Journey. Yet Journey sold millions and millions of albums and sold out stadiums. Who was going to those concerts, then? Like Journey, Canters plods ever onwards pleasing someone, eh? Thu Jul 08 19:18:15 -0700 2004 325743 0 silence9 2 325855 The whole "smelly" discussion just cracks me up, but this analogy to Journey really had me laughing. I personally like Canters' bakery section {a lot}, and their turkey sandwiches are really yummy (the only food I've ever ordered there). I'm not Jewish, but I do frequent enough Jewish-run deli's so I would like to think my palette has good judgement, but after reading this thread I'm now questioning my deli taste buds!! Thu Jul 08 19:49:01 -0700 2004 325845 0 Cat'sChow 1 325854 It is filthy. The wait staff is rude. The food is overly salty. The baked goods are seldom fresh tasting. The hours and location are what keeps it alive. Every now and again I give it another chance and it never fails to fail. Someone on here posted about Izzy's in Santa Monica that it is only worth going if you are drunk. That is true of Canters too. Feh! Thu Jul 08 19:45:31 -0700 2004 325743 0 Woody 1 325879 I've had their matzo ball soup and I thought it was delicious. Ditto on the pastrami sandwich. As for the smell it DEPENDS on how many OLD people are in the restaurant. Thu Jul 08 22:08:07 -0700 2004 325743 0 Bruce 1 325943 The reason Canter's outlasted all the delis on Fairfax is because Canter's was better than all the other delis on Fairfax. I logged enough time in them growing up to be able to make a definitive statement: Canter's understands Los Angeles Jews. Just remember that nothing outside the traditional sandwich repertoire is going to be especially distinguished, and that Canter's at 2 in the morning is a substantially different place from Canter's at noon. It has been hip to complain about the food since Jack Benny was a regular, but if you think Canter's is a bad deli, you don't know from bad delis. And the cherry turnovers are delicious! Fri Jul 09 13:55:55 -0700 2004 325743 0 pepper 2 325950 I am very interested in your perspective. As a 30 year old New Jersey/New York Jew, I am very curious as to how Canter's culinary understanding of the "Los Angeles Jew" differs from the expectations of a "New York Jew". For example, every deli here in LA seems to offer Russian dressing on their pastrami sandwiches (even the venerable Langers). But Russian dressing is so strong that it drowns out the flavor of good pastrami, and ordering russian dressing on a pastrami sandwich in NY would be akin to ordering your pastrami on Wonder bread. In a word, sacrilege. Since NY is where all the eastern european Jews first landed, and would thus be the birthplace of American ashkenazi soul food, I would assume that as the Jews traveled west, that the food changed with them. But I simply cannot get used to the idea that somehow the LA variation on NY Jewish soul food is more than a bastardization of a wonderful thing. Your take on this? Mr. Taster Fri Jul 09 14:11:10 -0700 2004 325943 0 Mr. Taster 3 325958 I had a long distance relationship with a NY Jew for 3 years and feel we must have sampled every Jewish-run deli in NY, NJ and LA! Not 'bastardization'. Just different. Fri Jul 09 14:37:10 -0700 2004 325950 0 Cat'sChow 3 325971 As an.....umm....somewhat older than 30 year old LA Jew, and having lived here all my life, I've sampled many, many delis over the years. Canter's is, and IMHO, never was, one of the best. It simply was. Maybe some of its popularity came from its proximity to the CBS tv center down Fairfax, but it never was the ne plus ultra of LA deli. Fri Jul 09 15:41:54 -0700 2004 325950 0 LBQT 2 325976 Pepper's back! Fri Jul 09 16:19:51 -0700 2004 325943 0 mc michael 1 325998 I feel there's not much good to eat there. The only exciting factor for me is it's old fashioned interior and it's central location. I think it is for these reasons it endures. The apple turnovers are good and someone mentioned the cherry turnovers so maybe I'll try them some time if I'm ever back in there. Also, their slab cheesecake is good. Fri Jul 09 17:45:06 -0700 2004 325743 0 Shirley 1 326025 I love the smell of Canter's! Fri Jul 09 19:59:43 -0700 2004 325743 0 2chez mike 2 326168 Heartily concur! Sun Jul 11 14:30:05 -0700 2004 326025 0 Joe Heinz 1 326146 Their kreplach soup used to be pretty great. Haven't been there for a few years. Sun Jul 11 02:02:58 -0700 2004 325743 0 di4cats