Juniors Deli is Closing:(

[maudies5]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi...

[wienermobile]

Went to Lenny's for the first time tonight and in my humble opinion it's much better and cleaner then Junior's has been in years. Had the pastrami sandwich on rye and it was moist, tender and a thicker cut than Junior's ever was. Not in the league of Langer's or Brent's but it was pretty good. The matzo ball soup was very similar to Junior's version. I wasn't expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. The place was packed too.

[Servorg]

Did Lenny drop by your table? He made the rounds of the entire restaurant when we there the other night.

[wienermobile]

No, did not see Lenny's but I'll look for him next time.

[foodiemahoodie]

I saw Lenny, bald guy, a bit of "charm-school, dropout" - was offering taste of Irish soda bread - which he brought over a sample and I had to ask what it was "Irish soda". It's possible h he said "bread" so softly, or it trailed off that I couldn't hear. But he was also looking away when he spoke (a Dale Carnegie no-no). Maybe he was tired. What is the opposite of perky? That's him.

Place is spruced up quite a bit - seems fresh and clean in the remodel. Welcome. The old joint was a little depressing (which is not uncommon for delis - Barney Greengrass in New York on Amsterdam is one of the worst - those awful cold, green cast fluorescent light which reduces the color pink - not a good thing for salmon). Takes the pink from your face too - and makes everyone look pale and sickly

No pepper at the table. It was brought over. The salt had black specks in it - which looked like bugs (I don't think they were bugs, but it looked gross). I pointed that out and it was taken away. Minor issues which probably shouldn't bey mentioned in a public forum, but just wanted to point out they might have some initial teething problems.

Apparently a lot of the old Juniors employees are still there.

Service was attentive. People were rushing around, working hard, smiling. (except for "I don't stick my smile out for nobody" Lenny. )

Matzo ball soup was good. (I would reduce the both a bit to bump up the over all falvor). Matzo ball was first rate. Ration of chicken meat, to noodles, to vegetables was on the money (if it were my joint I'd put in more meat, but it was not an issue).

Had a bagel with lox and cream cheese - plate looked nice, the lox was very good quality.

All in all, felt around the same as the Juniors. But not a place I went to so often that I could remember. Certainly better than the former Lenny's of the Palisades.

Lastly, two older women complained about the $2.50 upcharge for real Vermont maple syrup. (one woman I passed outside, the other was next to my table). It does come with syrup. They might want to add that note in the menu.

And I didn't have enough food to do anything but a cursory review of initial impressions. All in all, no harm, no foul. I've taken the bait and I'll be going back for more. Fingers crossed for the pastrami, the corned beef and the turkey dinner.

[Francesca]

Went there for the pickles as a kid when Pioneer Chicken was across the street. Have been there maybe 15-20 times since then. Loved the revolving dessert case back when, but I won't miss the place in general. RIP Junior's.

[pnutbuddah]

I live 5 minutes from Juniors and have eaten there far too many times because it is convenient and decent enough. Although a good batch of their cabbage soup is excellent, and a grilled dog there is as good as you'll find anywhere.

Went to Lenny's for the first time. 80% the same deli counter guys and servers. I asked the deli guys and they said all the recipes are the same and nothing has changed, as did my favorite server.....except for the owners, whom they are still checking out. Everything in the deli, prepared foods and bakery cases looked the same.

Got the usual staples...cabbage soup, cole slaw, turkey breast, mac n cheese and bagels, to go. Maybe dining in will reveal something new, but at this point it tastes and costs the same and seems like Juniors with a new coat of paint.

[wienermobile]

On Lenny's web site it mentions they started Nosh of Beverly Hills and 17th Street Cafe and Bakery. No mention at all of Lenny's in the Palisades. They opened on Feb 7th and they are open till 11pm and Midnight on Fridays & Saturday. They do have a nice menu at this link:
http://www.lensdeli.com
anyone been yet?

[kevin]

Not yet, but please report back.

Also, this is by far, the fastest turnaround I have ever seen. Junior's closed by the end of the year, and Lennie's took over with a little over a month, that's super duper fucking quick.

[J.L.]

Rent's expensive, and landlords collect it every month - whether you have a revenue stream or not...

[Servorg]

Soon, but not quite yet. Yelp reports here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/lennys-deli-l...

Pricing looks more than fair, so if the fare is better than fair, I'm there...

[kevin]

So far the hours are better than fair. That's always a good sign. Esp after a movie at the joint across the street.

[Servorg]

Breakfast at their open this morning. First of all I have to compliment them on having the door open at about 6:55 AM when their website says 7 AM. They seated me and brought coffee and water. The entrance is very nice. New glass doors and spruced up hardwood floors make for a much more modern and airy feel.

The food (corned beef hash with 2 poached eggs and their version of hash browns - which weren't very hash brown like and a garlic bagel and two chocolate chip pancakes) was very "Junior's" like. I know, not a very original (pretty damn banal when you get right down to it) description. But true for the most part.

The CBH was a bit better than Jr's, but still packed into too hard of a disk to thrill my taste buds. The poached eggs were just as I'd asked for them, soft yolks and set white. The pancakes are just too leathery (for want of a better word) for me. I like 'em fluffier. Speaking of fluffy, my garlic bagel was very fluffy. I know the NY contingent will probably diss them, but I like mine just the way this one was. And the amount of sirup they give you is so small you kind of go "what?" - but my waiter brought two more.

$23 and change, pus tip.

I need to go try their pastrami sandwiches.

[New Trial]

The hot pastrami sandwich is decent, not exceptional [$9.50 for a half, $13.50 for a whole]. It, of course, pales by comparison to the pastrami at Langer's, Jeff's Gourmet and Plan Check but will certainly do in a pinch. The two mini potato pancakes that can accompany it (there are other options, such as cole slaw) are not very good--dense and oily--so go for one of the other options.

Next time I will try to Nova, eggs and onions and see how they stack up to Barney Greengrass.

[wienermobile]

Is it better than it was when it was Junior's?

[Servorg]

I get the impression that the name changed but the food stayed the same for the most part. I'll have to go at night and try a few more items. I noticed that the breakfast burrito read exactly the same as the one at Junior's - only the name had changed. But the proof is in the "pudding" so I'll give it a taste test on my next visit and see what changes have been made, if any...

[New Trial]

The pastrami was pretty much the same but the potato pancakes seemed less good--though it has been a long time since I last had them there, I do not remember them being quite so dense and oily.

[Servorg]

Just had their corned beef sandwich (no wonder I'm feeling corny and beefy today) and I thought that it was quite good (better than I remember from Jr's). Potato salad was very similar...also good.

[New Trial]

I passed by today and there is a banner up that reads "Lenny's Deli Coming Soon"--not sure if this is the same Lenny's from the Palisades.

[wienermobile]

Lenny's of the Palisades has closed a few months ago. They had some very bad reviews of Yelp and their web site has been shuttered. Anyone ever eaten there? Hoping it's a different Lenny's.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Lenny's was nothing special, certainly not better an Mort's that they replaced.....it's been replaced by Steve's, but I'm so sick of the overpriced crap they put in the space, I haven't bothered to check them out, as we have gotten a few new gems worth eating at lately..... Will try to go by soon.

[Servorg]

Didn't the Village Pantry actually replace Mort's before Lenny's? Or am I getting the timeline messed up?

[Dirtywextraolives]

Yes, I believe you're right, we had the former mayor's village pantry for a while before Lenny's. The Vp was not so bad and even brought a full liquor license in effect in a sports bar next door as the Oak Room which actually had decent food and a DJ on weekend nights. I think Steve's is trying to bring that vibe back, but not sure how successful it's been.

[mucho gordo]

Are you talking about the Mort's in Tarzana, next to Bea's Bakery??

[Servorg]

No. There used to be another branch of Mort's in the Pacific Palisades village.

[Servorg]

No. The other Mort's that was in the Palisades Village in Pacific Palisades.

[mucho gordo]

AHA! I didn't know about that one.

[ilysla]

Maybe Brent has a brother named Lenny who's a different Lenny then the one who opened the deli to which you're referring? ::sigh::

[Servorg]

Lenny always makes me think of Lenny and Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley

[foodiemahoodie]

I tried Lenny's. Don't remember the details, but it was the worst deli ever. Worse than Izzy's.

[cacio e pepe]

Whoa. There's a deli worse than Izzy's? I mean, how?

[foodiemahoodie]

It's like the antelope that lives doesn't have to be fastest, just the second from the slowest.

Same with Deli's - Izzy's is the reference standard for bad deli in L.A., but Lenny's was worse. Hence, Izzy's survival.

Is Jerry's worse than Izzy's?

Then again - Izzy's is open 24/7. And they get points for that. And sometimes, late at night, perhaps somewhat inebriated, perhaps more than somewhat - bad deli is better than deli.

[Thor123]

Have never been to Izzy's but Jerry's is worse.

[cacio e pepe]

I've been to both. It's not even close. Izzy's, by a wide margin, is the worst deli I've ever been to.

And my head is still spinning with the antelope analogy.

[Servorg]

I have also been to both and my breakfast at Izzy's was better than what I got served (didn't eat much of it) at the Jerry's in Marina Del Rey...but I won't go to either of them anymore so the question is moot.

[cacio e pepe]

Agreed. I won't go to either one. It's kind of like arguing which Kardashian is more vapid. Academic at best, pointless always.

[J.L.]

Dang. I was hoping for a Langer's West. Wishful thinking on my part...

[wienermobile]

From LA Eater "Lenny's Deli — which opened in the Palisades two years ago but shuttered in 2012 — has found its new home"... at Junior's. I am truly disappointed. They are going to have a lot to prove to be able to stick around. "No word on the relaunch timeline just yet."

[kevin]

Sounds like we have gots a worthy replacment to Junior's.

[foodiemahoodie]

Huh? Lenny in the Palisades sucked. Juniors was at least decent to good. (no, not as good as Brents or Greenblatt's, but decent.)

Lenny's? Pretty effing awful. Sad.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Oh wow, bummer..... So who's gonna be first in line to take one for the team??

[wienermobile]

Lenny's Deli on Westwood Boulevard at Junior's old Location, is set to open on February 7 with half off food all day

[kevin]

I can't wait, the anticipation is already putting me into a fizzy.

[wienermobile]

Kevin, from their past history don't expect too much.

[wienermobile]

They had a 2 on Yelp.

[J.L.]

Digressing a bit, but... Since when did a Yelp rating become an reliable indicator on our fair Chowboard?

[foodiemahoodie]

I wouldn't eat at Lenny's for "all off. "

Life is too short for bad deli.

[Wazmo]

Lenny's has their website active. It looks like they slightly tweaked their old site. And looking at their menu, they must have "bought" not only the restaurant equipment from Junior's but also some of their sandwich names. "Oscar", "Emmy", "Queen of All Lox".....etc. Look at their home page, we are in serious trouble when a Deli calls their CORNED Beef,
"Corn Beef". Oh Vey!

[westsidegal]

let's hope they won't be serving it on white bread with mayo, a slice of mealy flavorless tomato, some commercial cheese, and a piece of wilted iceberg lettuce.

[kevin]

That sounds vile.

[westsidegal]

trust me, it is vile.
it was my introduction to california sandwiches.

thankfully, i found a friend who was able to steer me out of the wilderness to Nate 'n Al's.

[kevin]

btrw, another note, is the fake veggie crab cake at veggie grill pretty heavy along with it being quite gut-busting ?

thanks.

[westsidegal]

to me, almost all deep fat fried food is heavy and gut-busting unless it is served in minuscule portions (such as the crab fritters at lukshon).

[kevin]

I guess i keep thinking Veggie Grill: Healthy ? Check.

But the check is very incorrect.

[westsidegal]

if by "healthy" you mean unsaturated fat rather than saturated fat, it's "healthy."

if by "healthy," you mean low fat and low calorie, it is not "healthy."

they serve fries too,
most restaurants that have a deep fat fryer on the premises cannot be defined as serving "low fat" food.

[Tripeler]

A friend of mine says that every time a pastrami sandwich is served on white bread with mayo...
...well maybe everyone has already heard this. Of course, my friend is Jewish.

[kevin]

what is it???

an angel loses its wings ???

somjething like that. ??????

[latindancer]

I haven't heard it...

?

[Tripeler]

Gee, I thought everyone has heard it. My friend says that every time a pastrami sandwich is served on white bread with mayo, a Jewish soul dies. Well, it is a bit gruesome, but obviously he hates the white bread and mayo, but then, so do I.

[wienermobile]

From LA Weekly's Squid Ink on Monday Dec 31st..." a new deli is set to open in the Junior's space." Anyone know anything about this?

[Servorg]

So the (B)rents aren't too high for some other deli? ;-D>

[wienermobile]

From Brent's web site about the possible new Encino location "While we’re certainly interested in that area – as well as others (like somewhere over the hill, in the city) – at this time we haven’t made a final decision as to where we’ll expand."
...again I can dream.

[Servorg]

It's good business practice to keep the landlord in the dark a bit about where your new location is going end up in order to get the best deal possible when it comes to terms...(and I couldn't help but make that point by riffing on the news I read in the paper about Junior's owner basically blaming the "greedy" landlord for asking too high a rent for the new lease).

And one suggestion if Brent's does indeed move into the Junior's space - make your first waitress hire Olga, who is presently at Factor's, but used to be at Junior's until they started laying off staff. She is not only a great waitress but one of the nicest human beings I've ever met.

[Golem]

Santa Monica?!!

[dyippie]

If I recall correctly, Juniors , when it opened, replaced McGoo's (sister restaurant McGee's in Hollywood) home of the Tuesday night 50 cent "all you can eat Spaghetti" dinner.

Someone mentioned, above, Bit of Scotland. John O'Groats serves their famous fish and chips. Son of B of S owners is the proprietor of Groats.

But alas, there are foodie memories that are gone on the Westside:

Fried chicken and hot cinnamon rolls at Websters on La Cienega.

Hot buttermilk donuts at 2 am at the Donut Show. SE corner of Pico Robertson

Bialy's from Back East Bialies on Pico. (the product now at Gelson's of the same name is not the same).

Hot dogs at 2cents plain. SW corner of Pico Robertson.

Delores the drive-in.

Blum's on Beverly Drive for Ice Cream Creations

The Stew Kettle

Woody's Smorgasburger in Culver City or Westwood

Kentucky Boys (similar as I recall to Apple Pan) on Pico east of Robertson.

for foodies of the day: House of Murphy

and yes.. all of the above probably belong in a different thread.

[pnutbuddah]

Junior's has the best cabbage soup in town, and for that alone will be sorely missed when I have a craving.

[hobbess]

http://www.latimes.com/business/money...

With these stories, everybody tends to side with the plucky owner against the greedy landlord, but it wasn't rising rent that shut this place down.

Instead, it seems like a fatal combination of changing consumer attitudes and increasing food costs for a not great enough food product which led to decreasing customer demand that killed the place.

The landlord had already given Junior's several breaks over the past few years, accepting less money than the amount owed in the lease. And, when it came to renew the lease, the landlord decided they couldn't continue to keep offering those same rental concessions but were willing to rent it for lower than what Junior's had been supposed to pay.

But, to survive, Junior's wanted a lease that was well-below market rates. With the economy turning around and rents going up, no landlord is going to lock themselves in with those low rents to support a business that would always struggle to survive.

I'm sorry but if a business can't make it work, you can't expect the landlord to come in with a sweetheart deal to sustain the business. And, LOL at Junior's not paying rent since Nov. for 'negotiating purposes.'

[foodiemahoodie]

Really? I remember reading that this was one of the highest grossing restaurants in Los Angeles. (or some kind of measure of success).

Maybe the highest.

[SilverlakeGirl]

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-02-1...

[mpken]

Nice find and fun read from J. Gold 20+ years ago.

[foodiemahoodie]

"The restaurant area seems modeled on an enormous remodeled living room from a $2-million Phoenix tract home..."

Hm. I don't remember what it used to look like. But the room in question looks like a (boring, lifeless pink-deficient fluorescent-light, crappy formica, etc) generic deli to me.

(not sure if they actually use fluorescent lights - but those places never seem to have a healthy feel to them.).

[SIMIHOUND]

Per this news report the owners said they have not served their last sandwich. I assume that means they will move elsewhere.

http://www.myfoxla.com/video?clipId=8...

[cagey]

That's encouraging. Thx for the update.

[latindancer]

Sure, if they can find the lease space they want, can afford and have the will....
It's not just the restaurant, to me, because obviously they're not the best of its kind.
It's the familiarity and the nostalgia...foodies in big cities are fickle and lots of them just don't have the nostalgia chip.

[wienermobile]

They could check out the old Hamburger Hamlet-Crossroads BBQ location on Sepulveda and National....unless you think that's a cursed location?

[latindancer]

<unless you think that's a cursed location?>

What is it with starry eyed restauranteurs who think their food is going to be 'the one' that breaks that curse?
There's a space on Melrose, in Beverly Hills (or is it Weho)
that , in the last 10 years, has had at least 4 restaurants come and go. Why do they take the chance?

[cagey]

>>>foodies in big cities are fickle and lots of them just don't have the nostalgia chip.

Well summed up. That, and the fact that the landlord feels that space on Westwood Blvd. is worth more than a deli. (Witness what happened to Bit O' Scotland a couple blocks up past Olympic.)

[mc michael]

Ah, Bit O' Scotland.
Pickle Bills.
Chez Puce.
La Barbara's.
Plato's.
Poppy's.
Kelbo's.
Ship's.
R.I.P.

[westsidegal]

the ships on la cienega served the most incredible scrambled eggs:
firm but not at all rubbery.
NO brown spots.
not dry but not runny either.
not at all greasy.

perfection.

if ships were still in business today, i'd still be at their counter making my toast myself in one of the toasters they had on the counter.

[wienermobile]

Not just toasters on the counter....toasters on every table.

[westsidegal]

the combination of simple, perfectly done, scrambled eggs that were still hot/warm when they arrived in front of you, and hot perfectly toasted bread, still holds a spot in my heart.
RIP ships.

[cagey]

Beware the nostalgia chip !! :)

[westsidegal]

LOL

[kevin]

if i'm not mistaken the sign is still there for ship's at least.

[westsidegal]

the sign may still be there, but i believe that the location is being used by an autobody/ automobile customizing business

[Servorg]

I don't think the sign is there any longer but Ship's actually has a working website http://www.shipscoffeeshop.com/ that includes a section about where Mr. Ship likes to eat. One of the places listed is near where the Olympic and La Cienega Ship's was located called Neli's Catering and Restaurant http://www.neliscatering.com/ I found one mention of Neli's in a post by Jase http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8264... but no actual reviews of the restaurant by anyone who has tried it as far as I could find.

[Jase]

Thought I had posted something on Neli's. it's a solid lunch and breakfast place. Very friendly people, food prepared fresh, good price to quantity ratio for the quality. The one caveat is they wrap everything up very tightly for to go orders. Great for stability but it will steam and items get soggy fast. I learned to rip the plastic wrap off my breakfast burritos right away before driving to the office.

[sel]

Unfortunately never made it to Bit O' Scotland that the Jacoby's owned before opening John O'Groats. Never made it to Pickle Bills, Chez Puce, Plato's or Poppy's either. Now La Barbara's was my older sisters favorite pizza back in the day but she always got the one with every ingredient on the list, not my idea of good pizza even back then. Kelbo's served Zombies and Scorpions, rum based drinks that I enjoyed with their tasty appetizers back when I was just old enough to drink! The Ship's on Wilshire Bl. and the other one on La Cienega were my grannies favorites, she too liked to control her own toast production. I liked the 'Ship Shape Burger' and deep dish boysenberry pie back then but there are so many better options today!

[mc michael]

That boysenberry pie was the greatest. Well, at the time it was.

[malibumike]

Pickle Bills was great, their gravy was fantastic, too bad it is long gone, replaced by a stupid McDonalds.

[SilverlakeGirl]

I really miss Ships ... the famed Ship Shape Hamburger. The Westwood location that I grew up with.

And La Barbara's.

[wienermobile]

Especially La Barbara's....

[Thor123]

Especially La Barbra's too.....

[mucho gordo]

Josephina's Pizza was much better IMHO

[Thor123]

You would be wrong IMHO.

[wienermobile]

.....and Thor123 would be correct.

[Servorg]

Since that's not possible (to be wrong about a matter of taste) let's just say that MG marches to the beat of his own pizza maker...

[mucho gordo]

Thanks, servorg. Both were excellent pizzas; just 2 different styles.

[Thor123]

It is sacrilege to even compare Josephina's to La Barbara's, Not that Josephina's was bad, its just that nothing comes close to what was La Barbara's.

[ipsedixit]

I still miss Ed Debevic's for some reason ...

[westsidegal]

i'm one of the foodies that doesn't have a nostalgia chip.

if something comes along that tastes much better and costs about the same or less, i go to the new place.

i stopped eating pink slime years before i stopped eating meat altogether.

[cagey]

Then you know what you're missing. Cheers. Not a fan of pink slime myself, but neither am I a fan of overpriced seal food on a cracker. Different chips I suppose.

[westsidegal]

the stuff i thought was great when i was in college, such as hamburgers that contained 30% lard, no longer cut it.

the stuff that i thought was good when i was in my early 20's, such as burritos/enchiladas made with slabs of molten commercial cheddar cheese, are disgusting to me now.

once i tried food that had been cooked using spices from penzey's, the spice island stuff in the supermarket no longer cut it.

[cagey]

Ok, you have a point. (I went to the Hat yesterday for the first time in years, and I'm still suffering from a grease bomb overload. Doesn't translate well into an age-advancing gastric tract.)

I do have fond memories of Junior's matzo ball soup, but it's been many years (and there are other spots out there cover that base much better).

[westsidegal]

i have fond memories of buying 50 breakfast pastries at a time from Juniors to bring to the office to celebrate every time i made a sale.... . .

those pastries from Juniors let all the sales support people know that their efforts were not being taken for granted.

that said, though, if i were to need 50 breakfast pastries today, i'd probably go to Manhattan Bread and Bagel.. . . .

[Servorg]

I had Junior's deliver one of their breakfast burritos (called Dave's burrito) to me a couple of weeks a ago. I have the scrambled eggs cooked easy and I add avocado. Really good. It comes with a container of salsa and one of sour cream. They also have (soon to be had) really excellent chocolate chip croissants (from somewhere else I'm assuming). And their matzo ball soup is still terrific. One of my favorite desserts has been their pound cake sundae with vanilla ice cream (just using their plain pound cake) with hot fudge substituted for the normal chocolate sauce. Whipped cream and nuts and a cherry completed the deal.

[latindancer]

I'm Sorry....didn't mean to sound insulting, it's not where I'm coming from, at all. I agree with what you're saying, for the most part and good food, above all else, is what's ultimately important.
I'm just one of those people who was sad to see Hamburger Hamlet, on Sunset, disappear and can't get over some of the places disappearing where there was/is this "everyone knows your name" kind of place. The food wasn't all that fabulous, certainly not a foodie's dream, comfort food for the most part, but I could come in the door and the table was ready or the bar if it was one of those times when I needed it and the bartender knew their clients and what they needed. There are so many places, like this, nonexistant anymore. To me, it's just sad to see them go.

[westsidegal]

i've been known to follow bartenders from place to place not necessarily because the replacement bartender's martini is inferior.
i totally GET the sentiment, and, in that respect, am totally with you.
the sentiment you are talking about is the reason that the closest acceptable martini to playa del rey is, to me, to be found in santa monica.
has nothing really to do with the martini itself. . . .

i draw the line at food, though.
if i'm going to deal with the caloric consequences, the food really has to be worth it. . . .

[cagey]

Same thing everyone will say when Apple Pan shuts down in the next few years. I wasn't a frequent visitor to Juniors, but it was never "terrible." I even knew some of the faces in there for many years. However I've watched a half-dozen delis go out of business on the west side in the last 20 years or so and there were far better (imho) that deserved longevity in the face of "progress" or obsolescence. Sign of the times that mediocre just isn't acceptable to the fuss-n-feathers food crowd. Don't worry, that retail space at Juniors is big enough to house the next echo chamber or Old Navy. Everyone will get what they want. RIP Juniors.

[wienermobile]

The Apple Pan's not going anywhere, they own the building.

[cagey]

(The only way that spot can survive, I'm afraid.)

[ilysla]

Quote: "Sign of the times that mediocre just isn't acceptable to the fuss-n-feathers food crowd."

Well, that might be part of it. I'd modify the statement to say that mediocre at moderately high prices (the place obviously isn't exorbitantly expensive) w/o any clear mitigating factors (nostalgia aside) isn't enough for the food crowd. ::shrug::

BTW, I've been to the Apple Pan and liked it (more), although I'm not in a big hurry to go back there, either.

Haven't lived on the westside all that long, but it did break my heart to see the Barnes and Noble get replaced w/ an Urban Home (::shudder::). But since that isn't about food, that's a different story entirely....

[flowergirl]

The food is mediocre at best and the prices are high for mediocre food.

[latindancer]

Well, so are lots of other places in LA that people would miss if they closed.
The place was packed on Christmas, for those of us who don't partake and didn't want to travel to SGV, ...
I'll miss a few things and, of course, just the familiar sight of that big sign on Pico. It'll be a sad day when the owner of the property decides to level it.

[ilysla]

I only went a few times, but I never thought the food was exceptional.... I'm sad that a place that's been around for decades is closing from a historical perspective, but....

[carter]

that's not the only noted deli to close come 2013.
Many more on the horizon.
since when does a $14 sandwich still compute in these economic times?

[lapizzamaven]

But apparently Brent's is expanding...maybe they'll come to West LA!

[TonyC]

Since Son of a Gun charges $7 for 2 bites of a lobster slider? Rather have a $13 pastrami myself.