Jewish Delis in San Francisco suck. 

There.  I said it. I really mean it too. 

This city has a perfectly decent size Jewish population – why is a really good deli such an impossible task?  In a city with such a taste for restaurants with a strong point of culinary view, a Jewish deli would seem like a natural.  Cure your own corned beef and make your own pickles, and we’ve got the Alice Waters-inspired deli this city deserves. 

Sadly, this hasn’t happened yet, so for the time being, I get my fix every time I’m in LA at Brent’s Deli in Northridge. They also have a newer, cleaner, more gentrified offshoot in Westlake, but I figure if I’ll go to the trouble to being in LA, I want the real deal. So I collected a cadre of Nice Jewish Boys, and set out for brunch. 

As usual, Brent’s did not disappoint. There a are a few keys to a successful Jewish Deli (by my measure, being Kosher isn’t one of them.  It’s a cultural thing.) 

Unadorned Deli Sandwiches

 

 

No mayo, no lettuce, and mustard is already on the table, and the meat is freshly cut to order. Rye bread is the preferred choice, but egg bread is acceptable too. 

Now just to be clear – these aren’t the only sandwiches on the menu.  In fact, corned beef has many, many great incarnations at a deli like this: like the Reuben, another benchmark to judge a deli by. And if you make a really great corned beef hash, you can make Zak make this face:

 

 

 

(Psst! don’t tell Barry, Zak’s dad we went to Brents.  He’s more of an Agoura Deli man, and this is the sort of betrayal that gets you disowned.)

Smoked Fish for Breakfast.

 

  

 

I don’t know where this tradition really comes from, but once it  gets into you, there is no getting out.  There is just something about smoked salmon on a good bagel for breakfast that really does it for me.  I think it might be conditioned from a young age.  Important note: HOT smoked salmon does not cut it.  It has to be cold smoked lox. Also good is whitefish salad, which is what I had this morning. It was great – rich and creamy, with an aggressive smoky flavor.  On a toasted bagel, I was a happy, happy camper.

Mediocre Coffee and Sassy Waitresses Who Don’t Take No Shit From No One. 

 

 

 

Maybe this is a carry over from the Jewish Deli’s goy cousin, The East Coast Diner, but I’d be willing to bend on the poor coffee rule here in San Francisco.  The crabby waitresses, are a must. Actually, towards the end of our brunch, our waitress actually become quite friendly and chatty with us.  It kinda creeped me out. 

Black and White Cookies the Size of Your Head

 

 

 

Also, Hamantashen year-round. 

Finally, A Serious Deli Counter. 

 

 

 

 

Pushy grandmothers who refuse to wait in line for their order optional, but recommended. 

So am I missing anything?  I’m sure there are some serious east coasters out there with their own list of requirements.  Any San Francisco institutions I’m missing out on? The Refuge is next on my hit list, and I’ve heard good things. 

Tags: Brent's, Jewish Deli, Los Angeles

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Reviews, Stories, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.