Johnnie's Culver City

I know that Culver City isn’t anywhere near Ventura, but good food should be written about.

The plan was Tito’s Tacos, a Culver City tradition, serving big, crunchy tacos with shredded beef, grated cheese, shredded lettuce, sour cream-what I would refer to as a “white man’s taco,” not the street tacos I’ve come to favor in recent years. But when I drove there, the line was incredibly long, and I didn’t feel like waiting. So I went to another Culver City tradition around the corner.

 

Johnnie’s, at 4017 Culver Blvd, has been in the same location for the last 60 years, serving something that I remember from when I was a small child growing up here in LA, the pastrami sandwich.

I remember the pastrami as being a man’s sandwich, something that my dad ordered when he was really hungry, with so much meat that he would often pull some of it off and make a rather healthy looking second sandwich. Back in the 60’s when no one talked about health food, cholesterol or calorie counts, and before the proliferation of bland hamburger chains, there were places serving pastrami sandwiches all over LA, places with names like Jim’s, or Chris’s, or Pete’s. Some, like the local chain out of Alhambra known as The Hat, still exist if you happen to know where to look. Johnnie’s of Culver City is one of those places.

I vaguely remember eating there once with a Jewish girl I used to date 20 years ago and remembering that it was good. Tonight, when I noticed it was busy but with no line, I thought I’d go again.

Plopping down at the counter, I ordered the Deluxe Pastrami Plate ($15.50) from a waitress that looked like she might have been there 20 years ago when I was in last. I also ordered a root beer before I noticed that I could have had a nice draft.

The plate was served quickly, with pickles, cole slaw and a big basket of fries. There were also two slices of lettuce and two slices of tomato, which I guess constitutes a second salad.

The pastrami was lean and fresh, piled high on the roll. The slaw was tangy and sweet, the pickles home made, and the French fries were hot and crisp. It was far more food than I intended to eat, but I tried my best anyway. I still left a half basket of fries.

It was good, plain and simple. For reasons unclear to me, I haven’t found a good pastrami in Ventura, and didn’t realize how much I’d miss them when I moved from LA. I wouldn’t have thought of LA as a pastrami town, but I guess I’m wrong.

If you’re in the Culver City area, strongly recommended.