Wexler's Deli / Blue Bottle Coffee

Several entries mention pastrami. I like pastrami, and good pastrami is hard to find.

Often, if pastrami is not cooked well, it is chewy and bland. Sometimes, it'll be chewy and way too salty, and it's very salty if I say it's too salty. Or, I'll order it, and it'll be just a couple of pieces on bland bread, and still very expensive.

Pastrami is expensive, more so than just a burger, so if I'm ordering it, I want it to be good.

Recently, I was at the Grand Central Market in Downtown Los Angeles, and decided that pastrami would be a good call. So, after circling the premises, I decided to try Wexler's.

Wexler's occupies a counter space in the center of the market, and after watching the guy in the back for a few minutes, I went ahead and placed my order for the O.G., a basic pastrami on rye. The reason I watched the guy is something I learned while watching a video on Langers Deli, (another great pastrami place), and that's if they're cutting with a machine, or just making a bunch of parallel cuts by hand, you end up with some really chewy pastrami. A good deli guy will cut against the grain, and to do that, you need to spin the meet on the cutting board at different points to stay against the grain, and that's what the deli guy was doing.

I took my seat at the counter-I really wanted to sit at the counter, although there were tables near by. The counter just seemed right for eating pastrami, and my order actually came up pretty quick. It came a pickle and either cole slaw or potato salad-I went with the slaw. The pickle was crisp and the slaw a bit tart, both very good. The sandwich, too, was solid. Not too much salt, a bit of smokey flavor, not chewy, everything that I could have hoped for. A good lunch choice.

 

 After, I though a bit of coffee would be nice, so I went over to the Bradbury Building, (one of the premier architectural buildings in the city, seen in many movies and T.V. Shows), and had the pour over coffee at Blue Bottle Coffee. 

I want to say that I liked it. At twice the cost of Starbucks, I really want to say that it was a transcendent experience that no coffee drinker should miss. But, frankly, it wasn't. It wasn't bad, mind you, but it wasn't worth twice what I would normally pay. The place looked nice, though.