"Langer’s was founded in 1947, making it 60 years younger than Katz’s. Located northwest of Downtown in Westlake, the exterior is slate gray with jazzy lettering appropriate to its postwar founding; it feels positively optimistic. Inside find classic diner decor, with dark brown Naugahyde booths, lampshade chandeliers, and big picture windows that look out on MacArthur Park. Along one side of the dining room, a series of carving stations provides a colorful respite from the restaurant’s relentless shades of brown. Unlike Katz’s, where carvers are in full view, all one sees at Langer’s is bobbing heads against a shiny backdrop of yellow and orange ceramic tiles. Like Katz’s, Langer’s meats are carved by hand, resulting in thick, variable slices — a rarity in the pastrami demimonde." - Robert Sietsema
