My Top 3 Sandwiches in Los Angeles

There are three sandwich shops in the greater Los Angeles area that I swear by.

1. Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery in Santa Monica
Bay Cities has a wide assortment of every imported Italian goodie you might want. With all the choices at Bay Cities I'll help you narrow it down to my favorite sandwich, THE GODMOTHER. Let me tell you it deserves to be in all caps. They pile genoa salami, mortadella coppacola, ham, prosciutto and provolone on a house baked roll. Make this your last stop before you hit the beach. It gets a little busy so give yourself some time it might take a while.

The Godmother

2. Dave's Chillin-N-Grillin in Eagle Rock
Proprietor Dave Evans has been churning out the best sandwiches in the Northeast for almost nine years now. While I'm a fan of everything he makes the turkey melt deserves special recognition. With fresh baked bread, sliced whole turkey, tomatoes, mustard and mayo Dave turns the basics into something special. If your not in the turkey mood, try anything else and expect the same great flavor.

 Turkey melt

3. Langer's in MacArthur Park
It doesn't get anymore old school than Langer's Delicatessen. Founded after World War 2 in a predominately Jewish neighborhood Langer's quickly became a staple for east coat ex pats.  In the late 50's they added a pastrami sandwich labeled the Original #19, onto the menu. The #19 is hot pastrami, cole slaw, a slice of swiss cheese & Russian dressing on a hot crispy Rye.  While everything around Langer's has changed completely over the last 65 years the #19 is still exactly the same.

 The original #19

Oinkster Burger Week 2013

So Oinkster is doing burger week again! There theme this year is other fast food places burgers, they include Wendy's, Taco Bell(?), Jack in The Box, Bob's Big Boy & McDonalds with their version of the McRib. The one I'm looking forward too is food truck Grill'Em All's "Weed Eater", stop by Thursday after 6 and you might just see and the homie Hero chowing down with a few other Eagle Rock locals. Get out and enjoy!!!

Smoke City Market

When it comes to BBQ in Los Angeles there are only a few places that really matter. Smoke City Market in Sherman Oaks is one of them. SCM is pure indulgent Texas BBQ, very beef centric, to tell you the truth I have only ate beef there, I haven't even tried any of there sides. SCM has a road house vibe that even includes old Coke machines and a paper towel machine on the wall instead of napkins. All meat is by the pound and is served to you on a piece of wax paper. There are two kinds of brisket, lean & moist, with the 3rd option of cutters choice. I go with moist and you can count on a few pieces of white bread to accompany the meat. The beef has a pink smoke line thru it that you have never seen before. Another great option is the rib, the giant 1 pound rib still has the prime rib attached too it. The homemade sausages are to die for also, pick regular or spicy cheddar. The meat will literally melt in your mouth, it's that amazing! The only other BBQ joint in the city with any thing even close is Bludsoes in Compton. Go to Sherman Oaks and get some of this amazing BBQ and a pint of Shiner Bach, Texas favorite beer.

Dave's Chillin-N-Grillin

If you live in Eagle Rock then you know Dave's Chillin-N-Grillin! Dave's is a phenomenal east coast style sandwich shop. Dave is from Mass and is a die hard Patriots & Sox fan, this is obvious from the posters and hats everywhere. Dave has an infectious energy about him and will always take a few minutes to talk about sports or some other wild thing going on at the moment. The real reason your reading this is because of the food. Dave's is not one of those places where you go to eat that one thing you really like, Dave's has a dozen things you will LOVE! I have allot of favorites, the first is the french dip melt. The beef is cooked in au jus while two cheeses are grilled on some amazing fresh baked bread. When the meat is ready it's thrown on the bread with a few slices of tomato and a homemade horseradish mayo. Speaking of homemade, Dave's makes a back east style Peppa spread(the Hotts) that goes great on everything. Dave's started bottling the Hotts and now it can be taken home and put on anything your heart desires. Dave also has weekly specials,  Thursday is the Pilgrim(turkey, stuffing, gravy & cranberry) Wednesday is the pulled pork with a Bourbon BBQ sauce. The tuna melt at Dave's pops up on Google if you search "best tuna melt in LA", so that's one more to try. Other favorites include the pastrami, rosemary turkey, meatball sausage combo & the hot hippy.
Check out Dave's you will not be disappointed.

The Oinkster

Oinkster seems to have started the slow fast food craze in Los Angeles.  Their fresh ingredients are defiantly the highlight at Oinkster.  I use to go about twice a week during happy hour for their 3.99 burger and fry combo.  That all ended when Guy Fieri and triple D showed up in June of 09. This created burger hysteria in Eagle Rock, 60 people in line became the norm. It's only been recently that I started eating at Oinsters on a regular basis. The burgers still taste great(don't expect Umami, this is classic American backyard grill style) but the garlic aioli for the Belgian fries is defiantly still the best thing.  The purple UBU shake(UBU is a yam) tastes so so and seems like more of a novelty to me. The grilled chicken, plantains & in house cured pastrami all taste great also.  Most of the condiments are made in house, including a Carolina BBQ sauce that tastes like straight vinegar. Oinkster's now has a monthly specialty burger that comes as is. I would avoid Oinksters during the weekends unless you have some time to kill.