The Godmother: Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery

One of my favorite places in Santa Monica is Bay Cities.


My order is always the same. I have to get the Godmother -- Genoa salami, mortadella, capicola, ham, prosciutto, Provolone.

Langer's Love Lives On

I've been to Langer's too many times to count since my first mind-boggling bite in 2000, but it occurred to me this weekend that I'd never brought my real camera there.



The deli at 7th and Alvarado has been dishing out its world-famous pastrami longer than my mother has been alive. The decor retains a mid-century feel.

Everybody raves about #19. I'm not everybody. I always get #10 (proof here, here, and here). I hate #19. The cole slaw ruins the sandwich -- makes it too big and gets it soggy.

But #10 is a masterpiece.

On this day, I ordered my masterpiece straight off the menu, so I could enjoy the fresh rye bread -- wonderfully soft yet hefty enough to support a mountain of meat.

Beautiful, no?

More often than not, however, I get the #10 grilled with Russian dressing on the side, which is what Mr. Monkey did for this lunch. Yes, grilled!

If you've never had a Langer's sandwich grilled, go remedy this travesty immediately.

The golden sandwich glistens. Spread your own dressing, so the bread keeps its crunch.

This photo says it all. MELTED CHEESE! No grill! No melt!

If you need even more cheese, nosh on some chili cheese fries.

The cheese is freshly shredded and melts into the best gooey mess very quickly.

Treat yourself to a root beer float.

Pretend you're at soda shop. You won't have to pretend hard.

Don't leave without a slice of apple pie with hot brandy sauce a la mode.

Hot. Cold. Flaky. Creamy. Sweet. It's got it all.

Langer's in a word? Classic.

Even When Bad Things Happen, We're Golden

Our stay at the fabulous $1 Orchard Hotel room was limited to one night, so we checked into the Warwick the next day. Totally not our style, but still lovely for just $60 via the ever trusty priceline.

Nearby, we happened upon David's Delicatessen, the look of which reminded us of our beloved and delicious Langer's here in Los Angeles.

And that's where the similarities ended.

The food at David's was insanely terrible. Almost inedible. This is what I get for not doing my homework and just going into a place because I'm hungry. Ugh.

Kosher corned beef hash crowned with poached eggs ($16.95).

Bland. Mushy. Wholly unpalatable. I got through part of an egg and maybe three bites of the so-called hash. So utterly gross.

Luckily this came with a bagel and cream cheese.

At least I could stomach this pedestrian little offering.

Hot pastrami and cheese sandwich ($13.95).


Notwithstanding Mr. Monkey's amused expression, we were not delighted at all by this sad specimen of a sandwich. The meat was tough and nothing like the savory wonder that is our own Langer's pastrami.

Shame on me for just walking in. Boo to me. Booooo. But at least I have saved you from the same fate. That is something.

After our nasty brunch, we went to pick up our Mini convertible.

Or so we thought.

The stupid rental car place only had a regular Mini even though we'd reserved the convertible weeks in advance. One employee even had the gall to utter the words, "You can't always get what you want." WTF? That's precisely what a reservation is for, asshole.

We ended up with this hardtop.


We were whizzing down the Golden Gate bridge 15 minutes later. Whee!

As I snapped away in our cute little car on the bridge, I started to hear some rattling on the side of my door. The rattling got louder. I looked out my window to see the side reflector undone and whipping back and forth violently, slamming and scratching the side of our car.

We were on the Golden Gate Bridge. There was nowhere to pull over.

Then the thing went flying. Flying. Right off of our car. Onto the bridge.

When we were finally over the bridge, we immediately parked at an observation area to survey the damage.

Here's the driver's side reflector intact.

Here's the passenger's side.

[insert wah wah noise here]

We drove back to the rental place, explained what had happened, argued with several employees about paying for the non-collision damage, won the argument, complained about the rude service we'd experienced earlier in the day, and got a convertible Sebring as a replacement gratis.

Yes, we got a complete refund for our rental, as well as a voucher for another free rental in the future. It pays to know how to argue.

Hey, it wasn't broken. And it was free. That was good enough for us.

Not to mention, with a convertible, I could get shots like this.

The delay we incurred from dealing with The Crazy Escape of the Mini Reflector threw a wrench into our original plan to visit Point Reyes National Seashore that afternoon.

But Mr. Monkey always knows what to do. We went to Muir Woods instead, which was closer and would allow us to get back in time for our dinner reservation.

Mind you, I was still a gimp with two ankle braces, thanks to the previous day's tumble, but that didn't stop me from making the short hike. I was on vacation, damn it. What was I going to do? Sit on a bench? Every painful step was worth it.

After our woodsy walk, we stopped to admire the Golden Gate Bridge a little more before we drove back into the city.



Mr. Monkey found these bars in an adjoining bunker-type area.

We made a quick detour to Lombard Street on our way back to the hotel.

Then it was time to get cleaned up for our evening culinary adventure.

Next: Great food and great service the Michelin two-starred way.

Super Sandwiches, Scrumptious Sides

REMINDER: Blog Party #3 is being planned! Join the fun!

The Monkeys went to Langer's yesterday for lunch. You already know how much I love this place, evidenced here and here. I had my usual #10, grilled, with Russian dressing on the side (and half taken home). Mr. Monkey created his own masterpiece -- pastrami, Russian dressing, nippy cheese, and tomato on grilled rye.

We shared some fries and hot apple pie a la mode. There really isn't anything new to report. Langer's rules. It never disappoints.

Today, we had lunch at Foo Foo Tei Ramen House, a Chinese-run Japanese eatery (750 S. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park). The decor is simple with no-frills window-side booths and a large, shiny, red lacquered u-shaped counter in the center of the restaurant. Glass-encased geisha dolls guard the kitchen, and wooden menu placards line the wall.

On the counter, small wooden chests hold napkins, chopsticks, toothpicks, and condiments. Mr. Monkey ordered a "Melon Creamy Soda."

Foo Foo Tei purports to be a ramen place, but I think its strengths lie in its side dishes. Our usual practice is for Mr. Monkey to order one bowl of ramen and to order several sides to share. Mr. Monkey had torikara ramen, shoyu-style, which came with awesome Japanese chicken wings.

Our sides included lightly fried tofu, grilled Chilean seabass, fried silverfish, and a mini eel bowl.

Mmm mmm good. I especially enjoyed the seabass. Prices at Foo Foo Tei are pretty low, too, making the Monkey dining experience even better.