Ritz Bites

Loss to the neighborhood, and a big opportunity: Victor's Liquor & Deli closing

I would not bemoan this development from a food-lovers' standpoint, but it's a sad loss to the Bronson Canyon/East Hollywood Hills neighborhood. Victor's Liquor and Deli is closing at the end of the month. The sign posted in the window spells it all out, and the space is for lease. The plaque memorializing Victor Levy's dream looks very sad now.

The family-owned business has been around for many decades. There's also constant confusion with the OTHER Victor's next door, which is technically Victor's Restaurant, not Victor's Liquor and Delicatessen, and it's under separate ownership. (Don't know the backstory of the split there, though I certainly am curious. Citysearch comments reflect the ongoing confusion between the two businesses.) Current signage about the state of affairs at Victor's Square reinforce this divide.

Both Victor'ses share in common high prices, shabby decor that reflect a type of lazy and resigned management philosophy, and yet, a surprising neighborhood charm. I'll miss Victor's Deli. Too bad we won't be able to run down the hill for shockingly good chicken soup with huge fluffy matzo balls or peruse the small selection of great wines (this is where I first found out about Sean Thackery's Pleiades, a house favorite), which include some old dusty bottles of four-figure priced Lafite Rothschilds and Latours stashed in the 1970s-era faux wood Formica counter. I wonder where those will wind up, since there's no major fire sale planned.

Tonight we had our last take-out meal at home from Victor's. It consisted of just one pastrami sandwich with top-notch quality sweet meat. H actually ate it normal style, i.e. between the pieces of rye bread, while I siphoned off the excess meat and mixed it into a wild arugula and spinach salad with Fuji apple.  Delish!

While we should pause to appreciate the past, let's look to the future. So, will an enterprising restaurateur PLEASE open up a lovely wine bar, or a sleek cafe, or something that's better than the mediocrity that lines this stretch of Franklin Avenue! (Leaf -- of all places -- is the only one I like.)

It's a space with potential that comes with a built-in customer base! Look at all those packed restaurants along the strip, like tre shitty La Poubelle, with its apropos name. Even Victor's Restaurant does strong business with its gross dirty ceilings, old ratty carpet, depressing decor and average food. This article sounds like it's describing about another place entirely.

The bar should be raised to  honor Victor Levy's dream.

Nate'N Al: No extra apostrophe needed

I feel like a deli traitor. 

Not like Canter's is the ultimate.  I haven't made that statement for many years now.  But it also feels sort of wrong to prefer a deli in the heart of Beverly Hills instead of one located along the Borscht Belt.

Nonetheless, throughout my pregnancy I've treated myself to Friday lunches alone at Nate'n Al.  There's just so much I love about the place.  The pickle plate with super delicious green ones and sauerkraut automatically brought to the table totally rocks.  The backs of booths are low to make people watching easier.  And the hostess treats me so well.  The other day, for instance, I put my name on the list before I went off to run an errand, and was seated almost immediately in the packed dining room when I returned 20 minutes later.  Must be short-lived pregnancy props.

Then there's the soup, which is a big part of what this routine is about.  Granted I'm not always on board with the plain broth-and-balls school (oops, that sounds dirty) because sometimes I like a little stuff in there ala Greenblatt's style.  But the chicken soup is clear as the Caribbean Sea and not overly rich or fatty like what you get on Fairfax.  (Los Angeles Magazine salutes the "Zen simplicity" of the matzo balls in the Best of L.A. issue.)  You get fresh slices of rye instead of Saltines.  Egg creams, however, are much cheaper at an unlikely location a few blocks away versus Nate'n Al's price of $3.75.

Which leads me to my most recent Nn'A lunch, when it proved to be the perfect place to fuel up for the Barneys Warehouse Sale madness.  Not just because of the caloric intake and such, but because said luxury retailer and famed deli have a small thing in common.  Contrary to "popular" usage (you know, since Barneys is so widely mentioned in regular conversation), neither Barneys nor Nate n' Al technically have a possessive apostrophe in their respective proper names.  You're also unlikely to find a bargain at either place.

My shopping trip to the airplane hangar was relatively brief and I only wound up buying a Judy Ross pillow, of all things.  But thank goodness I had some righteous Nate'n Al in me, otherwise I might've committed a heinous act of road rage on my way home.  I can at least maintain my allegiance to humanity, if not delicatessens.