Al and Jean Langer created much of the sandwich menu that’s still found today, from the iconic No. 19 (his father’s formulation) to his mother’s pastrami with cream cheese and tomato.

Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant serves a full menu of Jewish deli classics, but its most popular dish is a pastrami sandwich called the No. 19. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) ...

The pastrami dip sandwiches of Los Angeles are their own breed of sandwich, built upon the New York deli pastrami sandwiches that gradually made their way west in the 1930s and ’40s.

Serving what many have called the country’s best pastrami sandwiches — and even “the finest hot pastrami sandwich in the world,” according to Nora Ephron — Langer’s Delicatessen ...

Brent Reaves, co-owner of Smokey John's Bar-B-Que, makes the famed pastrami sandwich on Oct. 17, 2024, on the last weekend of the State Fair of Texas. (Jason Janik / Special Contributor) ...