Art's Delicatessen & Restaurant12224 Ventura Blvd
Studio City
818-762-1221
I was in the mood for a deli sandwich. Recently, I heard about Art's Deli for the first time, even though the sign in Art's window says they are 52 years old!!! Meaning that they opened up one year before that drunk Mick, stole the Brooklyn Dodgers from their rightful place. Yes, in all the time I have been doing The New Diner, I have not heard about Art's at all! Sure I heard and reviewed Brent's Deli and I did enjoy the sandwiches. But once somebody told me about Art's I decided to go on Veterans Day.
It should be clear, to readers of The New Diner, that I have the utmost respect for the men and women in our military. Personally I could care less what anybody's opinion about the War on Terror maybe, you have that right to disagree with the war. But what you gutless cowards forget is that you have that right, that freedom because of all the brave men and women in the military. So because of what they do, nobody should ever say anything bad about the brave men and women who are in our military. There is a very special person, who I went to high school with, who has been in the Army since a year after we graduated from high school. So this is personal, when somebody says anything bad about the people in the military, they are saying something bad about her and I will not put up with it.
But it does seem to me that for everything the men and women in the military do and have done for us, having one day to honor them, just doesn't seem to be enough!!
I got half a pastrami and corned beef sandwich, $12.50. I asked the server what is the difference between a half and whole sandwich, she said there is 5oz of meat on the half sandwich and 8oz of meat on the whole sandwich!! I wasn't too hungry and thought $15.50, was a bit pricey for a whole sandwich.
When the sandwich arrived, I was very impressed!!! It was very much like a lot of New York deli's I have been to, Katz's Deli where they stack the meat high on the plate. The quality of meat was very good, even better than Brent's Deli. The corned beef was moist, tender, and full of flavor. The pastrami was awesome, better than the pastrami at Langers. The pastrami was moist, tender, very little fat, well cured, and just so good. The difference is that Langers cuts their pastrami much thicker than other delis. But Art's pastrami is much better. The rye bread was good. Soft and chewy and tough, crunchy crust. The crust wasn't hard as a rock like Langers.
Service was below average. The server was OK but I noticed I didn't get something that other tables got. Other tables got a plate of pickles, I didn't get any pickles. Another server asked me if I wanted a refill on my water, my server. The place wasn't crowded at all. About 10 tables and three servers. So what the hell the server was doing, I have no idea. I will say she was nice.
What was bad was the host. I walked into Art's and there were three young, teenagers at the registers. None of them even said HI, they were too busy talking to each other. I wait there hoping somebody says something to me until I finally said should I seat myself or what? The young girl said "No, I'll seat you." Then get to work stupid. This is just terrible. All three have to be blind or just stupid not to see me. I shouldn't have to ask if I should seat myself. When I got up to pay my bill, the young guy didn't say anything. Even at Denny's they ask "How was everything?" Not here at Art's!!! Terrible.
Overall, I thought the food at Art's was pretty good. But the sandwiches, while they were piled high with good quality meats, were pricey!!! So when you combine high prices with the terrible service, I see no reason to come back.
