Pastrami brings out regionalism

Uh-oh, it seems we have a hot-pastrami war heating up. In a recent column, Harold Winters asked where he could get a good sandwich like he used to get in Southern California.

"Not sure how good of a pastrami sandwich you will find in Southern California," replied Jonathan Rickert.

Van and Karen Bohrer, Sharon Roybal, Debbie Lee and Ron Schultz are sure. The Bohrers, Roybal and Lee recommended Sammy's L.A. Pastrami at 4035 S. Decatur Blvd. and 2191 E. Tropicana Ave. "Their pastrami is as good as we ever found in Los Angeles (at Johnny's on Sepulveda Boulevard)," the Bohrers added. Schultz recommended the Bagel Cafe at 301 N. Buffalo Drive and the Del Mar Deli at South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. South, although he conceded, they're "certainly not up to the standards" of Langer's in Los Angeles or Roll and Rye in Culver City, Calif.

"I believe he means NYC," e-mailed Jan Visser, before recommending the deli at New York-New York, 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Rickert and Sonia Feldberg suggested Weiss Deli, 2744 N. Green Valley Parkway in Henderson. William D. Tomany recommended the deli at the Golden Gate, 1 Fremont St. Pearl Prunetta concurred on the Bagel Cafe and also suggested the Carnegie Deli at The Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Johnny "Vitto" Cicotta and "Teamster" Tim Bell endorsed Brooklyn Billy's, 3275 Ali Baba Lane. Lee Guyette suggested Boxer's Pizza and Sandwiches, 1439 N. Boulder Highway in Henderson, and Ethel Dubuc suggested Jason's Deli. ...

More on spinach salads with warm bacon dressing: Mary Millard recommended the one at the new 88 Key Supper Club at Sam's Town, 5111 Boulder Highway. ...

Several indignant Progresso soup fans pointed out that Chickarina is not now called Wedding Soup, with one pointing out that, among other things, Chickarina contains acini di pepe and Wedding Soup includes ditalini. Dar Szabo e-mailed that while Chickarina is difficult to find, she sometimes gets it at Big Lots or CVS. Laura West and Nancy Sever Muniz also find it at CVS, and Muniz said she has found it at Albertsons at 4421 E. Bonanza Road. ...

Here are more reader requests.

Roybal: "real" strawberry shortcake like she used to get at the Showboat, made with a biscuit instead of cake;

Carole Morgan: Little Gem lettuce;

Rosemarie Friez: a local source for Bass sausage;

Richie Seip: codfish cakes;

Lorry King: Curves breakfast bars, which she used to find at Smith's;

Carole LaRocca: homemade (not frozen) Polish stuffed cabbage;

And Candy Adkins: unsweetened sour red cherries -- fresh, canned, jarred or frozen -- for pies.

Readers?

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