Billy's Deli, A Taste of 1947

Ironically, or maybe not so ironically, two weeks ago the blogosphere was abuzz with articles shilling David Sax's new book Save the Deli, and now The Goldster has chosen none other than LA's own deli, Billy's as the focus of this week's review. Most importantly, Billy's has the "classic deli funk" which includes pickled fish, cured meat, chicken soup, and that "blast of garlic, which is already working its way into your clothes like a guest who is planning to move in for a while." Gotta love that last line. Anyway, at first taste it seems like Billy's is a gem in the rough, though on subsequent visits back, many dishes prove inconsistent. However, when it's good, it's good. "Billy’s is a grungy place: worn, dark wood; high wooden booths; hanging meats; faded photographs of pre-boom Glendale – the restaurant dates back to 1947, which makes it one of the oldest in town, and the New York bray of at least one of the waitresses is of a sort that has faded away in Brooklyn itself. Billy’s is the real thing: a deli, a sandwich shop of the old school. And there’s cheesecake for dessert." [LAW]