Jerry's Famous Deli

Jerry's Famous Deli Restaurant Review:

The menu at originally Los Angeles-based Jerry's boasts more than 600 items, ranging from traditional Jewish deli fare to pastas, pizzas, Cal-Mex items, dinner-size salads, a full range of breakfast foods, desserts, and generously portioned entrées of both expected sorts (stuffed cabbage) and unexpected (chicken and waffles). To help narrow things down: "Barbecue" isn't the real slow-smoked stuff, just various meats slathered in barbecue sauce; pastas come over-sauced, American rather than Italian style; and, oddly, smoked salmon fans will find no Nova, just extremely salty and unappealingly lean lox. We'd skip the above and choose consistent winners: fat, meat-stuffed kreplach with a mountain of fried onions; rich chicken soup in many variations (go for the matzoh ball); shredded crispy onion rings, a habit-forming side; classic deli sandwiches of corned beef, brisket, or, especially, pastrami (regular, not lean).