LOX OF MEMORIES CANTER'S DELI - L.A.'S KIBITZ SPOT FOR 75 YEARS - SERVES UP DEAL.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer For Mike Miller, there's only one Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. corned beef on rye good enough for a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of gullet gullet /gul·let/ (gul´it) the esophagus. gul·let n. 1. The esophagus. 2. The throat. gullet see esophagus. : Canter's. And at just 75 cents apiece on Monday in honor of the 75th anniversary of Canter's Deli, there was no better deal. ``It's called Jewish heaven,'' said Miller, a Jewish New York native breaking into a blintz-size grin after his super-size sandwich, pickle, potato salad-and-chocolate rugulah deal. Corned beef mavens lined up from noon to midnight outside the Fairfax Village landmark to wolf down an estimated 10,000 sandwiches packed with 8,500 pounds of corned beef brisket brisket the mass of connective tissue and fat covering the anterior part of the chest in ruminants. Lies at the most ventral part of the neck, between the front legs and covering the anterior end of the sternum. . The renowned nosh spot and watering hole for Hollywood stars from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna drew hundreds of hungry fans for a treat costing less than a McDonald's meal. ``Worth waiting for,'' said Carol Hampton, 64, of Compton, who lined up two hours early under swirling storm clouds to tote away her prize. ``If the line's not too long, I'll probably come back and get another one.'' Inside, three generations of Canters greeted wall-to-wall customers as waitresses - some hailing 50 years at the '50s Fairfax location - passed out the beef. For Alan Canter, whose father and seven uncles left New Jersey in 1931 to found the original Canter's Deli in Boyle Heights, it was a testament to homemade bread, handmade pickles and an estimated 24 million bowls of ladled chicken soup chicken soup Chicken broth Folk medicine Jewish penicillin A fowl broth with a long tradition as a home remedy for URIs, which may be a nasal decongestant, inhibit growth of pneumococci in vitro, and stimulate immune responsiveness in WBCs Mainstream medicine A . ``You have real sour cream. Freshest chickens. Best-quality produce. Mayo that is extra heavy. You go for quality,'' said Canter, 69, whose sons Marc and Gary and daughter Jacqueline now run the show. ``Otherwise, (the food) looks nice ... but it's like eating plastic food.'' To customers inside what used to be The Esquire Theater and adjacent Cohen's Deli - which once waged a price war with Canter's, and lost - postwar decor lit by UFO-shaped lights was anything but fake. Over the years, Canter's plain vinyl booths have drawn the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor. Michael Mann wrote TV scripts over breakfast at Canter's. Nicholas Cage met Patricia Arquette there. Its Kibitz kib·itz intr.v. kib·itzed, kib·itz·ing, kib·itz·es Informal 1. To look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others. 2. To chat; converse. Room Bar spawned the Wallflowers as well as its frontman front·man n. 1. also front man A man who serves as a nominal leader but who lacks real authority. 2. Music A leading singer with a group. Jakob Dylan, son of legendary Bob Dylan. Presidents - including John F. Kennedy "John Kennedy" and "JFK" redirect here. For other uses, see John Kennedy (disambiguation) and JFK (disambiguation). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in - have dined there. Politicians seek out the Jewish vote there. Streakers have raced beneath its Chagall-like ceiling. Midnight parties have sought a ``table for 96'' - and all been seated. But for many, a trip to Canter's Deli at 419 N. Fairfax Ave. means a bowl of beef and barley soup under the watchful eye of a loving Jewish grandmother. Senior bubby bub·by n. pl. bub·bies Slang A woman's breast. [Origin unknown.] and deli diva Jean Cocchiaro, a stout waitress with green eyes and an Italian name from an earlier marriage, kibitzes as easily with regular folks as she can with Peter Falk at midnight. ``There isn't anything I can't do,'' said Cocchiaro, 73, who in her 50th year can still carry four cups of coffee, 10 glasses of water and up to four plates of knishes. ``They'll have to drag me outta here, eventually.'' Throughout the day, customers salivated for the assembly line of corned beef plates. For publicist Jodi Jackson, it meant blowing off a rapper prince waiting at Cafe Angelino while she bagged a 75-cent dinner. For Canter's regular Jack Finzi, it meant coping with the extra calories. ``This is over the top,'' said Jack Finzi, 57, of Los Angeles, daunted daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin by his mondo mon·do Slang adj. Enormous; huge: a mondo list of pizza toppings. adv. Extremely; very: a mondo big mistake. meal. ``I'm going to bike ride it off this weekend. ``I feel good, very good,'' added Jerry Fox, 73, of Los Angeles, settling into his seat. ``Without Canter's, Los Angeles would be less. ``Gastronomically less.'' Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Jack Finzi, 57, of Los Angeles bites into a corned beef on rye - marked down to 75 cents - to celebrate the 75th year of Canter's Deli on Monday. (2) Canter's regular Mike Miller, with longtime waitress Jean Cocchiaro, says the deli's corned beef is the only one in L.A. good enough for his New York palate. ``It's called Jewish heaven,'' he said. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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