Midtown Lunch

It appears as if Erik Black (Campanile, Osteria Mozza) and Joe Marcos (Rustic Canyon, Campanile, Pizzeria Mozza)  have found a semi permanent home for Ugly Drum, their pastrami incubator that first popped up back in September at The Spice Table downtown, a restaurant they both worked at.   Chef Judy from Mendocino Farms noticed, and invited the guys to use her kitchen to do another pop up back in March; which has now turned into a full fledged smoked pastrami tour.  It started yesterday at the Mendocino Farms on Fairfax and 3rd, and will travel in 2, 3 and 4 day chunks to each Mendo Farms branch through the middle of May.

For $12.95 you get thick cut pecan smoked pastrami, with an apple cole slaw, on Il Dolce Forno’s excellent rye bread. There’s also a side of mustard and you can add swiss for $1.  It’s a bit more expensive then the already expensive typical Mendo Farms sandwich, and it won’t necessarily replace Langer’s as your favorite pastrami sandwich in the city, but it’s pretty damn good and worth checking out at least once when the tour passes through your local branch.  (Good luck hitting it up just once.)   The guys are working on opening their own restaurant and there’s talk of this becoming a permanent item on the Mendocino Farms menu after the tour ends.

Check out the full schedule after the jump…

175 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles: April 7-10; 1-4 p.m.

4724 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey: April 14-16; 3-6 p.m.

14141 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks: April 20-21; 12-3 p.m.

7100 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood: April 24-25; 12-3 p.m.

735. S. Figueroa Ave., Los Angeles: April 28-29; 1-4 p.m.

444 S. Flower St., Los Angeles: May 1-2; 1-3 p.m.

300 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles: May 5-6; 1-3 p.m.

175 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles: May 8-17 all day