When some Kosher cousins of mine came to visit LA, it was time for me to pay another visit to Pico and Robertson, also known as Little Israel. Once again, it would have been a waste to go to a Kosher place on the dairy end of the spectrum, so we went to Pico Kosher Deli to get some meat going. Sometimes it’s hard for me to get meat without topping it with a cheese of some sort, but the deli had something interesting to top their meat, while still staying Kosher.

This topping was pastrami and I found it upon The Deli Burger. This burger with fries was only $7.95 and all Kosher. I ordered it without lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle and got ready for some Kosher meat on meat action. My burger came and looked just perfect. Not a veggie in site.

Despite the pastrami, I was worried that this burger just couldn’t be good without cheese, but I was wrong. The pastrami added a delicious taste to this burger and was more of a substitute for bacon than it was for cheese. Nonetheless, the pastrami gave the burger an entirely new dimension. The beef itself was also delicious. There seems to be something about Kosher meat that just tastes so much better than regular meat, and this was no different with The Deli Burger. The fries were just normal, but they were good enough to go along with a burger that has opened my eyes to a world away from cheesy bacon burgers.

As a Jew who clearly doesn’t keep Kosher (see any entry on bacon, cheeseburgers or shellfish), I sometimes find it fun to eat a meal the way my Kosher brethren do. In LA this means a trip to Pico and Robertson, which my girlfriend affectionately calls “Little Israel,” although actual Israel can hardly be called “big.” Kosher restaurants either serve meat or dairy, so to take care of my unvegan needs, this Kosher pilgrimage took me to the meat-based Haifa Restaurant.

Haifa serves traditional Middle-Eastern foods like schwarma and kebabs, which is nice since you wouldn’t really want to put cheese or other dairy foods with them. I perused the pita sandwiches and decided the Fried Schnitzel sounded just delightful. When I ordered, I asked what came inside the sandwich and the waitress told me it was the schnitzel, hummus and salad. Actually, that was what came in all their sandwiches, so instead of choosing something different, I just ordered it without and hoped there would be enough schnitzel and hummus to fill the thing.

Before my sandwich came, the waitress brought out a bunch of different miniature side dishes. This was all good and well for the veggie munching crowd, but there wasn’t anything to offer for unvegans. Oh well, it was a little bonus that I hadn’t been expecting anyway and it kept the rest of the table happy. Suckers.

My pita sandwich came and looked perfect. Not a vegetable in sight. I chomped in and found it pretty enjoyable. The combination of breaded chicken with pita was a nice double dose of carbs that I always appreciate and the hummus helped keep it moist. If anything, this could have used a bit more hummus, but it was pretty good as is. The meat was actually pretty awesome and was definitely the quality I expect from Kosher meat. Of course, this came at the somewhat premium cost of $8.95. Yet, the premium wasn’t huge when you consider the cost of some sandwiches in LA that don’t even adhere to strict ethical and religious codes.