Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, February 18, 2023

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 18, 2023 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 
Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com 

Peter Dills Knows 
MY PASTRAMI DREAMS 

When my friend and superstar Personal Trainer Darrian 
Dalangini challenged me to find the best Pastrami in the 
area, I thought “easy enough, I’ll check out a few places, post a 
few notes on my Facebook site www.facebook/peterdills.com,
and the answer will appear”. I found out quickly don’t argue 
sex, politics or who has the best pastrami sandwich in town. 
Before we start this argument, let’s take a look at the origins 
of pastrami.
Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to 
preserve meat before modern refrigeration. For pastrami, the 
raw meat is brined, partly dried, seasoned with various herbs 
and spices, then smoked and steamed. In the United States, 
although beef plates are the traditional cut of meat for making 
pastrami, it is now common to see pastrami made from beef 
brisket, beef round, and turkey. 
The Romanian specialty was introduced to the United 
States in a wave of Romanian Jewish immigration from 
Bessarabia and Romania in the second half of the 19th century, via the Yiddish. Early references 
in English used the spelling "pastrama", closer to the Romanian original. The modified "pastrami" 
spelling likely was introduced to sound related to the Italian salami. 

Although New York's Sussman Volk is generally credited with producing the first pastrami 
sandwich in 1887, that claim is disputed by the founders of Katz's Deli in New York, which was 
founded in 1888. Volk, a kosher butcher, claimed he got the recipe from a Romanian friend in 
exchange for storing the friend's luggage while the friend returned to Romania. According to 
his descendant, Patricia Volk, Volk prepared pastrami according to the recipe and served it 
on sandwiches out of his butcher shop. The sandwich was so popular that Volk converted the 
butcher shop into a restaurant to sell pastrami sandwiches. 

Romanian Jews immigrated to New York as early as 1872. Among Jewish Romanians, goose 
breasts were commonly made into pastrami because they were inexpensive. Beef navels were 
cheaper than goose meat in America, so the Romanian Jews in America adapted their recipe and 
began to make the cheaper beef pastrami. 

Making foods to sell out of push carts in the Lower East Side of New York was one of the most 
popular occupations for immigrant Jews in the latter half of the 19th century. Because sandwiches 
were a hugely popular foodstuff in New York, it is possible Romanian Jewish immigrants 
were making and selling pastrami sandwiches from push carts on the streets of New York at 
least a decade before Sussman Volk converted his butcher shop into a restaurant. 

With a little help from my friends, here are the top three choices for a pastrami sandwich in the 
Pasadena/Los Angeles areas. In no particular order: 

THE HAT With a number of locations throughout the San Gabriel Valley, I visited the one on 
the corner of N. Lake and Villa in Pasadena. I ordered mine dry, and loaded up on the horseradish 
and spicy mustard 

JOHNNIE PASTRAMI 4017 Sepulveda Blvd. Culver City. The names says it all. Although 
Johnnie recently passed on to the sandwich shop in the sky, visitors flock to this spot for pastrami 
on a buttery French roll, and ask for extra pickles. 

Tied: LANGERS AND CANTERS. These two veterans probably received the most passionate 

support with such postings as “no need to go anywhere else”.
Canter’s Deli 419 N/ Fairfax Los Angeles (323) 651-2030Langers 704 S. Alvarado St. Los Angeles (213) 483-8050 

Do you like your Pastrami thick or thin? I’ll have to chicken out on this one and say they were 
all good !! 

Email your favorite at thechefknows@yahoo.com 

Join me on Go Country 105 at 8 AM for some real Food Talk Sundays 

USC VERDUGO HILLS HOPITAL CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER TO 
SPEAK AT USC TROJAN AFFILIATES MEMBERSHIP COFFEE ON 
MARCH 2 

Tarina Kang, MD, MHA, Chief Medical Officer 
for Verdugo Hills Hospital will speak to the USC 
Trojan Affiliates on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at The 
Verdugo Hills Hospital, Conference Room C & D, 
1812 Verdugo Blvd., Glendale. The meeting will begin 
with hearty refreshments at 6:30 p.m. followed by the 
program at 7:00 p.m. 

Dr. Kang, an experienced care leader, previously 
served as medical director of quality for Keck 
Medical Center of USC and medical director for the 
Evaluation and Treatment Clinic at Keck Hospital of 
USC. She has continued in her role as Clinical Associate 
Professor of Emergency Medicine at Keck Hospital 
of USC. 

In her role of Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kang 
and her leadership team ensures the highest quality of 
service for patients and their caregivers. USC-VHH 
is a 158-bed community hospital that has been serving 
the Foothill communities of Southern California 
for fifty years. It includes a 24 hour emergency room, a primary stroke center, and OB/GYN and infant 
services, among other services. 


Dr. Kang worked extensively to develop protocol during the initial COVID-19 effort coordinating 
evaluation tents and the vaccine clinic. She also served as the inaugural chief of the emergency ultrasound 
division within the Department of Emergency at LAC+USC Medical Center. She received her 
medical degree from the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Her emergency 
medicine residency was at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Harvard Affiliated Residency and is 
fellowship-trained in emergency ultrasound. She also has a Master of Health Administration from the 
USC Price School of Public Policy. 

USC Trojan Affiliates, a women’s organization located in the San Gabriel Valley, supports the University 
of Southern California and welcomes all interested women to attend its meetings and events. This meeting 
will focus on new member recruitment and all women parents, alumni, and friends of USC are encouraged 
to attend. Gentleman, are of course, welcome to attend the meeting as well. The group meets five times a 
year at various homes and locations within the San Gabriel Valley and hosts additional social and cultural 
events while raising needed scholarship funds for USC students. It currently supports ten students who 
attended local San Gabriel Valley high schools. 

USC Trojan Affiliates is in its seventh year of contributing money to its scholarship endowment fund of 
$100,000, (now well over the initial funded amount) using these dollars to support its scholars. Money is 
also raised from selling unique USC products ---a special line of Maria de La Luz jewelry, scarves, clothing, 
tablecloths, towels, handmade signs, and more. Members also volunteer at the Pasadena Showcase House 
to earn funds and participate in the USC Women’s Conference (March 3), USC Day of SCervice (March 
11), Swim With Mike (April 1), USC Homecoming (November 4), Town and Gown of USC Holiday Boutique, 
and USC Trojan Affiliates Holiday Boutique (November), and programs to support the University 
and its students. 

If a community member has an interest in being a speaker at an upcoming Trojan Affiliates meeting, 
please contact Program Chairman, Jacqueline Goodman, at jtgoodman@aol.com. 

Second year Trojan Affiliates President Ann Palmer of Sierra Madre, looks forward to welcoming 
prospective members to this Membership Coffee and meeting. 

For information and reservations please contact Trojan Affiliates Membership Chairman Kandi 
Wopschall by February 28th at wopschall@earthlink.net or (818) 790-1970. 

BARGER BRINGS TRAIN DERAILMENT PREPAREDNESS 
AND RESPONSE READINESS FOCUS TO L.A. 
COUNTY 

In light of the recent significant train derailments in Eastern Ohio and yesterday in 
Michigan, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger will introduce a motion 
at the next Board of Supervi-sors meeting calling on Los Angeles County's Office of 
Emergency Management to assess and report on the County's level of preparedness and 
general disaster response readiness in the event that a similar situation were to take 
place in Los Angeles County. 

“Freight rail plays a critical role in the delivery of goods and commodities in our region 
and beyond, since Los Angeles County is home to the largest port in North America,” 
said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “Our County has one of the seven Class I Rail Corridors 
in the nation. The Corridors are shared by commuter, intercity, and freight rail 
operators and are located near populated areas and residential communities, so it is 
important for our Board to understand how the County can and would respond to potential 
derailments and disasters.” 

Details about the motion will be released shortly. The next L.A. County Board of Supervisors 
meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. 

PORTANTINO ANNOUNCES NEW FIREARM 
REFORM LEGISLATION

 Senator Anthony Portantino announced lastweek that he has introduced SB 368, a commonsense gun safety measure that would expand andstrengthen the 10 year prohibition of firearmownership and put additional responsibilitieson gun shops. 

“Currently there is no review for people comingoff the prohibited gun list and there are manyoffenses that clearly make someone incapableof being a responsible gun owner," Portantinosaid. "Implementing gun buyback programscan reduce violence and risk of suicide bycompensating participants who voluntarily turnin firearms to a public agency or community-
based organization, especially during a mental 
health crisis. SB 368 will save lives.”

 Currently, licensed retailers and law 
enforcement agencies are not required to acceptand store firearms during a mental health crisis.
There are also certain firearm misdemeanors 
that do not currently fall under the 10-yearprohibition of firearms category and the 
Department of Justice does not have a processfor evaluating individuals who may or may notneed an extension of a 10-year gun prohibition.
Lastly, in an attempt to attract business, someretailers hold “opportunity drawing,” or raffles,
for various firearms accessories, therebyincreasing the demand for firearms by means ofchance. 

SB 368 would: 
Require that licensed firearm dealers establish 
a voluntary buyback program in consultation 
with the Department of Justice; 

Require a licensed firearms dealer to accept thestorage of a firearm transferred by an individualto prevent an attempted suicide; licensed 

retailers may also store firearms for other lawfulreasons outside of mental health crises. 

Prohibits a licensed firearms dealer from 
offering an opportunity to win an item of 
inventory in a raffle and would except fromthis prohibition nonprofit organizations undercertain circumstances;
Adds a number of misdemeanor offenses 
for which a conviction results in a 10-yearprohibition on possession of a firearm; 

Requires the Department of Justice to create 
an evaluation process to determine whether an 
extension of a 10-year prohibition is warranted, 
as well as provide notice and opportunity tobe heard to the person, and establish a processfor the person to appeal any extension of theprohibition instituted by the department.