The Hat

Posted by Edmund in Fast Food, Los Angeles, Restaurants | 0 comments

The Hat
Fast Food. Famous Pastrami Sandwich.
$7 for the pastrami and less than $5 for a burger. Expect to pay a bit over $10 with side and drink.

Various locations throughout CA

I went to the one in Pasadena in LA:
491 N. Lake Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101

It should be apparent by now that I’m quite the pastrami fanatic. I’ve already tried a few places in LA: Langer’s, Oinkster’s, Billy’s, etc. So I’ve had some good pastrami. But my father insists that nothing beats the good old-fashioned pastrami at The Hat, served the classic way, overstacked and topped with mustard. He was so convinced that he just had to take me out to lunch there the other day, just to show me the “error of my ways.”

When we got to The Hat, I was pretty excited. I remember eating the pastrami once as a kid. It was so greasy, it leaked completely through the bag that was holding it, and it was so stacked that I couldn’t even fit it into my mouth. Further, The Hat is somewhat of a historic culinary landmark, having served Californians for decades and having numerous locations throughout California. The joint itself (I went to the Pasadena one) isn’t much to speak of, but it does have the old-school feel of a real diner. Semi-dirty and a little greasy, with no frills at all. You can even smell the grease of the food as it’s cooking right in front of you, in an open kitchen area.

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed, though, especially after all my dad’s praise. What I got was a plain pastrami sandwich, with mustard and pickles, in a long French roll. The mountain of pastrami I remembered from my childhood was more like a little hill, and it was way too salty and greasy, to the point that it overpowers you. Nothing in the sandwich serves as an adequate counterbalance, except for some pickles. The bread isn’t a bad match, since it’s nice and soft, but it doesn’t go with pastrami as well as a good piece of rye bread. The sandwich is just too plain for my taste has very little flavor other than the grease of poorly prepared pastrami.

As for the sides, they’re pretty good, but nothing extraordinary. The onion rings are nice and crunchy, though very oily. The onions themselves are just thin strands, but they’re fully smothered with batter, so the rings themselves are mostly just greasy batter. I’d imagine it would get a bit disgusting eating them after a while—hence, why I only managed a few.

The chili cheese fries, in contrast, are fantastic. In fact, they’re one of the best, if not the best, I’ve had in LA. The fries are just normal, boring fries, just very well-cooked to a crisp. The cheese and the chili though are just right. It’s literally smothered in cheese. And it’s so large that it’s practically impossible to finish. All for $5—that’s a good deal on chili fries if I’ve ever seen one.

Overall, then, the Hat has its positives, but pastrami is definitely not among them. This is an all-around decent fast food deli, but don’t come here expecting to be floored by anything, except maybe the gigantic chili fries.

Taste: 2.2/5.0
-          For the pastrami: 1.5/5.0
-          For the chili cheese fries: 3.7+/5.0.
Value: 4.0/5.0. 5.0 for the chili cheese fries, which are a monstrous meal in themselves.
Verdict: 2.7/5.0. It’s a pretty decent fast-food restaurant/deli, but overall, I’d prefer to go to Langer’s or Billy’s if I want some pastrami in LA.