So we took a little drive to downtown Los Angeles today, to try out a hidden gem of a place that has actually been around since 1929!


We were watching an episode of diners, drive-ins and dives on the food network, and they just so happened to be showing the Eastside Market.
I have to admit that the episode made me hungry, so we decided that we had to check it out for ourselves.
When you first drive up, parking may be hard to find, so we had to park about about a block away, in the surrounding neighborhood.
The Eastside Market was once one of many Italian deli’s in the neighborhood. But now it stands alone as one of the last true Italian deli’s in Los Angeles.
I found the building to be quite inviting with its own little seating area outside. And as soon as you enter, you find out why it was hard to find parking…The place was packed!
It may be a little quite on the outside, but on the inside, it is full of life.
The line to order sandwiches was busy, but the service was pretty quick.
You can order fresh cuts of meats and cheeses. They also have olive oil and the best cannoli’s I’ve ever eaten.
They have an award-winning selection of traditional hot and cold sandwiches to choose from as well as a few hot dishes like lasagna and other pasta dishes.
Most of there sandwiches are around $8
We ordered a meatball sandwich because that is a family favorite and this sub did not disappoint. The meatballs were HUGE and the sauce was all Italian goodness!
It is not that easy to find a good authentic meatball in Los Angeles and this sandwich tastes like a winner.
We also sampled the pastrami sub, and you can choose either pastrami plaid or pastrami in marinara sauce. We went for the plain for now and it was verrrryyyy good! The salty flavor of the pastrami is something not to be missed. After you are through eating, you find yourself still picking at the leftover pastrami bits that did not stay in the sandwich.
But the main reason for this visit, was for the sandwich of all sandwiches. It is called the D.A. Special. Which is my ultimate indulgence!
It is priced $11 for the sandwich. Which is not so bad if you are splitting it up. It’s just that good!
This sandwich is piled high with Italian sausage, meatballs, roast beef and marinara dipped pastrami.
This sandwich is a MONSTER! It is so tall that after I attempted to take a bit only to get sauce all over my face and nose, I decided to use a fork. The bread becomes soaked with this marinara sauce that has all the flavors of pastrami, sausage and meatball running through it.
One half of this sandwich can feed two people, but I wasn’t sharing my half;)
It was well worth the thirty minute drive from the valley.
The ambiance was pleasant with its wine barrels and family friendly atmosphere, but we were here only for the food.
So I am slowly finding all kinds of hidden gems across Los Angeles and the hunt continues for even more.
If you are ever in the Los Angeles area, be sure to give Eastside Market a try!
Website: esmdeli.com
Hours: weekdays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-2 p.m., closed on Sundays.

*Disclaimer – please note that this post may contains affiliate links, meaning that if you were to make a purchase through one of these links, I would receive a small commission.  Please see my disclosure