Jeff’s Table isn’t your ordinary sandwich shop.
Tucked away in Los Angeles’ quaint Highland Park neighborhood lies the sandwich speakeasy hidden behind a liquor store.
“It’s kind of a little bit about discovery, which is one of the great things about eating in L.A. in general,” explained Jeff Strauss, the eatery’s owner.
The location was partly based on the opportunity presented to him and the other part is just making food fun.
Jeff’s Table’s menu consists of 15 to 16 sandwiches, a huge feat considering the shop started with just four. The first sandwich was their version of the Reuben, called the Jeff’s Special.
“Mine’s a little bit weird. I make my own chili crisp and we use that in our ‘Russian dressing’. It’s got just a little bit of that sneaky something going on,” he confessed.
Strauss said that’s the common thing with all of his sandwiches. They all look familiar but they offer a little surprise.
“It takes you to a little place you might not have thought it was going to go.”
When it comes to sandwiches, they’re more than just ingredients between two pieces of bread to him.
“I love great food. To me sandwiches are great food on great bread,” he gushed.
Much of the menu is his version of a Jewish Deli.
“My food is sort of what happens when you take a Jewish kid who grew up on the East Coast and didn’t know Chinese food and lobster shacks weren’t a part of the culinary tradition,” he explained. “Then you throw in Los Angeles, which is kind of this incredible tapestry of cultural and culinary opportunity. Inspiration is everywhere!”
Strauss has always loved to cook, but he hasn’t always made a living from it.
He started his career in show business as a writer and producer for Season 1 of the hit television sitcom “Friends.” He based the Thanksgiving episode on an actual celebration he hosted with his own friends. Strauss would call himself the “Monica” in the situation. He may have created the term “Friendsgiving.”
He called the experience “incredible” and that most of them didn’t realize the show would reach the magnitude it had.
“I had a great career, I got to do it for 30-plus years. My kids were grown, my bills were mostly paid for. So, I got to go into the restaurant world as a joy as sort of ‘maybe it’s time to get off my butt and do something on my feet while I can still step up.'”
With major encouragement from his wife, Strauss took his passion for cooking to the next level. Not only does he own Jeff’s Table he also has Oy Bar in Studio City.
He calls Jeff’s Table “the modern deli” and Oy Bar “the modern bar.”
As for this next chapter, Strauss says he “loves it everyday.”
This segment of California Cooking aired on Episode 171.