Places to Find a Corned Beef on Rye in Orange County, CA

If we lived in Los Angeles, finding a good sandwich of corned beef on rye or egg salad sandwich would hardly be a problem! Even a bowl of matzo ball soup would be de rigueur. But we live in what has been tagged as "the OC". Yet, with very little effort I found some pretty decent delis to go to when the itch for this type of comfort food needs scratching.

The most well-known and oldest has to be The Katella Deli in Los Alamitos. What started out as a bakery and rather "home kitchen" atmosphere at a different location, the restaurant has become a county institution. Until the last of the Katz' family passed away, it was run by then. I remember Mrs. Katz herself taking my mom's order for one of my birthday cakes! (told you I lived here) In fact, I think it was her who helped me design the cake for my own daughter's naming ceremony 25 years ago. The waitresses are stereotypical for this type of venue. Older, friendly in a blousy way, very efficient and very professional. The food has maintained it's quality and quantity (you won't go away without a doggie bag) for over 40 years.

Bernstein's-located in Laguna Hills. The food is pretty much as you'd expect. The decor is a little different than most delis. For some reason everything is in black and red and the full bar seems to take precedence over the food. Yet, the matzo ball soup, the cabbage soup and the sandwiches are tasty and plentiful. Prices are a little higher than they need to be, even if it's in the more expensive South County area.

Jerry's Deli-located in Costa Mesa near the South Coast mall, Jerry's is part of the famous chain. Many stars flock to the ones located in LA. It's a fun place, with large portions of fairly decent New York Deli fare. Breakfasts are also popular, even if you don't get a bagel.

Solomon's-not really a deli, but it is kosher. Solomon's is located in Laguna Hills and is known in that neck of the woods as the bakery to go to. The restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch. It has more the feel of a modern coffee house than deli. The bagels are big and flavorful. Chewy outside and soft inside. They do a lot of catering, so while I haven't had more than their baked goods and excellent coffee, I'm ">I'm sure they also do a great job on their sandwiches and soups.

Mustards-For Irvine, this is probably as close to having a deli as it's going to get. I'm ">I'm including it in the line up mostly because my son is a senior at UC Irvine and he and his friends told me the place is pretty good. I'll take that as a sign that I should take my hubby and go try it out in the near future because the fraternity kids that hang out at our home are pretty darn picky about what they eat. So if they say it's worth going to, it must have deli food worth breaking my healthy eating habits for-if only for a moment!