Montreal’s Suburban Trio: Chenoy’s, Abie’s, Deli St. Laurent
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007Laziness and a sense of artistic creativity have compelled me to compile three delis that I saw in one day into this little video clip. It’s pretty self-explanatory, though I really do reccomend all these places. Each had something to surprise me, like the crisp, airy latkes at Chenoy’s, the succulent smoked meat and Romanian karnatzel (which tastes of spongy garlic infused charcoal kissed beef) from Abie’s, and the club roll at Deli St. Laurent, a new discovery and timeless gem.
Coordinates:
Chenoy’s Delicatessen
3616 ST JEAN BD, DOLLARD-DES-ORMEAUX, QC
(514) 620-2584
Abie’s Smoked Meat
3980, St. Jean Boulevard, Dollard Des Ormeaux, Quebec
(514) 626-ABIE (2243)
www.abiesmokedmeat.com
Restaurant St. Laurent Deli
2073 St. Louis, Ville St. Laurent, Quebec
(514) 744-4113
Bridging the Toronto-Montreal divide: Snowdon Deli and Centre St. Deli
Tuesday, June 12th, 2007Today is my father’s 60th birthday, and last night we feasted on the deli that I brought back from Montreal. Part of the care package included a box of poppy seed mohn cookies from Snowdon Deli (or Deli Snowdon as the language police call it). A year ago I was in Montreal and my father sent me a text message:
“David- pck up mohn cookies from snowdon they are thinner than centre st. xoxo Dad”
Allow me to explain. Montreal’s Snowdon Deli and Toronto’s Centre Street Deli are family. A bit of history:
Snowdon deli began in 1946 by brothers Abe and Joe Morantz, in the middle class Jewish neighborhood of Snowdon in Montreal. Over the years, Snowdon grew into one of the most beloved delis in the city. In a town where most delis offered the choice of either smoked meat or steak, Snowdon featured an expansive menu that ran the gamut from hot and cold deli sandwiches to excellent baked goods to appetizing and party sandwiches. It was blocks away from my grandparent’s apartment, and was a frequent fixture on all my childhood visits to Montreal. Abe’s son Ian Morantz now owns the place along with longtime counterman John Agelopoulos.
Ian Morantz, with brisket, at Snowdon Deli, in Montreal
Centre Street Deli was what happened when Cheryl Morantz, the daughter of Joe, moved to Toronto in the early 1980’s and noticed the need for a great Montreal style deli. Hundreds of thousands of Montrealers had moved to the city since the late 1960’s, fleeing economic uncertainty and political instability. Their craving for a smoked meat sandwich remained strong, and Cheryl saw the chance to do something. Her father sent out his top counterman, Sam Agelopoulos, John’s brother, to run the place with her…putting a Morantz and Agelopoulos at the helm in each city.
Sam and Cheryl at Centre Street Deli, in Toronto
Go into Centre Street deli on a Sunday and see the Montreal diaspora in action, pigging out on their hometown favorites like old fashioned, hand cut smoked meat (the best outside of Montreal), thin karnatzel salamis, mohn cookies (slightly thicker than those in Montreal), and cheese bageleh. The fries are made Montreal style as well, blanched first and then fried again, to achieve a crisp, airy brown texture. Pure heaven. So many places throughout Canada claim to be reputable Montreal style delis, but Centre Street is the only one that does it successfully. Their hand cut smoked meat is as good as the stuff five hours east. Mom never ate smoked meat, even though she grew up blocks away from Snowdon Deli. It was only when I began this blog in February that she took a trip to Centre Street with my brother and caved in. Better late than never.
Here’s a wonderful cup of matzo ball soup, slightly smaller than its Montreal cousin (below), but every bit as rich and soul stirring.
Watch as Dad demonstrates how to properly eat karnatzel, and then dives into his favorite combo: Stuffed Chicken (read about it below) and Smoked Meat (old fashioned-medium fat)
Over the years, Centre Street Deli has expanded and moved locations to accomodate demand. It is big, bright, and evocative of New York style delis, with its bright lights, checkered tiles, and funny murals on the wall.
Snowdon Deli has remained largely unchanged. It rests on the same block, atop a narrow sidewalk, next to a traffic choked road, by a sunken expressway. The Jewish shops along the street have gone, including the bakery, but the place is a temple. It is quiet and dim, the perfect ambiance for slurping back a wonderful bowl of bright matzo ball soup on a cold winter night. The long deli counter is a place to chat and joke with Ian, John and Jimmy, as well as Ian’s daughter Tobi, who has been working there full time.
The food is the draw, and Snowdon excells in every single area. In her book “Tender at the Bone”, former New York Times critic and Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichel recalled her experience at Snowdon Deli, when she was a young girl banished by her parents to a French boarding school blocks away. One day she snuck away from school and found herself at the deli, where she walked up to the counterman and inquired about the glistening pink meat she saw. Here’s her description:
“He set it on a wooden counter and began to carve, letting the rosy slices fall away from his knife in ribbons. he scooped them onto a piece of rye bread, slapped a mustard-slatered slice on top, and handed the sandwich accross the counter. The sweet, salty pile of meat was the best thing I had ever eaten.”
That’s right…the greatest food writer in America today owes it all to a smoked meat sandwich from Snowdon deli. When I interviewed Ruth Reichel in New York last fall, she still remembers it fondly, and went back to Montreal a few years back to revisit the deli.
My favorites at Deli Snowdon are the following…influenced largely by my parents.
Varenikas: think knish without the baking…a soft dough dumpling filled with mashed potato, often fried or just as easily steamed, it should always be served by a minor mountain of fried onions.
Cheese Bageleh: very Montreal and truly Snowdon. Small sweet pastries filled with a firm cheese…like a blintz meets a knish, but small enough to pop in your mouth for a few hot, heavenly bites. Best with sour cream, apple sauce, or cherry sauce.
Matzo Ball Soup: as great a deli town as Montreal is, there is a serious lack of matzo ball soup. When the mercury literally freezes, and you get back from a cold day skiing in Tremblant, it’s nice to know that is is waiting.
Stuffed chicken: I’ve never seen this anywhere but Montreal, except Centre Street. Ian Morantz said it was once minced chicken stuffed into a sewn up chicken skin. Now the casing is collagen, but it is essentially chicken balogna and is a cool, savory alternative to often blander turkey. With a ton of mustard, how can you go wrong?
Danish: need I write anything? truly? I think not.
Mohn Cookies: mohn is yiddish for poppy seeds, and these wafer thin little numbers are best accompanied by a pot of Earl Grey tea, a good friend, and lots of kibbitz. Dunk to your heart’s content, there is no finer, and yes Dad, they are thinner in Montreal.
Two cities, two delis, two families, both filled with love. Visit them both. Often.
Centre Street Deli
1136 Centre St.
Thornhill, Ontario (30 mins north of Toronto)
905-731-8037
www.centrestreetdeli.com
Snowdon Deli (aka Deli Snowdon)
5265 Decarie Blvd
Montreal, Quebec
514-488-9129
www.snowdondeli.ca
Montreal Jour 3: Smoked Meat Pete
Friday, June 8th, 2007One place in Montreal that I’ve heard much about and yet had never previously visited was Smoked Meat Pete’s. I’d heard the name, I’d heard it was far from the center of Montreal, I’d heard the food was supposedly outstanding. I’d even heard the tasty and tasteless motto: “You can’t beat Pete’s meat”
We’ll leave that up to Pete.
Anyway, yesterday night I tossed my buddy Ben Leszcz in the car and we headed off the western tip of the island of Montreal onto Ile Perrot, some 20 plus kilometers out of town. There, behind a vintage Dairy Queen, sat Smoked Meat Pete, the unlikliest place to encounter great deli.
Inside a blues band was plucking away, singing about heart attacks (from women and chopped liver) and heartbreak. The air hung thick with BBQ smoke, and the wagon wheels and worn wooden benches made it feel like a rib joint, which it partly is. After ordering and paying at the cash, we waited for the meat to come and listened to the tunes.
The place had serious promise, likely because Peter Varvaro Jr. is the son of Peter Varvaro, the owner of the Main Deli, directly accross from Schwartz’s on St. Laurent (aka the Main blvd). With decades in the smoked meat business, the younger Pete decided to set off on his own a decade ago, and the result has been tremendous.
The waitress brought out a trio of treats.
First to dissapear was the ultimate Quebec treat: Smoked Meat Poutine.
For those who don’t know, poutine is the ultimate heart attack food, a French Canadian concoction of golden french fries, cheese curds, and a thick beef gravy. It tastes of heaven and slows the body, but the idea of mixing in chopped smoked meat seemed risky and somewhat goyish. The result however was heaven, shrouded in layer upon layer of decadent sin. Salty, meaty, beefy, cheesy, starchy, and just plain old fat. When I get to death row, that’s what I’ll be eating before I go. Watch Ben go to town:
Next was a nice scoop of beef chopped liver, dark and sweet, pasty and flecked with bits of chopped egg. The kicker, and truly the best part was the little mound of crisp fried onion strips, almost hairlike in size, that were infused with gallons of delicious oil which made the perfect topping for the liver atop rye. Chopped liver without fried onions is like a night without stars.
And finally, the piece de resistance: Le smoked meat. Pete’s is dry cured like many of Montreal’s finest, which means that the briskets are rubbed with spices, left to marinate for a week or more, then smoked (usually baked) and finally steamed. There’s no preservatives, no pumping or injecting, just a natural slow cure, some cooking, and lots o’ love. Pete’s famous meat is rightly so; it crumbled nicely upon biting in, was tender, and extremely moist (to the point of being succulent). It came with a beautiful dark carmel crust, which lent a hint of sweetness to the peppery spice, a lot more pronounced than others in town.
Best of all, Smoked Meat Pete is right on the way into or out of Montreal if you’re coming from (or going to) Toronto. It’s about ten minutes from the airport, so really there’s no excuse not to go.
*also, Peter Sr. is having a bit of maintenance this coming week, so send your wishes and prayers to one of Montreal’s first families of smoked meat
Smoked Meat Pete
283 1 AV
ÎLE-PERROT,QC
(514) 425-6068
Montreal Day 2: The wrecking ball waits for Ben’s
Thursday, June 7th, 2007I’m going to let you all know off the bat that I’m going to make you wait for the Schwartz’s post till the very end, but be prepared for some serious smoked meat shots, videos, and a guest appearance by someone flown in just for the occasion. Big time.
I was walking in downtown Montreal yesterday afternoon, passing by some of the once hallowed and now less cherished delis, like Dunn’s Smoked Meat and Reuben’s (whose turkey sandwich was always a favorite of mine back in the day).
I decided to pass by the site of Ben’s Deli and Restaurant, a 100 year institution that closed down last December after a slow and bitter death. At one point Ben’s was the place to go in Montreal for smoked meat, packing in hundreds like Katz’s, and making Schwartz’s, Lester’s, and others play second fiddle. The walls were lined with the photos of stars who passed through town, to the point that both Mel Brooks and Freddie Roman remember it fondly. But time did not play kindly to Ben’s and the owners let it slide well past the point of repair until it was a sad albatross of a deli. It all ended in a labour dispute that had the workers locked out, striking for such arcane things as tomatos and air conditioning. No way to go. There’s a short film coming out soon about the strike at the end. Tim Rideout made it, and you can see the short preview on his website here.
Now the building, which is an art deco classic, is slated for demolition, and the Art Deco Society of Montreal is trying to save it. It’s a worthy cause, and they will be holding a protest on June 14th at 12:00 pm, in front of Ben’s, at the corner of Metcalfe and de Maisonneuve blvd.
Photos like this is why we have to save delis. Soon the images will be all that’s left of one of the world’s most revered delis. Sad
Montreal Day 1
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007“When Dave Sax arrived at my Montreal apartment to research his book, I was pleased for two reasons. First, I knew I would have the opportunity to spend 3 or 4 days with my good friend David — always a delight. Second, I knew that I would be eating some delicious smoked meat. Though I’ve only lived in Montreal for 3 weeks, I feel that my connection to smoked meat is deep, and intense; a cow’s blood running through my veins. And in this twisted, meaty bloodline, Dave Sax is my brother.”
-Benjamin Leszcz
Thank you Ben. If it weren’t for the hospitality and floors of friends like you, this deli odyssey would go no further than my own home. A zei gezunt.
24 hrs in Montreal and already I question why I ever moved away, why my parents moved away, indeed why so many Jewish deli lovers moved away. In my opinion, Montreal is a deli town in a league of its own. It has some of the oldest, smallest, and most distinctive — and delicious — delicatessens in this world, based on its almost-mythological smoked meat. This is a product not unlike pastrami, though different in so many delicious ways. I’m not nearly done investigating, though I will say that the principal difference is that pastrami is most often made with the navel cut (a flatter, often tougher cut), while smoked meat is made with the brisket. Spicing is different, though I’ve yet to fully figure it out. Lord knows, I might never. Then there is the ubiquitous hand cutting, and the black cherry, and of course the jolie twist of la belle langue de les Quebecois.
Montreal’s deli scene is old school in the greatest sense, and I was lucky to have visited two of the great classics today: Lester’s and Wilensky’s.
Lester’s Delicatessen
My father grew up near Lester’s, in the leafy neighborhood of Outremont. He always raved about their smoked turkey, though I’m ashamed to say that I hadn’t eaten there since I was a child. I’ve tragically missed out.
The smoked meat at Lester’s ranks amongst the tops in the city. When hand-sliced by the expert cutter, the paper thin slices peel away from the meat like petals from a rose. Propped atop a small disc of rye (Montreal’s sandwiches tend to be smaller than other cities, but cost far less), slathered with mustard, the sandwich dissapears in several crucial bites.
Lester’s owner Billy Berenholc says that the steam opens the pores of the meat, letting the flavour aerate and intensify. All I knew was that it was beautiful, and my lunch companion — Montreal’s preserver of history — Mr. Eiran Harris.
On a warm summer day, the patio at Lester’s mixes the best of European cafe lifestyle, with the tastiest Eastern European meats. Heaven.
One Montreal food item that falls like heaven upon my tongue is karnatzel, a dried, narrow salami that reeks of garlic and is the perfect entry to a deli meal. The Montreal way to eat it is wrapped in a mustard-painted slice of rye. Others call it a pepperoni stick, but I think karnatzel has more flavor and less of that Slim Jim peppery junk than others. I could eat it in my sleep.
Lester’s also has excellent fries, frosted Muggs of root beer, a sweet coleslaw, and the smoked turkey my dad loves. Best of all, Lester’s delivers pre-cut, ready to eat packages of their smoked meat and stellar brisket all over North America. All you have to do is boil the package, cut it open, place it on the bread et voila! As you read this, whether in Miami or Vancouver, know that you are one click away from a delicious smoked meat sandwich splattering your keyboard with delicious mustard and grease droppings. 
So what are you waiting for?
www.lestersdeli.com
www.montrealsmokedmeat.com
1057 Bernard Ouest, Outremont, QC, H2V 1V1
514-213-1313
Wilensky’s Light Lunch
Purely and simply I love Wilensky’s more than any other deli I’ve ever encountered. Perhaps it is because I was taken there as a young child by my father. Perhaps it is because we returned on every subsequent trip to Montreal, my brother and I planning our schedules so we could fit in a trip to the corner shrine at Fairmount and Clark. Mostly though, it is because of The Wilensky Special, a sandwich of such perfect simplicity, it has become the stand alone reason for Wilensky’s 75 year existence.
Wilensky’s consists of a small wooden counter and nine wooden stools, an antique soda fountain, fading newspaper and magazine clippings, and rows of old paperbacks, selling for half the price of what’s advertised on the cover. My dad used to read dirty novels there until he was booted out by the late owner, Moe Wilensky. Nogoodnick.
Moe Wilensky’s legacy is the Wilensky Special, a grilled sandwich that consists of five slices of three different types of salami, with a slice and a half of bologna on a pletzl roll. Mustard on one side. Simple. Elegant. Perfect. When done right the flat sandwich crunches into several steaming bites of slippery salami, the salty flavor brought alive by the sharp kiss of yellow mustard. I’ve had dozens over my lifetime, and pray to have dozen’s more. Thankfully, Mrs. Ruth Wilensky, and her children Asher and Sharon, as well as the late Bernard, are the most diligent breed of deli purists. Nothing at Wilensky’s has changed in three quarters of a century, and in this case, preservation equals perfection.
Washed down with a hand jerked cherry soda or chocolate egg cream, there is no greater deli snack in my knowledge. It goes down like heaven, and unless you fire down six like my friend Steve Katz did back in 1999, there is no pain in the pursuit of this treat. No deli fan has lived until they’ve eaten at Wilensky’s. Go.
Wilensky’s Light Lunch
34 Fairmount St. West
Montreal,QC
514-271-0247
By the end of the day I had sent more than $100 in Lester’s smoked meat and Wilensky’s specials to my brother in Calgary, who will probably receive his fragrant package by the time he reads this tomorrow.
Schmaltz by Southwest: Arizona, Texas, and New Orleans
Sunday, March 25th, 2007Charlotte, North Carolina
It’s been a while since my last area roundup, due partly to the fact that I have driven across the entire country in a week, and largely to the fact that the following week I spent by the beach in Florida. So sue me.
Now I’m in for my final night in the south, before heading north to DC and then back home to Toronto in time for pesach. It’s been a hell of a trip, but at this point I can barely keep my eyes open.
This dispatch covers what I found once I left Las Vegas and before I arrived in Miami. As the crow flies that is about 2500 miles, though I took the longer route, which had me driving most days for about 5-10 hours at a time.
There aren’t a lot of delicatessens along the southern US border, packed as it is with sagebrush, vast tracts of inhospitable desert, drug smugglers and illegal aliens. But in the enclaves of Phoenix, Austin, Houston, and New Orleans there was haymish tastes to be found. (more…)
LA Deli Story 2…the Podcast
Monday, March 19th, 2007Miami Beach, Fla
This is much delayed, thanks to my lack of technical knowledge about RSS and other such crap, but have a listen, it’s worth it. What you’ll find are stories about several great LA delis which rounded out my trip, and left me wondering whether LA could be the best deli town in the country.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast and listen to the latest from LA
All the factors are there (even at Factor’s):
-a strong family run tradition over 2 or 3 generations
-haymish feels and looks though still fresh and not tired
-deli happy crowds, happy to be nourished on old time classics (though with Hollywood demands…no milk…scoop out my bagel…can you do it without the onions dear?)
-most importantly it tastes great.
Below are some photos of the places you heard about in the podcast with addresses and food porn to match. (more…)
Shmear and Kasha in Las Vegas
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007Austin, TX
I was 20 miles out of Barstow when the acid kicked in.
…acid indigestion to be precise, the remnants of an In-N-Out Burger that was deciding whether to stay in or get out. The situation called for action: a fast car, desert road, and pills…tums to be exact.
Forgive my indulgence, but every writer is entitled to some form of ripping off the late, great, Hunter S. Thompson when writing about Las Vegas. And in that city of plastic fantastic sex, sin, and oversized t-shirts, the spirit of the Dr. would best be found in the delis…quietly fueling his drug crazed madness with some matzo ball soup or bialy.
This was my first time in Vegas and I was both overwhelmed and dissapointed, both with the city and its delis. I expected a trace of Sammy, Dean, and Frank but instead got NASCAR, oversized plastic cups, and a whole lot of decoration without much substance. But I won a few hands of blackjack, got a comped drink or two, and had quite a bit of deli over the course of 12 hours.
For a town founded by old time Jewish gangsters, and now boasting a growing population of new school Jewish retirees and real estate tycoons, Las Vegas is sadly lacking in a critical mass of homegrown delis. There are a few though, and they do quite well for themselves.
(more…)
LA Deli Story
Sunday, March 4th, 2007Los Angeles, California
Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there…the sun’s in my eyes and I was driving and talking with my agent on the phone while thinking up titles for the documentary treatment of the book. You look fabulous! Me, I’ve been jogging and I’m on the pastrami diet, but I’m entertaining the idea of going for lipo if that fails…just a little touch up.
Yes, LA, that’s wonderful, decadent land where there is no center, everyone has a story to tell, you live by the car, and it’s never cloudy. So far it’s been a blast, and I’ve discovered that the deli scene is thriving like nowhere else, with a tremendous offering of both quantity and quality. I’m only halfway through my research, but I’ve eaten a hell of a lot of delicious stuff and there’s more to come.
I could write about it, but that would be just so, like, New York. So instead I did what this town lives for and made a movie:
If that got the juices flowing here’s a little more info on what you saw:
Izzy’s Delicatessen
1433 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 394-1131
www.izzysdeli.com
-real nice NY style spicy pastrami and a bevy of killer soups including the matzo ball number featured here
Brent’s Delicatessen
19565 Parthenia St., Northridge CA 91324
818.886.5679
New Location:
2799 Townsgate Rd., Westlake Village CA
805.557.1882
www.brentsdeli.com
The Peskin family does killer food in the most family oriented and unpretentious joint in the Valley.
-the absolutely best cabbage soup ever, with sweet whole chunks of tomato, pepper, and tender brisket in a delicious broth
-homemade golden kishke that tastes and feels light yet crisp and warm
-wonderful blintzes
-marvelous whitefish salad…fresh, cool, and waiting to be smeared on a bagel chip
-a brisket taco…SO-Cal fusion at its finest
-great chocolate eclairs (tell Marc Hernandez to share one with you)
Art’s Delicatessen & Restaurant
12224 Ventura Boulevard
Studio City, California 91604
(818) 762-1221
www.artsdeli.com
-real haymish food from Mr. Art Ginsberg himself and family. He calls the sandwich pics on the wall “Jewish Erotica” and has a phone built into the wall by the corner booth for studio execs to take calls.
-try the outstanding eggs, lox, and onions which are stupendous due largely to the simmering vat of onions carmelizing on the stove throughout the day
Canter’s Delicatessen
419 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA
(323) 651-203
www.cantersdeli.com
A giant! A classic! An absolute madhouse where the crowds nosh 24/7 and Guns and Roses got their start. Eat, hang, or get wasted in the Kibbitz Room. Old school waitresses, retro decor, and lots of neon. A factory for characters and late night celeb sightings (I saw that kid from the OC).
-huge bowls of matzo ball soup
-overstuffed sandwiches and great Reubens
-big baked knishes
-crisp, garlicky, homemade pickles
-the most amazing baked goods including chocolate, raspberry, and poppy seed rugelach that are a sin to eat and an even bigger sin to ignore
Langer’s Delicatessen
704 S Alvarado St
Los Angeles, CA 90057
(213) 483-8050
www.langersdeli.com
Coming up on 60 yrs in the same location with Mr. Al Langer himself at 94 still holding the place down. I could talk about the decor or the area or the great servers, but you go to Langer’s for one thing: The best f$%ing pastrami at any deli anywhere. It is sweet, savory, a bit spicy and oh so tender. Hand cutting makes all the difference, plus six decades of family owned and operated care and knowledge. You will not find a better pastrami sandwich anywhere…even that other city on the other coast.
Oh, I have to take this call…you’re the greatest.
DS
I Left my Blintz in San Francisco
Thursday, March 1st, 2007Deli Men of the Golden Gate
Los Angeles, CA
Finally out of the misery of winter and into sunny So-Cal. Just went for a run along Venice beach, with the sun, surf, and sandpipers reminding me that I’m a good few thousand miles from home. In a few hours I’m setting out for the first of many interviews at some of LA’s finest delicatessens, but for now I want to talk about my day in the city by the Bay.
San Francisco’s Jewish community has never been a heavy hitter in terms of North America. Still, it is decent sized enough to warrant a good deli scene, though like Chicago that has failed to come together over the years. The pickings are slim, though I managed to check out three places run by three different generations of deli men, all of whom warrant a visit when in the Bay Area. (more…)
