Smoked Meat - March Marathon

[SteveW]

In Montreal, regular Montreal smoked meat is often refered to as pastrami.

-Steve

[poutine]

I was hoping to add my comments alongside some mouthwatering jpgs (hint Paul!) but no such luck so here's my ratings/comments on visiting 5 delis on March 20.

# 1 Schwartz's (Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen) – 10:30 am first stop, meat was absolutely delicious, extremely tender, well seasoned/spiced brisket, great texture and colour, right balance of fat, highly flavorful. We shared a sandwich (medium-fat good size) along with a large plate (also medium-fat). No leftovers. Starting our day at Schwartz’s was ingenious; we practically had the place to ourselves and our waiter was only too happy to indulge us with, no doubt about it, Montreal’s finest smoked meat.

# 2 Snowdon Deli – 1:30 pm third stop, meat was very tasty, good spiciness, colour and texture not as authentic as Schwartz’s. Had no difficulties sharing & finishing 2 sandwiches (maybe smallest sandwiches of all 5 delis). Also worth the stop for their excellent Jewish-style take out counter.

# 3 Abies – 5:00 fifth and final stop, meat was marginally superior to # 4, a bit spicier but not as tender as others. We ordered 2 fattier sandwiches (good size) and somehow managed to just about eat the whole thing.

# 4 Georges – 3:00 pm fourth stop, meat was just ok; slightly briny taste, a bit too fat for my liking, not as well spiced as others. Shared 2 sandwiches (ample size), 1 sandwich was taken home.

# 5 The Main – 11:45 am second stop, basically across the street from Schwartz’s, meat was substandard, bad taste, rubbery sponge-like texture, sorry excuse for smoked meat; we shared 1 sandwich and small plate but had significant leftovers.

To sum it up: Schwartz's was pretty much in its own class. If you like smoked meat and you've never been, it's well worth the visit and you won't go away disappointed. Snowdon Del is a totally acceptable alternative, Abies and Georges are almost interchangeable (when in DDO ... when in Chomedy) and if it's too cold to stand outside in line at Schwartz's, certainly go across the street to the Main for a rib steak with all the trimmings.

[VivreManger]

Excellent report, a standard that the rest of us should match. Mine will follow, but today my car developed a flat, had a bad spare and bent bolts so my time and money have been wasted in service stations.

[pss999]

Okay, here they are -- over 50 photos from our Smoke Meat Marathon:

http://www.paulsfinest.com/pss/smokemeat.php

Enjoy (?!?)

Paul

[FoodZealot]

I could not attend, and I weep. Brilliant!

[TrishCT]

That was delightful and well done! How I miss Schwartz's!!!

[poutine]

Okay, here they are -- over 50 photos from our Smoke Meat Marathon:

http://www.paulsfinest.com/pss/smokemeat.php

Enjoy (?!?)

Paul

Bravo Paul! Your pictures truly captured the essence of the day. I can now relive the experience without all the calories. Outstanding job. Hmmm...for the sake of fairness and consistency, we may want to consider holding this as an annual event; food for thought!

[SteveW]

Paul, belated posting here(been busy the last few weeks). Great pictures! I don't like the fat distribution of the George's smoked meat brisket. I want the fat within the meat(marbled beef), not all the white fat on top. Can't wait for the video of the event, when you have it ready.

-Steve

[pss999]

Paul, belated posting here(been busy the last few weeks). Great pictures! I don't like the fat distribution of the George's smoked meat brisket. I want the fat within the meat(marbled beef), not all the white fat on top. Can't wait for the video of the event, when you have it ready.

-Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks. Yes, I agree about the meat... not great fat distribution in that cut unfortunately. It'll be a while for the movie. I've run out of disk space (DV video editing takes massive amounts of disk space) so I'll have to do something about that before being able to complete it.

Paul