Smoked Meat Heaven aka Schwartz's Deli (Friday)

Up around 9:45 to a sunny, blue sky day around 10 degrees. Updated the blog for our visit to Joe Beef last night. Out the door around 11:45 am and while the temperatures are advertised at 10 degrees once on the street and in the window it is much cooler. In the absence of a wind, it is a a perfect temperature for walking. We decide to walk the 2.4 kms to Schwartz's Deli located on Boulevard St Laurent.

On the street, we hear both english and french being spoken. Our last exposure to the French language was in France so different to hear english spoken as well. The retail outlets, stores, restaurant employees are completely bilingual and they move effortlessly between the languages. Signage predominately in French of course. In terms of skin colour, dramatically different from our Vancouver. Vast majority are caucasian with some blacks. Very rare to see an Asian and that was more around the campus of McGill University.

We arrived at Schwartz's Deli and discovered a lineup. It is very famous for its meats and sandwiches. Eventually, we got in and had two seats at the counter. As you can see from the picture it is not very large and inside is long and narrow.

The window says it all:

This is our Montréal smoked meat sandwich. 

Our server was a super friendly Indian fellow who asked if we wanted our meat lean or fat, but recommended we get the medium to include both. Their smoked meat is shipped all around North America to delis and restaurants. You order a plate of fries and a plate of a large dill pickle normally with each sandwich. We ordered one plate of each. The sandwich as you can see arrives very thick and some mustard on the bread. The cost is $6.65 per sandwich. The fries (frites) are $2.95 and the dill pickle is $1.95. A can of black cherry pop is $2.10. 

The smoked meat is superb. Full of flavour and the right amount of salt. Thinly sliced (hand-cut of course) and delicious with each bite. You need to tightly squeeze the bread in order to accommodate the amount of meat. For the meat that falls out, slice up some pickle and combine. The fries were OK. The food arrives in less than five minutes. 

Lots of communal tables in addition to seating at the counter. Cash only. Lana purchases two jars of steak spices which we tried before with good results. Great lunch and lots of food. Definitely will be doing lots of walking in Montréal! While walking on St Laurent, Lana saw tins of cassoulet in a window display so in we go to La Vielle Europe. 

Given the name of the shop, no surprise that the goods are from Europe. Germany, France, Spain, Italy, England etc. So many cheeses and chocolate products. You could even sample Stollen (German Christmas cake) imported from Deutschland. Yup, its getting closer to Christmas. We buy a medium size can of Cassoulet that a clerk recommended. This is going home to Vancouver. The tin is good until 2017. Incredible variety of products due to the sourcing in Europe. 

Sun is still shining brightly as we stroll along Sherbrook Street. Lana wanting to shop at Holt Renfrew. Once inside, I find a chair to wait while Lana shops. An opportunity to update our journal. No rush this afternoon to get anywhere. Back to our hotel room around 3ish so Lana can get in her afternoon nap.