THROWBACK THURSDAY - "Schwartz's Deli - Montreal's FINEST!"

(originally published on June 10, 2009)

Forget Cantor's in LA. Forget Manny's in Chicago. Even forget Katz's in New York. Their delicatessens are rank amateurs compared to Schwartz's Deli - a hole-in-the-wall, greasy spoon diner on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.

I first heard about Schwartz's several years ago when I was teaching a seminar in Montreal. Several of the attendees were raving about this place, so I figured I had to try it out. It was the dead of Winter, about a mile away from my hotel, and I walked - while it was snowing... at NIGHT, to check it out.

My first clue that this was going to be a good experience was the line of people stretching out the door and onto the sidewalk, standing in the snow, waiting for their take out orders. There were a few seats at the counter, so I parked myself and ordered the house special - a smoked meat sandwich. One bite of this thing and my taste buds were exploding. It was absolutely the best sandwich I'd ever had, ever.

This place absolutely needs to become a Mecca for you - unless you're a weenie-ass *vegetarian* ("Are you a vegetarian because you love animals or because you hate plants?").

Check this place out.

You'll thank me.