Jesse's Deli Feature Part 2 -

To start off with an old Deli Joke attributed to  Yiddish Humorist and Deli Maven Myron Cohen:

and delivered by Harold Zapolsky



(source: oldjewstellingjokes.com)


The New Yorker Deli at 1140 Bay Street kinda reminds me of that guy from High School who tried desperately to live up to the big name carved out by an elder sibling.  

The place does a number of things very right:

It has all the classics of  Ashkenazim cuisine (Kishke, Cabbage Borscht, I may have even tripped out and seen Cholent there) + just about everything else you can imagine .The Menu is so in depth, it evokes the   Pickle Barrel's 7 volume Magnum Opus 'Remembrance of Delis Past".  It has Gluden's Spicy Brown Mustard (IMHO the only deli brown mustard out there,  really worth fuxing with). It also has Dr Brown's soda, and while I opted for my go-to deli side-kick black cherry,  I'd imagine if any Canadian Deli carried Deli-legend and Soda Pop Curiosity Dr Brown's Cel-Ray celery flavored soda, it'd be them.

But alas amongst all this inspiring indicia of quality  hope,  the actual Sandwich itself left a lot to be desired. Stale rye and industrial tasting corned beef, were not helped  by a poor slicing job which left 1/2 of the sandwich very dry and the other half almost pure gristle.

The Mustard was probably the best part

Judgement: 5.5/10 Opas

Despite a relatively weak rating, I still find myself here from time to time, why you might ask?

Good location, Pretty good breakfast, decent chopped liver, and very serviceable corned beef hash   (I mean a man can't live on Sandwiches alone can he?)


Caplanskys 

Caplansky's is more like the new upstart kid in school, who is getting all of the attention from the opposite gender.

It has received shout-outs in Gourmet Magazine, is being touted by the New York Times as one of the Young Turks out to take deli back to its "roots", and is one of the most discussed Toronto restaurants on Chowhound. Yet on the other hand, when I talk with other deli-loving Sandwichites, people seem to go out of their way to disparage the restaurant to me. 


Simply put, in MY humble opinion Caplansky's serves (when you get the right cut) an excellent product.

A few talking  points:

• Schwartz's ≠ Caplansky's,  Caplansky's ≠ Schwartz's. While they are both of the "smoked meat" tradition of deli (vs Corned Beef/Pastrami/Salt Beef traditions), they are pickled, spiced, cured and smoked in different ways.  Apples and Oranges, and if you step into Caplansky's expecting to taste Schwartz's you will be pretty disappointed
• Caplansky's deserves props for their end to end dedication in preparing their product. Its just about the only place in Toronto that does it and you can taste the love and effort put into the briskets, as well as other homemade classics like the Smoked Meat Knish
• The consistency issue: just like how every snowflake (or at least what the conspiracy theorists at the National Snowflake Institute have led me to believe), no two smoked briskets will be the same. To quote Schwartz's Owner/Self Proclaimed Deli Curator Hy Diamond in Save the Deli "You'll never get the same sandwich twice because it's natural meat here. It's the opposite of McDonald's. Every Brisket is different, so every time you eat a sandwich it's different. And sometimes, you'll get one that just melts in your mouth,

This particular sandwich (of the 5 or so I have had at Caplansky's since they moved from their spot in the Monarch to their new fancy digs) was that melt in the mouth one. 

Smoky, juicy with a perfect rush of saltiness and pepper.  The sandwich, ordered medium-fatty uses Silverstein's rye, who pretty much have the Toronto Rye scene on lockdown.  Every bite got better and better

The meat, was skillfully hand-cut against the grain with perfect levels of marbling. These days, with hand-cut deli replaced my the machine (aka both of the Toronto entry's in Deli Feature #1), quality meat slicing is becoming a lost art. Not so at Caplansky's where seasoned slicers of Toronto deli lore have found a place, with Zane himself slicing (and sweating profusely when doing so) when needed.  The well selected condiments (choice of Toronto Mustard All-star Kolzcik, French's or a grainy home-made version) provided a perfect finish to a damn-near perfect Sandwich.


Bonus Points go for making a very gutsy smoked meat poutine (which thankfully he didn't have the Chutzpah to name Jew-tine). After 4 years of eating potuine/smoked meat at an alarming rate in Montreal, this is one of the first times I think I seen smoked meat actually aid the taste of a poutine, with cutting board smoked meat leftover making for a spicy smoky gravy.

Judgment: (when you get the right Brisket) 9.5/10 Opas  - (an off-sandwich is probably more in the 7/10 opa range).

Overall I have lots of love for Caplansky's. Occasionally the mustachioed hipster service sucks, and sometimes my sandwich has been dry/too salty. But when they are on, THEY ARE ON.

Deli Feature Part 3 will be features the best delis of uptown Toronto including: Moe Pancer's, Wolfie's, and Centre Street Deli