Kaplan`s

I'll take the line from Iron Chef and use it in my description of Kaplan's - "it reminds me of my youth". I used to live 2 blocks away where I spent my school years in Oakridge. As a kid, I would go there myself to have a corned beef sandwich or maybe a matzo ball soup. Yes, that was me, a little Chinese kid enjoying some Jewish food. Well, I was in the neighbourhood today and decided to get a couple of sandwiches for takeout. I went for the classic Corned Beef Sandwich and Viv ordered the Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich.

Much has changed at Kaplan's since I was young, it's been through a few renovations and owners. The new owner is from New York and claims to bring the NYC deli experience to Vancouver. I've been to NYC myself and have enjoyed their monstrous meat sandwiches. Does Kaplan's measure up? Well, although the corned beef is quite good, I have had better. My corned beef sandwich was really not all that large even though it cost me $10.50. Although the "Woody Allen" at Carnegie Deli in NYC is $18.00USD, it's at least 3 times larger than the one I had at Kaplan's. If you look at the picture, I'm not kidding about the discrepancy in size (sorry for the quality, it's not a digital picture).

Although the sandwiches at Kaplan's do not really compare to the ones we've had in NYC, they are still pretty good. The meat is tender and not overly salty. I actually like their caraway rye bread, it's not as hard as a traditional rye bread. With that being said, the lack of competition and choice in the GVRD, there is really nothing much to compare with.

The Good:
- Corned beef is pretty good
- The caraway rye compliments the meat

The Bad:
- A tad expensive for what you get
- Not the full NYC experience they claim to be

Kaplan's
5775 Oak Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-263-2625
www.kaplans.ca