Lester's Deli

When people think Smoked Meat in Montreal, the first thought would be Schwartz's.  Now that is not a bad thing as I've had great meals at Schwartz's in the past.  However, they are not the only game in town where my personal favourite is Snowden Deli.  I've been to Dunn's and well, it is "ok".  One place I've been meaning to hit for quite some time is Lester's.  It is also a long time favourite and some would even argue it is the best in town.  Well this visit would be finally where I get to do a comparison.

For this to happen, we needed to get the Super Smoked Meat Sandwich.  This was a considerable amount of hand-sliced smoked meat on rye bread.   The first thing I noticed about their smoked meat was that it was super juicy and tender.  It was giving me ham vibes due to the wet brine rather than the dry brine used at Schwartz's.  Hence, there was less natural meat texture.  Bread was soft with some structure where it held everything together without getting soggy.  The meat was a good balance between sweet and salty with minor smoke hits.  Overall, it was a good sandwich but I personally prefer the meatiness and drier texture of Schwartz's.

We wanted to get something to compliment our meal that wasn't another sandwich, so we opted for their Hot Dog with coleslaw and relish.  Really enjoyed the buttered and toasted bun which had a nice crispy exterior that gave way to a fluffy soft interior.  The grilled all-beef wiener was smoky and juicy with a nice charred exterior.  It worked well with the crunchy and tangy coleslaw where it had sauerkraut vibes.

We ended up with a side of Fries as well as the Poutine.  I thought the fries were quite potatoey and had good potato flavour.  However, they were too soggy and need more exterior crispiness.  We also had to add extra salt to coax more flavour of the fries.  However, this was not an issue with the poutine as the gravy was thick and full-flavoured.  The ample bits of cheese curds were partially melted with some unmelted ones, just like it should be.  Solid poutine.  Overall, we found Lester's more than acceptable and a great place to grab a Smoked Meat Sandwich as well as other things.  Although there can be lineups here, they are generally shorter and the vibe is much less chaotic than Schwartz's. 

The Good:
- Ample tender meat in the sandwich
- Lower key spot
- We got really great service

The Bad:
- Fries could be crispier