Katz's Deli

If you can believe it, it has been 26 years since the last time I have visited Katz's Deli in New York City.  I've been back to NYC prior to this visit but ended up going to Carnegie's (before it closed) instead.  Sure, these types of places could be considered tourist traps, but for me, Katz's is still delicious despite that fact.  Hence, this time around, we made the decision to get into that long lineup to get in.  Don't let that intimidate you though as the lineup moves.  We were all the way back near CVS, but made it into the place within 20 minutes.  However, that only gets you into another line.  You are handed a ticket and you can lineup at at one of the 8 cutters who will prepare your sandwich order.  They will mark off your ticket and that will be what you present to the cashier before you leave.  You will end up paying for the amount of food on your ticket.  Don't lose this ticket as it will cost you $50!  There are 2 other lines where you can pick up your sides or a grill order.  One final line is at the back of the restaurant where you can get table service.  We opted for this one as it was a madhouse around the self-service lines.  We waited about another 15 minutes for a table.

Of course we had to get the famed Pastrami Sandwich.  Sure, it is $29.00, but it is packed with hand-sliced meat.  Despite the other options within Manhattan, I still think that Katz's pastrami is one of the best.  I've had some around the touristy areas and yah, I didn't even feel the need to blog about them.  This one was buttery tender and if you choose "juicy", there is enough fat for some melt-in-your-mouth meat.  I'm not a fan of the rye bread as it crumbles after you take a few bites.  By itself, the bread is great, but it does not stand up to the amount of meat.  As for the meat, it is well-seasoned with some pepperiness and smokiness. Really full-flavored and intensely meaty.  For me, I douse the thing with mustard.

We complimented this sandwich with another favorite of mine, the Tongue Sandwich.  This is a cold sandwich with thinly sliced tongue.  Ensuring that this would be the best experience, they only use the back to mid portion of the tongue where it is the fattiest and most tender.  That it was as it also melted-in-my-mouth.  Due to the amount of fat, it was full of umami and meatiness.   Seasoning was mild as it wasn't salty.  We only got a half order of this as we paired it with a soup.

That soup was the Matzo Ball Soup and it was decent.  The big matzo ball was fluffy and light, yet at the same time retaining slight density.  It was so large, we had some left even after we finished the broth.  We found the broth to be mildly flavorful with a bit of satliness.  It was full-flavored, but maybe lacking a bit of depth, but we still happily downed it.

For me, I really wanted a side of Fries and yah, it came as a really large portion.  These steak fries were crispy with a wealth of soft potato goodness inside.  The people beside us ordered one plate of fries each!  Yah, they didn't finish...  Also at the table was their usual complimentary plate of Kosher Pickles with full sour and half-sour.  I like the half-sours because they are fermented less, hence the natural cucumber appearance.  Also, they are only lightly sour with a much crunchier texture.

Lastly, we added an all-beef Frankfurter.  This was nicely grilled having a seared exterior.  There was an appealing snap with the casing while the inside was juicy and bouncy.  I protested against putting ketchup into this, but Viv did it anyways.  Even though it has been 26 years between visits, something felt very familiar with Katz's and despite what others have said about it not being the same or it is merely a tourist trap, we enjoyed our meal.  Was it expensive?  Yes, but that is subjective because if someone enjoys whatever they paid for, then it would be worth it.  I would actually come back the next time I'm back in NYC.

The Good:

- Still buttery tender pastrami

- The whole experience, despite the wait and such

- Touristy yes, but still good

The Bad:

- Lining up for multiple orders, such as sandwiches, sides/soups and grilled items as well as trying to find a table makes for frustrating experience for some

- Pricey

TWK - The Lebanese Sandwich Spot

More often than not, when we are in need of quick eats, we default to the usual fast food joints.  For me, it is always Subway.  Say what you will about the place, but it does the job for me and I get some veggies to go with my sugar-loaded bread and salt-ladened deli meats...  Hmmm...  So maybe, it would be a better idea to find other options.  TWK Lebanese Sandwich Spot on Commercial Drive offers both 8" and 12" wraps that are competitively-priced compared to places like Subway.  In addition, if that doesn't satisfy you appetite, they also have fully-loaded platters for only $17.50.

Before we got to those wraps and platter, we tried their Falafel Pops.  These were deep-fried to order and came out uniformly crunchy on the outside.  Inside, the flavours really popped.  We got strong hits of earthiness, herbaceousness and just a hint of spice.  These were some of the most flavourful falafels I've ever had.  Adding some more nuttiness, the side of tahini offered up moisture too.  Good thing as texturally, the falafels were on the firmer side.

We continued with some more appetizers in the Fattoush Salad and 2 soups.  The salad was fresh with crisp greens, radish and peppers. It came with crispy pita chips and a sweet and tangy dressing.  As for the soups, I loved the Lentil Soup as it was herbaceous and earthy.  Really well-seasoned without being salty.  I liked how it was not overly thick, as some versions I've had are like paste.  The Tomato Soup was supremely fresh with mild-tasting and natural tomato flavours.  It was also earthy and slightly tangy.

We ended up with the Chicken Tawouk and Beef Shawarma Wraps, both in the 12" size.  I would say these would easily be enough food for one person as they were stuffed with plenty of meat.  For the chicken, it consisted of spiced and tender white meat with fries, pickles, coleslaw and garlic sauce.  Nice combination of tanginess, creaminess and earthy-spiced chicken.  For the beef, it had tender beef, parsley, tarator sauce and tomato.  This was bright due to the parsley and also the sauce as it was tangy and nutty.

Something a bit off the board, they also have 2 burgers available.  The first one was the Chicken Burger featuring evenly seared pieces of chicken breast.  The meat was not dry at all and had caramelized flavours.  Love the crispy fried cheese added to the mix.  As for the Beef, it was a pretty robust patty that had natural meatiness.  Combined with the crispy fries, grilled onions and pickles, there was plenty different textures and flavours to go around.

Essentially a deconstructed wrap, the Chicken Tawouk Platter featured grilled chicken, salad, pickles, hummus, fries and a grilled Lebanese bread.  I quite enjoyed eating it this way as the fries stayed crispier and dipping the crispy bread into the creamy hummus was satisfying.  The tender pieces of spiced chicken went really well with the flavourful yogurt dip while the salad featured some of the sweetest grape tomatoes I've ever had.

For dessert, they got Soft-Serve Ice Cream in the form of Rose Water with pistachio and Chocolate.  Really enjoyed the rose water as it wasn't as sweet as one would expect.  It was quite floral and of course nutty from the pistachios.  Chocolate was pretty standard, yet at the same time, wasn't too sweet either.  The soft-serve was decently creamy too.  We also had a Pistachio Cheesecake and it was rich and cheesy while also just sweet enough.  We downed some salty Yogurt Drink while eating our desserts and it was a good match.  Overall, there was some good eats at TWK and well-priced too for the quantity.  Would come back.

 

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post* 

 

The Good:

- Generous portions

- Well-priced

- Menu is focused, but still has a little for everyone

 

The Bad:

- It is mainly a takeout spot, so don't expect a lot of seats

 

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

 

Stackhouse Steak Sandwich

One of the most convenient quick take-out lunches (or dinner) is the classic sandwich.  Even though they have been on the downturn as of late, Subway has been the go to spot for decades if someone wanted a sandwich.  However, with prices creeping up, there are other options and that would also be one of the contributing factors into Subway's struggles.  Consider the new Stackhouse Steak Sandwich on Davie offers up their signature Steak Sandwich for only $12.00, you can see why people are not flocking to Subway as they did before.  We dropped by Stackhouse to try their wares recently.

Before we got to the sandwiches, we had some of their accompaniments including the surprisingly delicious French Onion Soup.  For a sandwich shop, this was a pretty solid soup with the sweetness of slow-cooked onions coming through.  Unlike many other versions, this was not overloaded with salt either.  This was topped with the usual toasted baguette as well as a slice of gruyere.  With all of the usual components, this was a classic French onion soup!  Even the Caesar Salad was elevated with house-made dressing and anchovies on top.  That added the salty fishiness that was noticeable and provided impact to the salad.

The Stackhouse Steak Sandwich is their signature menu item.  It features medium-thick slices of medium-rare flat iron with a chimichurri sauce and crispy onions.  This was a really good sandwich!  The beef was tender but still had a natural texture while the sauce was bright and tangy which kept things light.  Loved the crispy onions as they added aroma and more texture.  The bread itself had a crusty exterior with a soft and almost fluffy interior.  Really good value at only $12.00.

Something a bit more fancy, the Steak Tartare Open Sandwich was also well-priced at $12.00.  It featured a considerable amount of fresh beef that was tender with a slight chew.  It was dressed with the usual components such as dijon, cornichons, capers, parsley and red onion.  A sous-vide egg yolk topped the whole thing.  When mixed together, we had a silky custardy texture from the egg yolk.  The sturdy bread was a good compliment to the tartare but secretly, I liked putting it on top of the chips! 

Yes, the previous 2 sandwiches were good, but it was all about the French Dip for me.  This featured the same sliced flat iron with Swiss cheese, horseradish cream and fried onion chips.  I really enjoyed the horseradish as it a slight bite, but the biggest thing was the aromatic creaminess it provided.  The au jus on the side was flavourful without being salty.  When dipped into the au jus, the bread soaked it up well without going completely soggy.  It added the last bit of flavour that put this sandwich over the top.

They also had a featured sandwich which was the Pulled Pork.  There was no shortage of fully sauced and tender pulled pork.  It was on the sweeter side, but I appreciated the impactful flavours.  Sometimes, people forget that the bread is pretty neutral-tasting and the filling needs to compensate for that.  That it did and it was delicious with each bite.  There was some crispy onions for crunch while a bit of slaw provided a creaminess to the sandwich.

Dessert came in the form of a jarred Cheesecake with strawberry topping.  I found the no-bake cheesecake pretty creamy as there was whipped cream mixed with the cream cheese.  Possibly too much whipped cream as it took away from the cream cheese.  It was lightly sweet, but the strawberries on top were quite sweet.  I really enjoyed the crispy crumbs on the bottom.  Added so much texture to the dessert.  Overall, I was pretty impressed with Stackhouse since their stuff is pretty good quality but their prices are low (especially for Downtown).  I would totally come back, especially for the beef dip!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Quality ingredients

- Reasonable prices

- Surprisingly elevated food

The Bad:

- Limited seating, but it is a sandwich shop

- Cheesecake could use less whipped cream

Emmer Bakery

So what is this hype about a Pistachio Croissant anyways?  Well apparently, it is enough for people to get to Emmer Bakery on College Street much earlier than it opens to get their hands on it.  The last time I was in TO, I couldn't get myself to wake up and lineup for a croissant.  So on my return visit a few months later, I took a different approach.  Rather than lineup prior to 9:00am, we would come for some lunch and hit up the second batch at 12:45pm.  That we did and hey, success!  But we had some other things too prior to striking the proverbial pistachio jackpot.

Since we got there just as breakfast was ending, we were able to try some of their lunch offerings including the prominently-displayed Muffaletta sandwich at the front counter.  Gotta say this was really good and comparable to the ones I've had in New Orleans.  Served on round Sicilian sesame bread, this came with all the goodies including salami and mortadella, provolone cheese, olives, pickled veggies and EVOO.  This had a great saltiness from the cured meats as well as the sweet tanginess of the olive dressing.  Loved the bread as it was sturdy enough without being too dense.

Next, we tried their House Burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion 2 ways, pickles and burger sauce on a potato bun.  Oh man, this was a masterpiece as the burger patty was thick, juicy and well-charred.  The meat was tender and moist while nicely salted.  Good smokiness and nuttiness from the char.  What really made this burger though was the potato bun.  It was super soft and had brioche vibes.  Despite this, it held up to the wet ingredients, but just barely.  It soaked up all of the burger juices and was on the verge of breaking apart, but it held on til the last bite.

We also had the Butter Croissant, which was pretty large and featured good lamination with a tender dough that still had an appealing chewiness.  It was plenty buttery with a nuttiness and aromatics.  There was a decent amount of shatter from the exterior of the crispy croissant too.  Really enjoyed this as it was a good croissant.   We also had the Passionfruit Danish which was also solid.  It featured crispy buttery exterior with defined layers of puff pastry.  The passionfruit cream filling was excellent with the natural aroma and tanginess of the fruit.  It included the crunchy seeds.

Now the for the main event...  We were able to secure the Pistachio Croissant by heading into back into the store at 12:40pm.  In fact, we were the first to get the 2nd batch.  After that, they were going fast.  Gotta say, this was well worth it as the thing was loaded with chopped pistachios.  That in itself afforded the classic pistachio nuttiness and crunch.  There was also pistachio cream to amp the flavour even more so as well as added sweetness.  The croissant itself had some good crunch on the outside while the inside had a slight chew while being pretty sweet.  Okay, now that croissant did live up to the hype, but I though the rest of the things we had were quite good too.  I would say that you don't need to visit Emmer just for their signature item, you'll be happy with anything else on the menu too.

The Good:
- Yes, that Pistachio Croissant is really good
- The burger is next level too
- I don't think you can lose with anything on the menu

The Bad:
- We went on a weekday, so it was manageable, but on busier days, you will need to wait and possibly be out of luck with the croissant

TV Dinner Market & Cafe

Boy, haven't met up with Mijune in awhile, she is always travelling!  So before we headed to our dinner destination, we made a pit stop at TV Dinner Market & Cafe for a quick pre-dinner bite (and to catch up).  For those who aren't familiar, TV Dinner Market & Cafe is a quaint little spot on West 3rd at Burrard that offers a variety of ready-to-heat meals from some of the best vendors in the city.  In addition to that, they also have sandwiches (breakfast and lunch), cookies and coffee for those who want a quick meal to go or dine-in.  

Despite having dinner plans already, we couldn't resist ordering lots including a few breakfast sammies.  The Brisket Breakfast Sandwich featured a soft brioche bun with an over easy egg, beef brisket, pickled onion, garlic aioli and aged cheddar.  Sure, this was "only" a breakfast sandwich, but believe me, it was fantastic.  House-made and practically melted in my mouth, the brisket was meaty while not all that fatty.  Hence, it was even more impressive that it was so tender and soft.  The free-range egg was so perfect being custardy and runny.  Crunch and acidity were provided by the pickled onions.

As much as the brisket breakfast sammie was delicious and textually-pleasing, the Longanisa Breakfast Sandwich was even better.  The sweet and meaty patty was tender and nicely grilled.  I think the silky custardy texture of the egg yolk went even better with the Longanisa.  Some meats just go better with runny eggs right?  This had the same aged cheddar, soft brioche bun and garlic aioli, but instead of pickled onions, we found caramelized ones.  Although you might think that sweet on sweet may have not worked, I thought it did.  It was a different kind of sweetness from the onions, it had more richness and some smokiness.

For ours sandwiches, we had a couple where I tried the Rueben first.  This was a classic combination of house-made corned beef and sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and thousand islands dressing on Point Grey Bread.  Again not rocket science, but another well-constructed sandwich with quality ingredients.  The bread was beautifully toasted while the corned beef was buttery and meaty with restrained saltiness.  The sauerkraut added some crunch with a balancing tanginess.  Those house-made chips were super light and nutty.

We also had the Bulgogi Cheesesteak which was packed with thick-sliced sirloin, gochujang mayo, provolone and sauteed kimchi/onions/peppers.  As you can imagine, this was one robust and zesty-tasting sandwich.  We had the meatiness of the bulgogi that had sweetness while complimented by the creamy spice and tang from the mayo.  Add in the extra tang, spice and aromatics from the veggies and kimchi, there was a lot going on.  This all sat on a grilled tellara bun that held up to all of the ingredients and provided a firm crunchiness.

Also prominently featured at the counter is Cookies by John.  Of course we had to get the Monster Cookie as well as the Chai-Spiced Zucchini Loaf.  That monster cookie was pretty good with a crispy exterior and a soft chewy interior.  It was sweet, but purposeful and that brownie on top was chewy and chocolatey.  However, the best thing was the zucchini bread.  It was touted as looking like a "6" but tasting like a "10".  I would agree with that as it was super moist and fluffy with measured sweetness and fall spices.  Would definitely have this again.  In fact, everything we had was pretty solid, so I would have everything again if I was nearby.

The Good:
- Many of the components are made in-house
- Simple done right
- Also many take-away meals available

The Bad:
- Parking is hard to find if you drove
- Fairly limited dine-in menu, but keep things simple right?

 

Big Star Sandwich Co.

It has been some time since I've been back to Big Star Sandwich Co.  It was way back when their original location in New West when it first opened.  Despite enjoying their fully-loaded sammies, especially the ones filled with Hickory Sticks, I never actually made it back.  They are now up to 9 locations and their newest is on Broadway at Willow in Vancouver.  Perfectly situated for all the hospital staff and visitors!  Jackie and I made our way down there to check things out.

We ended up ordering a variety of sandwiches that featured different proteins.  Also, we had all 3 sizes including snack, regular and large (so that we can compare the difference).  For our first, we went for The OG (#4) in snack size.  This had roast beef, bacon, cheddar, hickory sticks (missing in this one for some reason), lettuce and tomato.  What you see here was the snack size and it was more than enough for small appetites.  If you were a bit more hungry, a regular would be the best choice.  A large might be hard to finish unless you were famished.

Next, we had the Corned Beef on Marble Rye (#12)  with Swiss and deli mustard.  This would be considered a regular-sized sandwich in comparison to the fresh rustic filone.  In terms of texture, the light rye was fluffy with some bite.  It was aromatic and slightly sweet.  Of course it was a great match for the corned beef and mustard.  Totally a classic deli sandwich done right.  Other than the tender slices of meaty corned beef, the bread made this sandwich.

Sandwiched in between the same fluffy marble rye, we found roast beef, cheddar, lettuce, pickles, onions & Mack Sauce, the Big Mack (#14) did live up to its namesake.  Look at the amount of stuff in this!  Try to open your mouth wide enough for a bite.  With the addition of Hickory Sticks, there was crunchy salty smokiness to go with the real roast beef and cheddar.  Loved the soft bread as it helped accentuate the other textures.

Something along the same lines, we found the Tony Montana (#21) on the same rye bread with Pulled Pork, Ham, Swiss, Hickory Sticks, Lettuce, Pickles & Smoky Mustard.  This was a touch more salty due to the use of ham.  Texturally, it was a bit more tender due to the brined meat as opposed to the real roast beef.  With Swiss, there was a mustier flavour rather than the mild cheddar.  Once again, the Hickory Sticks provided crunch, saltiness and smokiness.

 

So the most surprising sandwich had to be the Beef Dip.  Okay, a beef dip isn't necessarily anything special,  but this one was legitimately delicious.  First off, we had the use of real roast beef that was tender and well, tasted like roast beef (not that salty brined Arby's stuff).  Then, we had the dip itself.  It was meaty and impactful with a slightly thick viscosity.  Hence, it not only soaked the bread, it also clung onto the meat as well.  This created a super saucy and savoury treat that I didn't want to stop eating.

 

Something that seemed rather familiar was the Turkey Day (#1) with its combination of real turkey, house-made stuffing, cranberry sauce & cranberry mayo.  I said familiar because it reminded me of a turkey dinner, but also it resembled something I've had at another sandwich place.  The one big difference was the lack of gravy in the sandwich.  In that sense, the bread didn't become soggy while the other ingredients stood out more.  I think the best way to do this sandwich would be a gravy dip on the side much like the beef dip (but with turkey gravy of course).  Otherwise, the turkey had a moist natural texture and the stuffing was nicely seasoned.  Would've liked to see more cranberry though.

 

With all of the fully-stuffed sandwich creations we had tried so far, the Santa Monica (#2) was more on the simpler side.  We got it in the snack size and it featured turkey, bacon, cheddar, guacamole, lettuce, tomato and creamy honey mustard.  Again, really appreciated the use of real turkey meat that was moist and tender.  The addition of bacon was key as it provided the necessary saltiness for the mild turkey meat.  Guac added a bright creaminess while the honey mustard provided sweetness and extra moisture.

 

Completely the opposite of the previous sandwich, the Inferno (#9) offered up plenty of impact with ham, capocollo, bacon, habanero jack, lettuce, tomato, pepperoncini and chipotle mayo.  Despite its namesake, this sandwich wasn't super spicy.  Rather, it was flavourful with hits of spice from the capocollo and jack cheese, but then had equal parts saltiness, smokiness and brightness.  Once again, this was in snack size, but still was fufilling.

 

Back to the overstuffed sammies, we had the Mack Daddy (#25) that sported turkey, bacon, provolone, crispy onions, lettuce, tomato and Mack sauce,  This was a bit similar to the Big Mack, but with turkey and provolone instead of roast beef and cheddar.  Hence, this was not as heavy in terms of the meat, but with the more robust bread compared to the fluffy rye, it was still filling.  The combination of crispy onions and Hickory Sticks made for lots of texture and added flavour.

Lastly, we had the Neeson (#28) that crammed roast beef, bacon, habanero jack, hickory sticks, lettuce, tomato, onions, chipotle mayo and bold BBQ sauce.  This was named after the Liam Neeson as he was filming in New West back in 2017.  He was offered a free meal and he showed up!  So this sandwich does live up to its namesake with a robust amount of meat (since Liam plays macho revenge-type characters) within a hearty sandwich.  Overall, all the sammies we tried were all stuffed full of meat (that was weighed, so the pictures are legitimate representations) and were not longing for flavour.  Sure, they cost more than Subway, but the quality of the meats and bread are superior.  In reality, it isn't even a comparison.  I think I need to visit Big Star more often because I like myself a good sandwich, especially with real meat.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Quality ingredients

- Real meat

- Hickory sticks!

The Bad:

- Will cost you more, but worth it IMO