The Best Smoked Meat Sandwich in the World
Some things never change
I am not going to indulge in the smoked meat vs pastrami debate. Schwartz’s on Saint-Laurent Blvd, in Montreal, has arguably the best smoked meat sandwich in the world and leaves any pastrami sandwich available in the dust.
This is not only my opinion, millions who have eaten this sandwich give it a five-star-plus rating.
In conformity with Montreal’s language laws, the sign above the door reads Charcuterie Hebraique de Montréal Inc, which nobody ever calls it and translates to Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen. We all just call it Schwartz’s — don’t call it Schwartz.
Schwartz’s has been on Saint-Laurent or “the Main” as it is sometimes referred to (although not that often anymore) since 1928.
Saint-Laurent divides Montreal from east to west; it’s our version of America’s Mason-Dixon Line. On one side, the streets are called, for example, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, and on the other side of Saint-Laurent, it’s Sherbrooke Est. Traditionally, way back, the French lived east, and the English lived west. The Jewish immigrants lived in the middle around Saint-Laurent. And that’s where Schwartz’s was — and still is— smack in the middle of one of the most vibrant cities in the world.
