Schwartz's
Schwartz's, also known as the Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen is a delicatessen established in 1928 by Reuben Schwartz, a Jewish immigrant from Romania.[1] It is a landmark at 3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard and the most famous Montreal-style smoked meat restaurant.[2] Schwartz's often has a line extending out of the store, whether it is the middle of the day or late at night. The company also sells smoked meat by mail order. It is kosher style rather than strictly kosher.[3]
The staff of Schwartz's credits the unique flavour of their smoked meat to their mandatory 10 day meat curing time, the high turnover of their meat, and their brick smoke-house covered with 80 years worth of schmutz.[4]
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[edit] Offerings
[edit] Smoked meat
Schwartz's main offering is smoked meat, which is typically served as a sandwich on seedless rye bread and slathered with French's mustard. The two slices of sandwich bread is typically rotated 90 degrees from alignment and cut down the center. The meat is ordered by the fat content, from lean, medium, medium-fat, or fat, with medium and medium-fat being the most popular and by opinion, the most delectable since lean tends to be dry and fat may be an acquired taste.[4][5] The classic Schwartz's meal include a medium-fat sandwich, fries, half-sour pickle, coleslaw, red pepper, and a black cherry soda.[4]
[edit] Montreal steak seasoning
Schwartz's also credited with the creation of Montreal steak seasoning or Montreal steak spice when Morris "The Shadow" Sherman, a broilerman working at Schwartz's in the 1940s and 1950s, began adding the deli smoked meat pickling spices to his own rib and liver steaks. Due to its popularity of the seasoning with the customers, eventually it became a trend in Montreal delis and steakhouses to spice their steaks similarly with similar spices.[4]
[edit] History
The deli has passed through several owners since its foundation:
- Reuben Schwartz (1928–1971): Founder the "Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen" in 1928. Reuben Schwartz was described by many as a bad businessman and a supposed nasty character whose family could not stand.[4][5]
- Maurice Zbriger (1971–1981): A violinist and composer, Zbriger was eventually made a partner, and eventually, sole owner of Schwartz's, until his death in 1986. Zbriger made Schwartz's a great success, and with the profits from the business, Zbriger spent many thousands of dollars organizing free concerts of his music. His story was documented in the National Film Board of Canada production The Concert Man.[6][7]
- Armande Toupin Chartrand (1981–1999): She began as a professional organizer and care-taker to Maurice Zbriger and through her service to him she was willed the delicatessen.[4][7]
- Hy Diamond (1999–Present): The current owner of Schwartz's. The only owner who has a business background.[4][7]
[edit] Expansion
Several restaurateurs have offered to build Schwartz's as franchise operations in cities across North America, to which the owners have always refused. The idea of franchising Schwartz's in Montreal, despite the customer demand has also been rejected.[4] In the fall of 2008, Schwartz's opened an additional take-out location next door.[8]
[edit] In media
In 2006, Montreal Gazette columnist Bill Brownstein wrote a book about Schwartz's, Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen: The Story, published by Véhicule Press.[9] Schwartz's has also been the subject of numerous articles and features in Canadian and international publications. The book and the newspaper column that inspired it, eventually became the inspiration itself to a stage production about the deli: Schwartz's: The Musical.[10]
Along with Concert Man, the restaurant was more recently the subject of a documentary film, Chez Schwartz, by filmmaker Garry Beitel.[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Jamie O'Meara (2006-06-29). "Babylon, P.Q.: The meat of the matter". Hour Community. http://www.hour.ca/news/babylonpq.aspx?iIDArticle=9635. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ Schwartz's world famous smoked meat deli - now that's marketing
- ^ "Menschlich Montreal". North American Travel Journalists Association. 2005-06-28. http://classic.natja.org/ewire/display.php?id=585. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Browstein, Bill (2006), Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen: The Story, Vehicule Press, ISBN 978-1-55065-212-3
- ^ a b Sax, David (2010-10-01), Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen, Mariner Books, ISBN 0547386443
- ^ Ianzelo, Tony. "The Concert Man". Documentary film. National Film Board of Canada. http://nfb.ca/film/concert_man/. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
- ^ a b c Nestruck, J. Kelly (2006-09-28). "May the Schwartz be with you". National Post. http://www.canada.com/cityguides/montreal/story.html?id=46e6d806-ec33-4c1b-9b79-00a4bf883ab6&k=2257. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
- ^ "Schwartz's famed deli serves up takeout counter". CBC News. 2008-11-06. http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/11/06/mtl-schwartz.html. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
- ^ "Search Results: Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen: The Story". Véhicule Press. http://www.vehiculepress.com/titles/404.html. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
- ^ Latimer, Joanne (November 4, 2010), "Phantom of the Deli? Smoke-lahoma?:A newspaper column about Schwartz’s deli in Montreal has inspired a musical", Macleans, http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/11/04/phantom-of-the-deli/
- ^ Official site of the "Chez Schwartz" movie
[edit] External links
- Schwartz's Deli - official homepage
Coordinates: 45°30′58.50″N 73°34′39.73″W / 45.51625°N 73.5777028°W
