deli – Michael Eats

Quality Pastrami at Linny’s Luncheonette

Published on May 18, 2025May 18, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 174 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://linnysluncheonette.com/

Whenever there’s a new deli specializing in pastrami or Montreal smoked meat, I sit up and take notice. We have a handful of quality restaurants like this in the GTA, but not nearly enough. There should be one on every block, and there’s what? Like maybe five or six?

The menu here is extremely simple. They serve pastrami, a couple of other sandwiches, and a few sides. It’s also take-out only, so if you don’t get one of the two small picnic tables out front, too bad. Take your food and walk.

The pastrami is quite tasty. The spicing on the meat is weirdly restrained, though, which dials down the flavour and holds the sandwich back from greatness. But otherwise, everything here is exactly where it should be, with thick, hand-cut slices of ultra-tender beef on perfectly-fresh rye bread with just the right amount of mustard (I find a lot of places tend to over-mustard their sandwiches, overwhelming the beef, but here it’s just right).

I will say that although the borderline bland spicing is a bummer, the meat has a distinctly smoky flavour that goes a long way towards mitigating this. And it’s still a great sandwich — it’s just that everything else about it is so stellar that its lack of seasoning stands out more than it would otherwise.

I also got a side order of the coleslaw, which is a great zippy counterpoint to the very heavy sandwich (albeit a little too heavy on the onions for my personal preferences).

Tasty Sandwiches at Centre Street Deli Express

Published on March 9, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 995 Bay Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.centrestreetdeli.com/

I’ve written about Centre Street Deli before; I’ve been going there for as long as I can remember, and they continue to serve some of the best smoked meat sandwiches in the city.

They recently expanded to a new location at Yonge and Bloor. It’s substantially smaller than the original location (they call it “Centre Street Deli Express”), but still has a few tables if you want to eat in. And, of course, they’re still serving the same menu.

I got the Old Fashioned sandwich, and yeah — it’s just as tasty as ever. It’s nicely spiced, tender, and delicious.

Is it the best smoked meat in the city? No, probably not — newer places like SumiLicious and Dave’s Genuine Deli would probably take that crown. But for a place that’s been around for decades and is now starting to expand, it’s still very good; they haven’t lost a step.

Tasty Subs at Lambo’s Deli

Published on January 12, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 176 Bellwoods Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.lambosdeli.ca/

Lambo’s is one of those places that’s pretty much always busy, no matter when you go. Though it’s certainly possible for a place like this to be overhyped, generally speaking, if you’re doing that well, you’re probably doing something right.

And indeed, Lambo’s is doing something right. They’re a sub shop, with nine classic deli subs on the menu. I went with the Italian Trio: “Soppressata, mortadella, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, pickled red onion, arugula, pesto, Calabrian chili spread.”

It’s a very tasty sandwich, with a great balance between the salty meats, rich cheese, zingy pickled onions, and flavour-packed pesto and Calabrian chili.

It seems a bit pricey at $16, until you get it and realize that each overstuffed sandwich is easily big enough to feed two.

I also tried the Caprese: “Fresh mozzarella, tomato, balsamic glaze, arugula, breadcrumb gremolata, pesto.”

I will admit that I missed the meat in this one, but it was still quite satisfying — in particular, the addition of the breadcrumb gremolata is actually quite ingenious. I wouldn’t have thought to put breadcrumbs in a sandwich, but it brings a nice crispiness that works well with the soft cheese and tomato.

Dave’s Genuine Deli at the Waterworks Food Hall

Published on July 14, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 50 Brandt Street, Toronto (inside the Waterworks Food Hall)
Website: https://www.davesgenuine.ca/

I’m a sucker for a good smoked meat deli sandwich, so it bums me out that there are so few great ones being served in the GTA. There’s SumiLicious and Centre Street Deli and… that’s about it?

Well, you can add one more sandwich to that list: Dave’s Genuine Deli. I actually went to the original location a year or so ago and the sandwich was just as good then, so they’re consistent, too.

They have a handful of sandwiches on the menu (including, intriguingly, a couple of southern-style BBQ sandwiches), but of course, I went with the smoked meat, which you can order as a quarter or half pound serving (I went quarter and kinda wished I went with half once I realized how good it was).

It’s so good — super tender, perfectly rendered fat, great spicing, and a very pronounced smoky flavour. That smokiness kind of reminds me of Caplansky’s in their glory days in the Monarch. Great bread, too. It’s a top-shelf smoked meat sandwich.

The only thing I’d change is that I’d order the mustard on the side next time. They were very heavy-handed with it, and on a lesser sandwich I’d be fine with that (it might even be necessary), but the quality of the meat was so good that the aggressive slathering of mustard overwhelmed its flavour and took away from it a bit. Still, that’s a very minor complaint for an otherwise phenomenal sandwich.

I also got an order of the fries, and they were great too, with a perfect crispy/creamy combo and a nice amount of salt.

An Amazing Breakfast Sandwich at Hot Pork

Published on May 11, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 932 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/hotpork.to/

I think the Smoked Beef Brisket sandwich at Hot Pork might be the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had? If it’s not the best, it’s right up there, that’s for sure.

It’s the beef brisket. Good lord, that brisket. You’re basically cheating when you make a sandwich with brisket that good. You could put that brisket in/on anything, and it will suddenly be one of the best versions of that thing that you’ve ever had.

It’s just perfectly prepared, with a great level of smokiness that puts literally every BBQ joint in the GTA to shame, and an unctuous tenderness that’s seriously satisfying.

It’s otherwise a very simple sandwich, with just mayo, BBQ sauce (which is glazed right onto the brisket, which is griddled to caramelize the sauce), and an egg on a toasted English muffin.

The toastiness of the English muffin adds some nice texture to the tender brisket and the creamy egg, and the egg is perfectly cooked (normally I’d prefer a runny yolk, but on a sandwich like this I think the more solid texture works).

And the egg/brisket combo works so well (but again, that brisket would be delicious with basically anything).

It’s a phenomenal sandwich.