Ottawa's New Champion Smoked Meat Sandwich Emerges After City-Wide Taste Test
You might assume that a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich is a straightforward affair with little room for debate. The process seems simple enough: take a substantial beef brisket, cure it for several days, smoke it thoroughly, then steam it to perfection. Slice the richly seasoned meat into generous portions and stack it high between two slices of rye bread generously spread with yellow mustard. End of story, right?
Wrong.
In a recent culinary investigation, I embarked on a tasting tour of Ottawa's smoked meat sandwich landscape, visiting six different purveyors over the course of a week to assess the breadth of this iconic carnivorous indulgence as it exists in the capital city. While additional options certainly exist at various diners and eateries, my digestive system eventually declared, "Enough already!" after this intensive sampling.
The Verdict: A Clear Winner Emerges
The conclusive finding reveals that Ottawa now boasts one truly exceptional smoked meat sandwich that stands head and shoulders above the competition. Alongside this new champion, the survey uncovered several second-tier options that offer more affordable pricing but deliver less flavor impact and memorability.
Another significant discovery from this culinary exploration: halal smoked meat has firmly established itself within Ottawa's food scene, reflecting the broader trend toward halal options appearing across the city's menus with increasing frequency.
Personal Connections to a Culinary Classic
From correspondence with readers, I know that smoked meat sandwiches often serve as sentimental favorites capable of evoking happy, nostalgic memories. This holds true for my own experience as well.
During the 1970s, the smoked meat sandwiches served at the Villa Deli on Bank Street, situated directly across from Lansdowne Park, made an enormous and succulent impression on my teenage appetite. Around that same period, my father even included smoked meat sandwiches on the menu at his Chinese-Canadian restaurant, the Marco Polo Tavern Restaurant, recognizing their universal appeal as crowd-pleasers.
Decades earlier, as a student at McGill University, my father likely enjoyed smoked meat sandwiches in their natural Montreal habitat. When I attended McGill during the 1980s, I appreciated the pink, sponge-textured smoked meat sandwiches at Ben's well enough. However, for the authentic experience, I consistently sought out the darker, smokier, more heavily seasoned, old-school smoked meat sandwiches at the legendary (and now closed) Main Deli Steak House.
After a night out, nothing compared to those wee-hour, post-carousing smoked meat sandwiches accompanied by cherry coke at the Main. Even Leonard Cohen, whom I once observed there holding court with a youthful entourage, would likely have agreed with this assessment.
I've even undertaken the ambitious project of making smoked meat from scratch at home as an annual summer endeavor, not only to enjoy the delicious results but to better appreciate the substantial investments of time, labor, and quality ingredients required for this culinary tradition.
This personal smoked-meat history informs the comprehensive review that follows, which saves the absolute best discovery for last and is based on a single sandwich sampling from each establishment visited during this Ottawa smoked meat exploration.
