Chances are if you like eating, you live in Toronto and you’ve got half an ear to the ground, you’ve heard of Caplansky’s. If not…well then really I can’t blame ya. Caplansky’s isn’t exactly easy to find. It’s nestled away inside a pub that no-one really gives a fuck about and there’s no real signage or indicator that you are close, or right outside said haunt. Its pretty much harder to find than Anne Frank.
That being said, if you do find Anne…err Caplansky’s, you’ve definitely stumbled on a Jewish gem.
One thing I really missed from my time living in Montreal aside from the poutine, bagels and depaneurs, was smoked-meat sandwiches. The Jewish settlement in Montreal really did wonders to the city’s food department (unlike Toronto, where all our Jews are down on Bay street swindling the stock markets) allowing arguably the best deli’s and bagel bakeries to pop-up this side of Israel. Schwartz’s, Lester’s, you name it. There’s no shortage of smoked meat sammies in Montreal. Toronto on the other hand, has a chain that sells pre-fab sandwiches, and delis that don’t measure anywhere close to what MTL has (one deli I went to, gave me cold-cut roast beef on rye and told me that was their “authentic MTL smoked meat sandwich).
Then came Caplansky’s. Toronto’s answer to the Franco-Jewish void. And it does a great job of filling said void (and your stomach I might add). First things first. Caplansky’s shouldn’t be compared to Schwartz’s or Lester’s because it’s not trying to be that. It’s not striving to make the perfect Montreal smoked meat sandwich. Caplansky’s, is trying to be well…Caplansky’s.
And it does so with fervor. The sandwich (which comes in regular or 10 oz) is pretty damn good. It’s got all the sensibilities of a MTL SMS with a little hint of smokiness for more of a Texan flavor. The meat is well marbled and the “fatty cut” is a good fatty cut, with the renderings dripping like a leaky faucet (fatty brisket can go either way: it can be deliciously succulent or it can be stringy and sinuous from un-rendered fat strands) Long story short, It’s a great new take on something rather traditional. Whether you are a barbecue fanatic or a Jew lover (sorry my Hebrew friends, I just had to take one last racist pot-shot) Caplansky’s won’t disappoint.
5 responses so far ↓
ben // September 26, 2008 at 9:32 pm
So I finally got to try Caplansky’s – I fear I’m going to have to try it again because, to be honest I wasn’t all that impressed. I’m not holding them to any sort of standard that I’ve got with regards to smoked meat either, and perhaps it’s because of being relatively new to the sms that I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for. However I thought the cut was a bit dry, dryer than I would think a place who’s signature dish is the sms, would put out. I had a little trouble getting through it to be honest. I’ll definitely be going back seeing as I can see what you’re fawning over with respects to the actual flavour of the sandwich, but the first impression was pretty run of the mill, I had a good sandwich that I don’t regret paying for, not an amazing sandwich that I would rush to buy again.
chenyip // September 28, 2008 at 8:55 am
That is the general consensus about their weakness: that they are in-consistent. I would suspect that it has to do a lot with their ability to grow and meet demand. Hopefully you can go back and try one that actually came out right.
Notorious P.I.G. // September 28, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Did you get a fatty cut? I’ve heard the medium is a little dry sometimes but I always go for the heartstopper and it’s always been juicy.
ben // September 28, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Nah, I’ll get the fatty cut next time. My general attitude towards trying a new place is:
a: I try the main thing they are known for.
b: I don’t drop any names (Robin’s in this case).
I’ll definitely be going again, no doubt. I don’t think I can stomach a fatty cut more than the odd time though, I saw a guy eating one a few seats away and, well…
Notorious P.I.G. // September 29, 2008 at 3:42 am
Call me. We’ll rinse it.