Eat local: Snowdon Deli, Montréal, Quebec Province, Canada

Snowdon Deli, Montréal, Canada, photograph # 1 – following a delicious deli brunch, the Intrepid Explorer and some friends, stand in front of the deli with take-home containers of deli specialties to enjoy back on the ship; we all agreed that this definitely deserved to be called an “enduring location for classic Montreal-style smoked meats, sandwiches & other Jewish deli faves”

The Intrepid Explorer and your blogger usually do a little homework before visiting a new locale, particularly if we have the opportunity to try some new local foods.  We checked our “homework” with some good friends who live in Montréal over dinner at Ferreira Café — we highly recommend this Portuguese-style seafood restaurant, one of the top restaurants in Montréal — the first night in the city, and got a confirmation that their favorite restaurant for “Montréal-style smoked meat”, and a very popular local favorite, was Snowdon Deli.  About a 20-mintue Uber ride from the pier, we headed out the next morning and had a delicious “Jewish Deli” brunch at Snowdon Deli.  The Montréal-style smoked meat in our large omelette and a separate Montréal-style smoked meat platter, with a pile of rye bread, mustard, and a vinegar-based delicious cole slaw, was excellent – lean and great tasting.  A definite winner of a selection for a Jewish deli and Montréal-style smoked meat.

Snowdon Deli, Montréal, Canada, photograph # 2 – the inside of the deli is unpretentious and reminded us of a good, old-fashioned New York City [NY, USA] Jewish deli, like Katz’s or the Second Avenue Deli in Manhattan

Snowdon Deli, Montréal, Canada, photograph # 3 – co-owner Hart Fishman was cubing partially frozen ends of home-smoked salmon for their salmon dip and other dishes when we started a conversation after our delicious brunch

Google describes Snowdon Deli very succinctly: “Enduring location for classic Montreal-style smoked meats, sandwiches & other Jewish deli faves.”  Back in 2021, the Montreal Gazette said that “75 years later, Snowdon Deli remains a slice of Montreal life.   What keeps loyal customers coming back?  It might be the potato salad.  It might be the karnatzel.  Or, as one of the family business’s co-owners says, it might be because ‘it’s not “I” here — it’s “we”.’ “

The Montreal Gazette went on to say, “Snowdon Deli celebrates its 75th anniversary this month. Its steadfast customers, some of whom have been coming since Day 1, may be undecided as to what the magnet is for them — it’s likely not the deli’s accessibility on the log jammed corner of Décarie Blvd. and Isabella Ave. — but all concur there is nothing quite like it in the city, parking woes be damned.  Many of the deli’s staff have been toiling here for decades. They concur there is nothing like it, too.  Semper, Snowdon Deli’s longest-serving employee, has been knocking out the slaw and a variety of salads, from bean to cucumber to potato, for 50 years.

“Semper remembers well the Snowdon Deli founders: brothers Abe, Joe and Phil Morantz.  What Semper remembers best and respects most is that the three brothers were always there, in smocks, behind the counter, slicing meats, dishing out dills and preparing orders just like the other counter-people… The smoked meat also helps. “The meat melts in your mouth, because it’s so well steamed,” explains Hliaras, who shows off his skills by cutting perfect slices without looking — and without losing any precious digits in the process.

“With the passing of the three [founding] brothers, Snowdon Deli is now owned by the son of Abe, Ian Morantz; the grandson of Phil, Hart Fishman; and the married couple of Yanni Papoulis and Sophy Agelopoulos.  Sophy’s dad, John, had been a longtime counterman and co-owner before retiring a few years ago.  ‘It takes Sophy, who’s Greek, to remind the Jews, Ian and myself, when the Jewish holidays are coming up and about the various rituals,’ cracks 10-year deli vet Fishman, a pescatarian with the occasional fondness for a karnatzel. ‘She also knows the difference between kasha and kishke.’”

Snowdon Deli, Montréal, Canada, photograph # 4 – plates of sliced Montreal-style smoked meats ready for delivery to tables

Snowdon Deli, Montréal, Canada, photograph # 5 – some of their homemade Montreal-style smoked meats right out of the warming steamer, with stacks of nice rye bread and mustard, before being sliced and plated

Snowdon Deli, Montréal, Canada, photograph # 6 – representatives of the two families that own the deli – Hart Fishman (plus a cousin), whose father and grandfather worked in the deli, and Sophy Agelopoulos (plus her husband), members of a Greek family whose father had his first job in America working for in the deli

If the term “Montreal-style smoked meats” is something you’re wondering about, here’s an explanation from the webpage “Deli Slang 101: Decoding the Secret Language of Jewish Delicatessens”: “Unlike corned beef and pastrami, which are made from two different parts of the brisket, smoked meat is made from whole brisket, and the spice blend is a bit more aromatic.  Pastrami has black pepper and coriander, while smoked meat includes clove and fennel seed.  Traditionally it is dry-cured, whereas pastrami and corned beef are brined in a liquid-based solution.” — https://firstwefeast.com/eat/2016/03/jewish-deli-slang-101

And a postscript:  We now understand why our friend from Montreal – with whom we checked our “homework” on where to go for Montreal-style smoked meats — told us that he has now been going to Snowdon Deli for 60 years (he grew up in Montreal).

Legal Notices: All photographs copyright © 2023 by Richard C. Edwards.  All Rights Reserved Worldwide.  Permission to link to this blog post is granted for educational and non-commercial purposes only.