Date Visited: Brunch on Sunday Apr 5, 2015
Company: +Will
On Easter Sunday, Will stayed over the night before and we planned to have breakfast in the morning before he left back to Toronto. I heard about Johnny's from a co-worker who told me it's a very popular breakfast spot in Oshawa with 2 locations. We called ahead just to make sure it was open and they were! We drove down to their newer King St. location which is in a large plaza. The place was pretty large with lots of seating and sections. The crowd was a bit older but there were also lots of families with large groups. We were seated immediately (I think by Johnny?) in a room beside a large TV playing sports.
We took a glance at the menu and we decided to share a sweet and a savoury dish. +Will ordered the Waffles with Fruit and I got the Reuben Sandwich with Fries. Our waitress wasn't the nicest or fastest but she did her job. I noticed there was a very friendly atmosphere in the air, everyone seemed to know everyone and the workers too. My sandwich came out extremely fast! Will still had to wait a bit for his, which was just coming out of the iron.
The sandwich looked really good, it had lots of layers of corned beef with some sauerkraut on the top. There was some plain mustard on the side for dipping. My only complaint would be that the bread was extremely buttery and not fun to hold. Maybe if they toasted it a bit more then it wouldn't have been as wet? The fries were plain but crisp and almost perfect looking with a golden colour. This is usually not something I'd order normally but wanted to switch it up and I'm glad I did, very reasonably priced also!
Will wanted the waffles and we also asked for it to be topped with some fruit and whipped cream. I was very impressed with what we received. The fruit was fresh and there were tons of it. The waffle was thick and fluffy but not very crispy on the outside. Will and I finished half our dishes and switched so by that time the waffle was pretty moist, but made the syrup easier to soak up! Delicious waffle and even better pairing of the two dishes by Will and I if I do say so myself :)
Food: 3.5/5 - Nice assortment of classics at fair prices.
Decor: 2/5 - Very old feeling to it, nice amount of space but not very appealing to the eyes.
Service: 3.5/5 - We were in and out so quickly! Waitress was just ok.
Willingness to go back: 3/5 - Good spot for a quick breakfast but I can imagine how busy it gets with all its regulars.
Overall: 3/5
Website: n/a
Date Visited: Late night meal on Friday Aug 1, 2013
Company: First stop after arriving Montreal with +Elliott
I had visited the infamous Schwartz's once before, about 3 years ago visiting Montreal from Ottawa with some friends I met on co-op. The line was huge to get in and a camera was filming two guys sitting at the counter in this small, packed deli. I just remember that it was the (first, I think, and) best smoked-meat sandwich I had ever had. It was so simple: rye bread, meat, and mustard, but it was so mind-blowingly delicious. Is this what all smoked meat tasted like and I've just been missing out on it all my life?
3 years later and since then, I had smoked meat once again from the Eaton Centre but it was the worst sandwich I'd ever had. So upon my arrival into Montreal on the VIA train on Thursday night for the Osheaga long weekend, +Elliott and I met up and he wanted to go to Schwartz's! He'd never been because of the line but hoped that there would be none this late. We walked there and saw a group standing outside of it. The owner quickly came out and seated them though and we were next. It was still busy, but a few seats were empty!
The place is quite small and the right half of the store is completely for the kitchen where they prepare the food and you can see stacks of smoked beef on the counters. The other half is rows of tables and you'd usually end up sitting beside a stranger if you're in a small group. There's a menu on two sides of the walls but we also got ones to look at at the table where they came and took our order. We of course went for the Smoked Meat Sandwich and also got sides of Pickle and Coleslaw. Something new since I'd been there last is that the waiter asks you if you want Lean, Medium, or Fatty meat. I went for the lean trying to be healthy...
+Elliott and I both regretted our lean meat decisions because it very dry and not as flavourful. We tried to add more mustard to help it but it didn't really, the bread had more moisture than the beef. It was still excellent smoked meat but wasn't to my preference and I was pretty disappointed especially after my amazing first visit (hopefully it's not one of those 'never as good as the first time' cases). The Pickle, I find is something a lot of people order but I found it watery and wasn't as full of flavour as I'd expected. The Coleslaw on the other hand was some of the best I've had. The flavour was bold and it was so simply made.
Food: 4/5 - Giving the benefit of the doubt here because my instinct is that my first meal here was excellent (not a pigment of my imagination) despite the downfalls of this last visit.
Decor: 2/5 - Awesome old school decor all around, but way too cramped!
Service: 4/5 - Fast service and owners just seem like awesome guys.
Willingness to come back: 3/5 - I don't think I'd wait in a line here but I'd definitely go again if I could just walk in.
Overall: 3/5
Website: http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/
