On June 22,  Schmaltz Appetizing — the pint-sized deli-slash-bagel shop from Toronto’s very own Anthony Rose — is hosting a one-night-only face-off between two cured meat legends: Dunn’s Famous Smoked Meat from Montreal, and Rose & Sons’ house pastrami. The rules are simple: Two sandwiches enter. You eat both (or don’t). You judge (or don’t) and just enjoy both of them.
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Rose, chef-owner of Schmaltz and the city’s favourite Middle Eastern restaurant, Fat Pasha has a long-time friend named David Givon. Givon runs a Dunn’s in Montreal and used to work with Rose back in their Drake Hotel days. When Givon had nowhere to go for the High Holidays, the Rose family welcomed him with open arms. Now he’s returning the favour, bringing in stacks of Dunn’s iconic smoked meat — a staple of Montreal deli culture since 1927 — to go up against Rose’s thick-cut, pepper-crusted pastrami.
Both sandwiches are served up identically: half a pound of meat on rye with yellow mustard, $24.
Pre-orders are live now on the Schmaltz website — and yes, you’ll want to order ahead. This event will definitely sell out, because a battle this juicy doesn’t happen very ofter.
Whether the winner is Montreal smoked meat or Toronto pastrami is up to the eater. As the Schmaltz crew puts it: try them both, judge them both. Tell us what you think — or don’t. We’re just here to have a good time.