Schwartz's Deli (Montreal smoked meat)

This is the meal you came for, even if you don't know it yet. Montreal smoked meat is its own thing — not pastrami — and Schwartz's, curing it since 1928, is the benchmark. The two rules first-timers get wrong: order it medium-fat (never lean; lean is dry and misses the point), and use the takeout counter next door to skip the dining-room line. Medium-fat on rye, mustard, a pickle, a black cherry soda.

The 1928 smoked-meat institution — the single most essential Montreal meal, done right means medium-fat on rye, via the takeout counter to skip the line.

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