Skip to main content

Wilensky's special, Montreal


The third and final stop of the MB sandwich tour July 2016, Mtl ended at Wilensky's. A place I have seen on various food channel shows, the light lunch counter serves primarily the "wilensky special," a fried bologna sandwich with or without swiss or cheddar cheese and mustard. 

Seemingly nothing to sneeze at, the crispy round bread is really comforting to bite into, making this ultimately a comfort food. Warning us that we could share one special, but that they won't cut it, we took turns biting through the tower of fried bologna and chopping down the sour pickles and a fresh cherry soda. The bread remains hard to define, not a regular bun, or like two bottom patties of a corn or egg based recipe, it was more of a shell than a bun. 

Overhearing the counter conversation, which I'm sure they have said over and over again, this will be the last generation of Wilensky's running the counter, and I'm just very appreciative that I got to try this light luncheon meat sandwich. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Monty’s Bakehouse wrap, Air Canada

I’d rate this wrap as strange. Its packaging created expectations of a more appetizing experience, which it was not. After a vastly superior egg salad sandwich from London Heathrow, I could not greet this airplane freebie with serious interest, but at least it was hot, and  at least I could review it for this blog. Steaming contents were oozy and largely undistinguishable, but suggested some kind of red pepper or sundried tomato origins.

Haloum Grille, Depanneur Le Pick Up, Montreal

A friend and I agreed the personality of the sandwich changes with each person who prepares it, and today we felt something was a little less than parfait with our Haloum Grille. Folks at Le Pick Up seemed stressed . The longest wait ever, and our lunches sat around too long. Temperature of the cheese is important to experiencing haloumi’s firm the texture and the release of its saltiness, and I prefer when it’s grilled directly before entering the sandwich.  Creamy spicy slaw of red cabbage, carrot, and kale soothes the major crust burn associated with the crispy multigrain toast. Ideally it’s the bread that should be soft and the haloumi that gets to shine as the crispy grilled champ that it is.   Nevertheless, we stayed for hours at the back picnic tables, chatted with the servers, overheard some drama about the evening closing procedure, broke a dish, and spilled a coffee. A good day. 

Marché Hung Phat, Montréal,

  I was suspicious when a vegetarian friend told me that Montréal did Vietnamese food better, and not just because she was vegetarian. I had tried first hand for myself years ago, and what I remember tasting was bland, watery, and a cruel joke. However, time moves on, and I am willing to try again, and I am glad I did.  Taken a stroll up to Saint Denis, there was no shortage of banh mi options, but Carla B led me directly to Hung Phat, and being ravenous and greedy, we each ordered a tofu banh mi AND an order of salad rolls. Normally that combination should be no problem, but I was unfamiliar with the heft of Hung Phat's servings, which had a weight and density that did not compromise its deliciousness. A substantial sandwich if I ever saw one, I could barely finish the salad rolls, but of course I did. Carla B saved the rest of her sandwich for later and passed on the rolls, and I hope she does not mind me saying this publicly. Our early friendship may have been fo...