You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

Man I love Reuben's in Montreal. From top to bottom we have the beef melt, the classic reubens, and the beef dip.  Surprisingly, I love the beef dip the most, as that jus is killer! Real classic steakhouse mood with all your favorite heart attack dishes, their sandwiches are hardly an afterthought to the bevy of entrees. In fact, I would say their sandwiches are the real stars. What I love most about the beef dip is how juicy the baguette already feels even before you dip it. This is a fine dip sandwich, which is hard to do. So many disappointments have been experienced before this one, which is perhaps why it's so elevated here. The reuben is A+, but in a town that does smoked meat every which way, I don't remember it as distinctly better or worse. The melt I will probably not get again, as I was just curious, but I'd rather take the dip any day. Mmm Mmm Reuben's! 

A mid afternoon Reuben before an early office dinner seemed like a bad idea, but the rush hour traffic getting out of the core was so bad that I was for once the only person not starving at the table. Still, I ate the most at that dinner, but my stomach had been contracted with this medium sized sandwich, light on the slaw, with fries and gravy extra, and some special Greek deserts thrown in. One of Avenue Diner's better hot sandwich offerings, I may ask for extra corned beef next time, just for good measure. PS. good pickle. wish I got two!

Always a sucker for a reuben sandwich, and in a strange town I had never been before, I found myself at the local crafty yarn store for lunch and so ordered me a reuben. The Shabby Motley Handcraft had a reputation for one of the better homestyle cooking around town, and so on a lunch break from the college, I had me a tumeric soy latte, a bowl of carrot soup, and a sandwich. By no stretch was this the best reuben I have had, but it was fine and it was tasty, though I don't like my rye toasted for a reuben. The meat was thin, and the sauerkraut thick, but I have no taste memory to make me think fondly of this sandwich. The tumeric latte, however, I will definitely recommend.

Craving a corned beef sandwich like you wouldn't believe, my last meal in Winnipeg ended up at Bernstein's Deli , but not before a trip to Danali's for a pair of high end denim. Turns out the most knowledgable denim salesman I have ever met just also happens to be married to the head chef at Bernstein's, and along with raw denim, he also highly recommended the Reuben burger and the house corned beef. A classic looking joint attached to a strip mall, Bernstein's was a hopping place on a Saturday morning and everyone looked really happy to be there. Going for half a corned beef sandwich on Winnipeg rye so that I could save room for the Reuben burger, I am aware that I could have just ordered the Reuben sandwich. However, I needed to taste the pure corned beef before it got mixed in with bison ground meat to make the said Reuben burger. First, the sandwich was just okay. Nothing amazing, could have used more flavours in my opinion and a spicier...

I am on a full on city-wide search for a decent reuben, and so far, I am pretty disappointed in what passes for a smoked meat sandwich in this town. Having lunch at Paul's Omelettery , where I have only ever had an omelette, I opted for the reuben as how else will I ever know. Scanning the menu to see that they do indeed offer a corned beef hash, I figured the meat will have to be at least half way decent if they are double downing its usage. Listed as a grilled sandwich option, I asked not to grill the bread, but it came toasted anyways. I am guessing the rye bread is not so fresh, and the reuben? Disappointing because no one here cares.

The basic breakfast roll pictured above was four bucks, already twice as much as it once shortly ago. I got it somewhere near Sullivan Street, starved out after some bad, expensive coffee that cost just as much. I don't see many bodegas in Manhattan proper anymore, so when I do, I pay my respects. Staying in Brooklyn, the corner bodegas still offer this type of sandwich, but more and more, they are being pushed out by the cafe bistros that already dominate Manhattan by offering upscale versions of the classic, like the greasy mess of a Reuben pictured here, which was no Reuben in my books. Putting together more expensive ingredients does not a good sandwich make, especially if the maker is unskilled in sandwich preparation. While your storefront may showcase the finest baked sweets, if you don't know how to make a sandwich or pull a long shot, then you are charging twenty bucks for me to look at your haircut. Gentrification has ruined entire neighborhoods, if not entire ...

This place seems to get better with each visit. Located on a street that I have no reason to walk on unless it's to go get some of this Railtown Cafe has no problem filling up their seats and handling endless line ups out the door. Doing made to order sandwiches, soups, and salad bowls, it's the kind of casual eatery I never knew I missed until it showed up in my life. It's in the set up: up front as you order is the presentation of its daily meat specials including slabs of moist braised brisket, a Jenga-style tower of thick cut "72 hour" bacon, and perfectly roasted brown chicken breasts on display in enviable cookware. I don't even know what happens between the time of payment and the arrival of sandwiches, though I recall some form of self service involved, but I would have stood in a corner to eat this melt in your mouth reuben, a sandwichland classic that I rarely indulge, but here, makes me trust in the classics once again.