Brooklyn Glutton

(Smoked Meat Sandwich at Mile End.  Photo courtesy of unbreaded.com)

In the pursuit of things edible and musical, it can be fun for THE BROOKLYN GLUTTON to dine with rock musicians. An early post on this blog gave a brief account of a great meal at Momofuku Ssam Bar with Jerry Joseph, a close friend, and a prolific singer/songwriter and rock powerhouse who in The Glutton’s opinion, should be a household name (see October 15, 2010 post on Jerry Joseph).  Last Wednesday, on the last night of Hanukkah, I pigged out at MILE END (97A Hoyt Street @ Atlantic Avenue, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, 718-852-7510), a Montreal-style Jewish Delicatessen on the edge of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, with my friend Steve Shiffman, Canadian-American songwriter, and lead singer and guitarist of the eponymous rock outfit, Steve Shiffman & The Land of No, whose eponymous album is a must hear, but we’ll get back to that once we’re done talking about the food. 

Just as Jerry introduced me to the flavors reminiscent of his native Pacific Ocean a la David Chang, Steve excitedly shared a uniquely Canadian version of the comfort food of our people, which he enjoyed while growing up in nearby Toronto and while attending McGill University in Montreal.  My familiar knowledge of the Jewish Deli as a Brooklyn native enabled me to connect with the spirit of Mile End from the perspective of a New Yorker, but the Canadian part is a whole other thing, and that’s where Steve came in.  I know my way around a pastrami sandwich, but even after reading a few reviews to educate myself about the place and hearing the term “brisket” thrown around, and sitting down at the counter and reading the menu and coming to understand that there was really only one single type of meat on offer for dinner, which looked more like corned beef to me than brisket, I had to look Steve in the eye and ask in earnest…”is this stuff just called ‘smoked meat?’”  Steve looked particularly Canadian at that moment when he answered in the affirmative and repeated it, as if to teach me how to say it properly…”yep. Smoked meat.” 

And so the ordering began.  We had to get the Smoked Meat on Rye, which is offered either as a sandwich or a large platter.  Smoked Meat is the only way to go for dinner, but lunch is complicated by the option of the spectacular Ruth Wilensky Sandwich, but we’ll get to that later along with Steve’s record.  Being that this was the last night of Hanukkah, we couldn’t resist our last chance at the Latke special — three versions of the traditional potato pancakes enjoyed during the Hanukkah celebration.  One classic potato and chive latke, one butternut squash latke, and one celery root and parsnip.  All three were tasty, but the classic version remained the strongest of the lot, and perhaps this eclectic Latke tasting was more of an example of Mile End’s ‘modern Brooklyn’ side than its traditional Canadian side.  I insisted on trying the Chopped Liver, which was exceptional, alongside “Pletzels,” triangles of dense chewy flatbread, almost like the large flat bialys that used to be easier to find on the Lower East Side than they are today. 

The thing Steve was most excited about leading up to this meal was the sentimental joy of eating ‘classic Poutine,’ a ubiquitous Canadian dish consisting of crisp French Fries smothered in light brown gravy and cheese curds (‘Poutine’ literally means “hot mess” in Quebecois French).  On past trips to Montreal, I recall being relatively disgusted by this concept, never having really appreciated the Brooklyn version, “Cheese Fries,” and preferring my gravy on the side rather than soggy up a perfectly good plate of crispy fries by pouring gravy on top of them.  And the thought of both combined, although there was always somebody who ordered it at the diner at 3am, I always found to be repulsive.  I tried to have a  really an open mind coming into this, but I must say that after really wanting to like a very good version of it at Mile End, I hold to my position that Poutine remains a Canadian cultural idiom, particularly to a Brooklynite, even at a Canadian Jewish Deli in Brooklyn where everyone around me is eating Poutine and smiling.  None for me, eh?  No thanks.  Sorry Steve.  Poutine loving carnivores can also get their Poutine topped with smoked meat.  Brooklyn born disbelievers such as myself can save a few bucks and get our Frites sans Poutine.

(Classic Poutine at Mile End.  Photo courtesy of foodie-call.com)

The Smoked Meat is definitely the main attraction here.  Juicy and fatty, without an ‘extra lean’ option available as far as I can tell, this peppery delicious cured beef, thickly cut by hand, is distinctly different from anything similar that I’ve ever tasted at Katz’s or 2nd Avenue Deli, or any other Jewish Deli.  My sandwich contained a perfect balance of juicy fatty slices and drier, leaner slices, but I think that was probably just luck, as every cut has different marbling throughout, nevertheless it’s exactly how I’d make it for myself if I had free reign on the beef.  I immediately noticed a more pronounced peppery flavor compared to any pastrami I’d ever eaten.  I’m not going to call it better or worse than the finest delis that I know and love, but it is a completely different thing.  Steve confirmed for me the next day after doing some research, that Pastrami is cured with more sugar and less pepper than Canadian Smoked Meat.  You need to get up pretty early in the morning to sneak one past the palate of The Glutton!

For dessert, I couldn’t resist another fleeting Hanukkah special, the Sufganiyot — small jelly-filled donuts commonly enjoyed on this Jewish holiday that I have been celebrating my entire life, and never even heard of before, never mind pronounce correctly.  These were sugary and gooey and warm and delicious, and I don’t think any more Canadian than any other brand of Jewish fare, but it took the Canadians to introduce me to these Jewish jelly donut holes in my own native Brooklyn.  By the way, Steve had never heard of them either.  Did I mention that this entire meal was washed down with a couple of bottles of Labatt’s Blue?  This is something really different, eh?  And they are known for their bagels, which are also quite popular and widely adored in Montreal.  I look forward to returning to Mile End for breakfast one day to enjoy some undoubtedly fine smoked salmon on an enigmatic Montreal bagel , which is actually shipped to Brooklyn, from Montreal (unheard of)!  I hope this isn’t a repeat of the Poutine.  Remember who we are talking to here…ahem…Brooklyn Glutton?!?  The bagels…I must taste them to believe.  I overheard someone talking about the comparison while eating at Mile End.  He said “It’s like apples and oranges.”  Yeah…we’ll see.

I did, however, already return once for lunch to try a bowl of wonderfully flavorful matzo ball soup and the incredibly delicious “Ruth Wilensky” sandwich, a thin hot pressed beef salami sandwich with mustard on a crispy onion roll.  Inspired by the 92 year old owner of the 78 year old Montreal lunch counter, Wilensky’s Light Lunch, this very simple sandwich appears to be somewhat artisanal in its creation compared to the original, which is known to include bologna in addition to salami.  However, like the original, Mile End charges an additional 10 cents if you order the sandwich without mustard.  I also recommend the Virgil’s Black Cherry Cream Soda to go with it.  Virgil’s is made in California, not Montreal or Brooklyn. 

On my most recent visit, I noticed that Mile End is taking reservations for a $35 price fixe traditional Jewish Christmas meal — a Chinese Feast on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  Menu items include Steamed Lamb’s Tongue Buns, Roast Duck, and Smoked Meat Fried Rice.  Hurry now, if you’re interested because the place is incredibly small.

Mile End’s “Ruth Wilensky Sandwich” (photo courtesy of blogs.villagevoice.com)

So, thank you, Steve Shiffman for sharing your Canadian culinary culture, Poutine and all, and thanks for a really exciting self-titled album to rock out to with our Smoked Meat.  “Steve Shiffman & The Land of No” is a high energy, eclectic rock album that consists of a dozen solid tracks that comprise a cohesive record, while each track really holds up on its own, each song distinctly different and appealing in its own way.  Strong musicianship, catchy pop hooks, and smart lyrics containing lots of poetic imagery that becomes more apparent with each listen, make this album really engaging time after time.  While a comparison to Stephen Malkmus and Pavement is an obvious one to make, the depth of the record as its own work of art renders such a comparison accurate to the extent that the band is clearly an influence but hardly a model in any formulaic sense.  Comparisons have also been made to the Kinks, and I’d even venture say that I hear a hint of the Rolling Stones and definitely some early Bob Dylan channeled by Malkmus, channeled by Shiffman, particularly in the opening track, “Unfortunately For Her” and on the frenetic “Jet Lag Blues.”  For some reason, this is funny to me in the context of the Ruth Wilensky salami sandwich (while Malkmus is not Jewish, he was a member of the band “Silver Jews,” and to my knowledge, neither Dylan (nee Zimmerman) nor Malkmus are Canadian).  Malkmus also covers several Bob Dylan songs on the soundtrack for the Todd Haynes directed, offbeat and abstract biopic, “I’m Not There.”  But I digress.  The point is that if you like Pavement and you like Bob Dylan and The Kinks and The Rolling Stones, or even just one of the above (even though that would be kind of weird), you should probably listen to Steve Shiffman & The Land of No.  They rock pretty hard.  I sure would like to see this music come to life in a live show sometime soon.  Listen to the album (see below), and you’ll be on the lookout too. 

Stay tuned for future posts in which THE BROOKLYN GLUTTON checks out live music with great chefs…