Before boarding our flight home to Los Angeles, The Astronomer and I lunched at Mile End Sandwich to get a taste of Noah Bernamoff and Rae Cohen’s Montreal-style Jewish comfort food. The couple, he a Montrealer and she a New Yorker, opened the original Mile End Delicatessen in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn in 2010.
This tidy storefront north of Houston serves an abbreviated menu with over a dozen different sandwiches, seasonal salads, and poutine on offer. We placed our order at the counter and the food was delivered to the table as soon as it was ready.
Mile End, by the way, is the name of Montreal’s historically working-class Jewish quarter.
The “Hot Pastrami Sandwich” ($12), hand-cut Montreal smoked meat served on Orwasher’s rye, could not have looked any more enticing.
The adorably portioned sandwich was stacked tall with thick, tender, beautifully seasoned slices of smoked meat. A touch of mustard kept the protein’s richness in check, bringing balance to the entire creation.
While it’s been a few years since I’ve ravished Schwartz’s smoked meat in Montreal, I’d say Mile End’s rendition does justice to the genre.
The Astronomer and I also shared the “Chopped Liver” ($9) sandwich, an opened-face delight constructed from toasted bread, duck jus-laced livers, gribenes, pickled shallots, and pretty pink eggs. The flavors were fabulously bright and surprisingly light.
Our simple yet superbly satisfying lunch at Mile End offered the perfect soul-warming sendoff. I can’t wait to sample the full-format delicatessen on my next trip—there’s still so much to taste in Brooklyn.
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Mile End Sandwich
53 Bond Street
New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212-529-2990
One year ago: Hungry Cat – Los Angeles (Hollywood)
Two years ago: Mori Sushi – Los Angeles
Three years ago: Amaro Bar at Osteria Mozza – Los Angeles (Hollywood)
Four years ago: Bake-Sale Brownies
Five years ago: The Art of Making Bánh Chưng
Six years ago: Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sandwich
Chopped liver is so underrated, perhaps because an earlier generation grew up with versions that were more pragmatic than delishnatic. I predict that it will make a comeback in the fashion of roasted brussels sprouts.
Loving your NYC eats. I think I get to go there in a couple of weeks and I will have to visit at least once place from your list.
Wow, that smoked meat sandwich is a thing of beauty!
Small sandwich, big taste! Loved Mile End!
That liver toast looks like the stuff of my dreams! I may not comment often but I literally spend hours pouring over your blog…ask my hubby! It always makes me incredibly hungry:).
I’ve lived in New York all my life and I can’t believe I haven’t tried this yet. Bookmarking for next lunch for sure!