I am speaking to you from beyond the grave because I visited Katz's today. I ordered the open face roast beef sandwich, a sandwich that has elluded me for a while. You see, a friend of mine commonly orders it, and each time I have been jealous, but I never really took the plunge, until today. Turns out it filled me up alright, to the point where my stomach explanded and collapsed my lungs. Thus, death by roast beef.
Before I continue, I should give you some backround on Katz's Deli and Corned Beef Emporium, I've been going there for as far as I can remember. After traveling much of the globe in search of a comparable corned beef or pastrami sandwich, I have found none to compare. Located at 3300 Dufferin, near Yorkdale, you'll see the large yellow sign featuring a very large head. Don't let large head of an Australian explorer fool you, they mean serious business here, deli business. They feature a wide variety of smoked meats and other traditional deli dishes to choose from. Some examples include corned beef (duh), pastrami, turkey, tongue, roast beef, Montreal smoked meat, knish, knucker, baked apples, marinated tomatoes, yada yada yada. Some of my favourites are the knish, corned beef (duuhhhh), and pastrami. If you do opt for a sandwich, I highly recommend ordering it with pastrami sauce. Pastrami sauce is essentially a psuedo gravy mixture combined with various meat trimmings (I think it might be left over knish filling aswell).
Anyways, back to the topic of the day, the open face roast beef sandwich. As you can imagine, the construction is quite simple.
- Take two pieces of bread (did I mention they have the best rye in the city?)
- Cover in gravy (a very good gravy too)
- Add machine sliced roast beef atop each piece of bread (what I'd give for a machine slicer)
- Pile fries between two stacks of meat (mm, crispy)
- Cover in addition gravy ( precious!)
This was my first time trying the Katz's roast beef and I was quite impressed. Very moist, soft, tender and flavourful. It was one of the better medium cooked roast beefs that I've had. Coupled with the gravy and fries, it was a force to be reckoned with and it's quite easy on the eyes aswell. One problem I find is that their gravy isn't normally hot enough, so try to ask them to heat it up if possible. Also, to truly be able to enjoy the fries and gravy, you have to eat them fast as the gravy with crispy fries is unmatched in terms of deliciousness.
I also ordered my usual marinated tomatoes and onions. They're marinated in a mix of basil, oil and some other spices. It's quite good, and it's really the only finite item that I order everytime I visit (besides Fanta cream soda which is no longer available). The tomatoes are both an excellent side and wonderful addition to your sandwich. Add a few slices of tomato and onion and you won't be disappointed.
The open face sandwich didn't dethrone my usual corned beef and pastrami sauce combo, but it was certainly enjoyable and I'd have no trouble ordering it again when I can stomach it. While it was suggested that I take the remains home, you just can't take home a dish that's covered in gravy, it's sacrilegious!
Oh, and your friend said Centre Street Deli was better? He'd certainly be no friend of mine. While I don't think there's anything wrong with the Centre Street Deli (except the meat being excessively bland and hand sliced), I have trouble finding anything that makes them stand out from other delis. Perhaps it's tradition?
Oh well, times change.
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