Main Deli Steak House

The Main Deli Steak House, also known simply as Main Deli or The Main, was a delicatessen and steakhouse located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[1] The restaurant was established in 1974 by Peter Varvaro and was located on Saint Laurent Boulevard right across the street from their main business rival, the famed Schwartz's Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen. The two restaurants were often compared against each other in their patronage and the flavours of their Montreal-style smoked meat.[2]

Main Deli Steak House
Restaurant information
Established1974
Closed2023
Food typeKosher style delicatessen and Steakhouse
Dress codeCasual
Street address3864 Saint Laurent Boulevard
CityMontreal
StateQuebec
Postal/ZIP CodeH2W 1Y2
CountryCanada
Website(archived: May 2018)

Varvaro was Italian in background, but grew up immersed in the Jewish language and culture.[3] The deli remained a family business, and two of Varvaro's children have opened their own smoked meat restaurants in the suburbs of Montreal (Smoke Meat Pete and Delibee's). Some of the regular clients of the Main Deli in the past included Stanley Lewis[3] and Leonard Cohen,[4] as well as Céline Dion, who had gone on to become their competition as one of the owners of Schwartz's.[5]

The delicatessen permanently closed on May 2023, with many speculating the aftermath effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as rising costs, led to its demise.[6][7]

Offerings

The Main Deli's primary offering was smoked meat, which they cured and smoked in the back of their restaurant. Whole beef briskets were cured with brine and their own spice mix consisting of black pepper, garlic, coriander, mustard seed, and other ingredients found in Montreal steak seasonings. The meat was then smoked in a smoking oven and steamed to completion.[8] The late Peter Varvaro, the former owner and maker of the smoked meat at the Main Deli, indicated that while the spice mixture was important, it was the method of smoking and cooking the meat that contributed to its flavours and textures.[3]

The restaurant was also well known for its smoked meat poutine and smoked meat burger.[8] Birth of the Smoked Meat, the documentary made by Jeanne Pope, Zoe Mapp and Glauc Bermudez can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3b9amOwIjM


See also

References
  1. Matthew Lapierre (9 May 2023). "The Main, famed Montreal smoked meat institution beloved by Trudeau and Cohen, closes down". CBC News.
  2. Sax, David (2010-10-01), Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen, Mariner Books, ISBN 978-0-547-38644-7
  3. Pope, Jeanne (2006), "Birth of the Smokemeat", RCI Vision, CBC Radio Canada
  4. Langlois, Christine (October 2009), First We Take The Main (PDF), Reader's Digest
  5. WYATT, NELSON (March 11, 2012), "Celine Dion: Montreal's Schwartz's will go on", The Chronicle Herald, archived from the original on 2012-03-14, retrieved 2019-11-27
  6. Bruemmer, René; Lalonde, Michelle (9 May 2023). "Main Deli's closing a sign of troubled times for Montreal restaurant scene". Montreal Gazette.
  7. Kalina Laframboise (12 May 2023). "'End of an era': Montreal now set to lose 2 smoked meat institutions". Global News.
  8. Catucci, John (2013), "Evelyn's Memory, The Main, Dangerous Dan's", You Gotta Eat Here!, 1, Food Network Canada (21)

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