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| - This is a review for the takeout section.
I recently visited Schwatz's for the first time in over 8 years and opted to skip the line by visiting their takeout operation connected to the main deli. The takeout place has bar-style seating at the back, so in theory this is a decent option if you don't need a table or service.
The takeout prices seem to be the same, and I won't complain about them because they're fairly reasonable (though the cherry soda seems a bit expensive).
I ordered a fatty sandwich, fries, and a black-cherry soda. The fries aren't bad, and seem to be fairly typical Montreal fries: dark, fairly crispy, and quite short with lots of fragmentary bits.
The real letdown was the sandwich. The flavour was there, but it was deeply compromised nevertheless. Unlike previous times I've been to the sit-down portion, the smoked meat wasn't actually sliced: instead, it was chopped up and combined in order to get the desired fat profile. Although I couldn't see the grill, there were obviously pieces/slices of meat laying on the grill, and when a customer ordered you could hear the cook chopping the meat together in order to get the right mix. This meant that some of the meat had been laying there for a while, and some of the individual pieces/fragments (which were pea-sized) were dry and almost seared. Fresh cut slices of smoked meat this was not. Disappointing.
In contrast, if your order meat by the pound at the takeout counter you will get fresh-cut slices.
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