For a couple of years now I've heard of Caplansky's and their smoked meat sandwich. I was also told it wasn't quite like the Montreal version which I love so much but I found myself in the area and decided to give it a try.
All in all it was good and I feel it deserves another chance but it wasn't the fantastic sandwich that I was led to believe. Don't misunderstand, it was good, it just wasn't transcendent.
The meat was hand sliced which is important when dealing with brisket. This is something that can't be sliced by a machine, something that Druxy's never understood. The bread was a nice soft rye from Silverstein's and they had spicy mustard on the table. I ordered a combo with a pickle, slaw and fries.
The sandwich arrives and it looks good. I put on the mustard and the first bite wasn't what I was expecting. The meat had a salty, briney taste to it and I could only taste a hint of the smoke. By the time I had gotten to the second half of the sandwich I could taste the spices and it was a lot more pleasant.
The fries are nice. They're shoestring cut and crispy. You get a basket of them and it's hard to stop eating once you start.
The price was a little more than I would have liked. At $13.00 it's a little pricey so next time I'm just going to get the sandwich and see if it fares any better than the first time.