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| - Oh, what a wonderful place. I look back on Schwartz's with a lot of nostalgia. Walking down here in the cold, getting a smoked meat sandwich and fries with a Cott's...it takes me back.
The dining area itself is very small and the lines can be intimidating, but the staff is very good at moving people in and out promptly. I've never had anything but the smoked meat, and I've never wanted to change my order. It's perfect the way that it is.
Most astonishingly, for one of the premier tourist destinations in the city, the prices are astonishingly good. Montreal was an expensive city to eat out in, and Schwartz's is one of the cheapest places I can think of. $7 or $8 for a sandwich that big? It's an astonishing deal, and it's probably a factor in how the restaurant has retained the loyalty of the locals despite its international popularity.
Lastly, the cafeteria seating is charming. It's so small you'll almost inevitably end up sitting with somebody, and that's nice. You chat with tourists and you chat with locals. Last time I was there, I ended up eating with a governor-general prize-winning researcher and author. It's a place that draws everybody
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