"2009-04-28T00:00:00"^^ . . "I like my pastrami sandwiches like I like my men - old fashioned, spicy, and with lean meat.\n\nMy husband was the one who ordered the pastrami. Getting it \"old fashioned\" is the way to go here because it is spicier, and he specified lean meat. He was quite pleased with the way it turned out.\n\nCentre Street Deli is a Montreal-style deli and specializes in Montreal-style smoked meats. I didn't even know there were Jews in Montreal. (Since they're a people who have historically wandered the desert, I thought Toronto was the farthest northern reach of the wild North American Hebrew.) Another thing special about this place is that they carry a special, rarely seen type of black cherry soda.\n\nOur table started with a salad, which was fine, but it was just drowning in dressing. They even brought extra dressing on the side in case we wanted to waterboard it again. \n\nI had a cup of the matzoh ball soup ($3.50?). They really need to get some larger cups. My ball *just* barely fit in the cup. Unfortunately for my husband, his ball got sheared off on the bottom to fit. (That sentence does not sound good on its own.) We held up the ball to do a scientific investigation, thereby discovering the ball shearing. The soup was tied for the best with D.Z. Akin's in San Diego for the best matzoh ball soup I've ever had in a restaurant. It was good stuff. \n\nI followed that with a potato knish ($3?), which was really good. They even had spicy hot mustard on hand. It wasn't Beaver's brand (which I love so much I've thought about carrying it with me to restaurants - I love me some Beaver), but it was very comparable. \n\nI was pretty full by then, but that didn't stop me from helping eat an order of three potato latkes ($8.50?) that came to the table. These were the thickest latkes I'd ever seen. That's a good thing because they were really tasty, and the thickness kept them from being fried beyond recognition. They were THE MOST PERFECT LATKES I'VE EVER EATEN.\n\nThis is my favorite restaurant from my two visits to Toronto. One more visit and it has a strong chance of usurping the number one position on the list below.\n\nKathleen's International (okay, just the U.S. and Canada) Jewish Deli Rankings\n\n1) D.Z. Akin's, San Diego\n2) CENTRE STREET DELI, TORONTO \n3) California Street Delicatessen & Caf\u00E9, San Francisco (closed)\n4) Yonah Schimmel's Knishes Bakery, New York City\n5) Carnegie Deli, New York City\n6) Miller's East Coast Deli, San Francisco\n7) Stage Deli, Las Vegas\n8) Second Avenue Deli, New York City\n9) Saul's, Berkeley\n10) Brother's Deli, Burlingame (closed)\n11) Ben's Kosher Deli, New York City"^^ . "15"^^ . "13"^^ . . "5"^^ . "10"^^ . .