[URBAN NOTE] Mel's Montreal Delicatessen (440 Bloor Street West)

[rfmcdonald]

As a good student of Canadian literature, I've of course read some of the novels of Mordechai Richler. I've never had the chance to eat at one of Montréal's famed delis, though thanks in part to the chain migration triggered by the Highway 401 'refugees' leaving what they thought would soon be the independent Francophone nation-state of Québec, plenty of Montreal-style diners now exist in Toronto. Today, I decided to go try Mel's Montreal Delicatessen (440 Bloor Street West), and was rather pleased with what I found. The restaurant's colour scheme is cheerful, with walls as bright yellow as any of my legal pads, and brightly lit; the cute, efficient waiter finagled me into opting for the Montreal smoked meat sandwich, with two sides (coleslaw and potato salad in my case) and a 10 ounce glass of Red Baron Lager without provoking any resentment; the food itself was good, both in quantity and in quality. My only complaint with them is that they put so much smoked meat into they sandwiches and to make them impossible to hold. Otherwise, for $13.50 including tip it's a good deal indeed.