Friday, February 9, 2007

Smoked Meat and Spruce Beer/ Calgary

I'm in Calgary for a few days. Does anyone know of a good place to get real Montreal Smoked Meat and maybe a little Spruce Beer?

16 comments:

les__f MSN said...

MaggieMck,......if you can hangout there for a bit,.............(quite a bit ) they are having a festival,........and apparently Smoked Meat may be on the menu Daily Bagel – Montreal Smoked meat piled high – and pickles on sticks   here's a list of Vendors Vendors/Groups   2006 Concessions
Bean Brokers – hot and cold specialty coffees
Corn Roaster Canada – tasty ears of corn, dripping with butter – sprikle our favourite flavours. Crepes de Licious – Crepes with tons of toppings, and sno cones to beat the heat.
Daily Bagel – Montreal Smoked meat piled high – and pickles on sticks.
http://www.calgaryfolkfest.com/users/folder.asp?FolderID=3558   ..........looks like there getting ready for a party.............................

earlcooper1 MSN said...

Hey Maggie                    Say Hi to Jim for me (I assume you'll be seeing your brother).   Earl.

shirleybh2 MSN said...

Maggie - there is a place that sells Montreal Smoked Meat - it is off of Barlow Trail North East in a small strip mall - will try to find the exact address.

maggiemck MSN said...

Thanks Shirley. I think we will try Cafe Metro or "Dunn's" as Alberta, King of Subs was very dissapointing last time we visited. (one bad experience makes it tough to go back).

waynefeb2940 MSN said...

I haven't found a deli in Winnipeg that serves a decent Montreal style smoked meat. BUT,  Costco sells Dunns smoked meat in those pouches that you heat in boiling water.. Far from perfect but a hint of home...

shirleybh2 MSN said...

I dont know where there is a Dunn's in Calgary anymore - the one in the hotel on 16 Avenue North East between Edmonton Trail and Deerfoot on the north side of the street not sure if it was called the Radisson but that Dunns has been gone for about 2 years now.

arbutus MSN said...

  Calgary Smoked Meat Review Even though they produced Celine Dion, I can always forgive Quebec, since they also gave the world Montreal Smoked Meat sandwiches. With that in mind (and a craving to satisfy), I stopped for lunch on Friday and today at two different MSM shops. Friday's lunch was at Smokee Lee's, formerly known as Big D's Smokehouse (the same lady seems to be running the kitchen, so I don't know what's up with the name change), also known as The MSM Shack In The Parking Lot. It's located at the corner of 6th Ave and 4th St SW, is open 10-4 on weekdays, and is literally a shack (maybe 6'x10') in a parking lot, right by the courthouses. It's a small wooden shack, with a lineup outside for the entire lunch hour. You walk up to the window and order; your meal will soon appear in a plastic bag, which you can eat at the (1) picnic table if you don't mind eating in a parking lot next to a busy intersection. In sharp contrast, Sunday's lunch was at Palace Of Eats, one of the most reputable MSM places in Calgary; located on 11th St between 14 and 15th Ave SW and open 10-4 seven days a week. It's total class; the inside is all old-school wooden panelling, taken from a lunch counter operating fron 1918-1964 by the downtown Bay. At the Palace of Eats, you can get your meal in a basket to take to the park across the street; there was a farmer's market going on, so I chose this option. To compare, I ordered the 7 oz. at Smokee Lee's, which was $8 (plus $1 for a can of Diet Coke). At Palace of Eats, I got the Regular 8 oz., which totaled $10.60 with GST (a can of soda is $1.50). First, let me deal with the side dishes. Smokee Lee's comes with a Mrs. Whyte's Kosher half pickle and a small serving of plain ripple potato chips; Palace of Eats also includes a half pickle, along with a similar-sized serving of barbecue ripple chips and a small container of coleslaw. I prefered the pickle at Palace of Eats (crisper and fresher tasting), but I prefer plain chips with my sandwich, rather than BBQ. Palace wins the dubious victory of providing coleslaw; I suppose it's better than no coleslaw, but it's still just coleslaw. As far as the sandwiches go, they're similar in form; two regular slices of rye bread liberally slathered with your choice of mustard (Smokee Lee's offers 3, Palace of Eats about 6), piled high with Montreal Smoked Meat and then cut in half. I preferred the bread at Smokee Lee's; it was a light Winnipeg rye and seemed much moister and fresher. In fairness to the bread at Palace of Eats (which was a slightly darker rye), I did visit it later in the day. And now the meat. I personally far preferred Smokee Lee's; it was moist, more thickly cut (although still a good thickness) and had more flavour. The meat from Palace of Eats was very juicy and really finely shaved; to some, I suppose it would be "tender", although to me, it was just plain mushy. So in conclusion, while I admit that Palace of Eats wins on class and decor (and on being open on the weekends), Smokee Lee's is still my choice for a really good sandwich at a decent price. I'd welcome any comments, particularly from people who have tried the other well-known MSM joints; Cafe Metro down on Macleod, and Alberta King of Subs in my old Northeast stomping grounds.  

arbutus MSN said...

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winnie3ave MSN said...


Shirley. My nephew and niece still live in Calgary. About 4 or 5 years ago, when my sister was very sick and in the hospital, my daughter and I went there to see her. I had bragged so much about steamies, and smoke meat, and how good Montreal food was.We did go to Dunn's at the hotel. I thought how GREAT!!!! I was so disappointed. It was nothing like Montreal. It was big CHUNCKS of meat and not sliced thin or shaved at all. It wasn't even hot or warm. Not good at all!!!!!



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les__f MSN said...

Hi Flameshater,......(like the name Btw......hahaha)  Mike's restaurant at Wellington & Hickson,.would be good enough forme as a recommendation,........i used to go there for many a 3 in the morning Pizza, They did have good food,.......later the sign on the building changed and was called  "Da'Michelle's"............... They also had a room for rent above the restaurant (that entrance was down the side on Hickson),.....but another the restaurant people will most likely Remember another Verdun guy name of Lenny DeMarte,....who had tons of music and played for receotions and stuff up there,......if'it's the same owners from late 60's and early 70's ,...they will know him,........Also i will make a point of trying there place in Calgary ,when & if I stop there in the future,.... I will be in Edmonton in a couple of months,but noplans to get to Calgary yet...............Thanks for the info:

shirleybh2 MSN said...

We went to Dunns in the old Crossroads (Dunns is gone from there and dont think it is called Crossroads anymore) anyway first time food was great - second time I was disappointed.  They also sold the smoked meat by the pound to go and Rye bread too so we did a take away.    The King of Sub - the smoked meat was great but the fries were nothing like the ones from Lafleur's or Normand Patates or any of the other places around Montreal - maybe I hit it on an off day.  I was also torn between trying steamies and a smoked meat - the sandwich is very generous I think I ended up taking half home. My sister's boyfriend owned a restaurant on Taschereau Blvd for a while and she brought me out two pounds of smoked meat - he steamed it - hand sliced it then immediately cryopacked it.  When my mother was still alive I would fly in to Montreal for a 4 day long weekend on the February long weekend in Calgary and leave with a slab of Montreal smoked meat and a few other goodies - my dog would not leave her post at the kitchen counter waiting while I made smoked meat sandwiches - if it is fresh packed like that you can cover it with siran wrap and nuke it for 30 seconds and you would be hard pressed to guess that you were not in a Montreal eatery.  I have perfected the art of making steamies and home made hand sliced fries here in Calgary - it is almost impossible to find the buns here to make toasted hot dogs so that is not an option never mind I have other uses for my Panini maker - not limited to very tasty steak sandwiches - made my husband a roasted peppers and capicole sandwich on Panini - offered him the choice of either steak or the italian - it must have been good because he took another one for lunch the next day - warmed it in the toaster oven at the office.

shirleybh2 MSN said...

Forgot to add that the last time at Dunns they had switched over from Coke to Pepsi arrrghh - I noticed a cigarette counter in the hotel on the main level and while we were waiting for the smoked meat and fries I did hasty trip to pick us up some cokes back just before the waitress arrived with the SM - they were no where near as generous a sandwich as the first time - that was shortly before Dunns pulled out of there.

les__f MSN said...

ShirleyBh2,........good description of the sandwhich's,......Panini Bread is great too............ We also do some fair Steamies,,,,,,,,as well as Smoked Meat Sandwhich's ahh but we all love to eat don't we........hahahaha your post was making hungry,.....

shirleybh2 MSN said...

Les I also make a very good pizza - of course living in Calgary from '78 when you could not get decent pizza if you had a hankering for pizza you soon learned to make your own.  I used to lament that the most inexpensive places in any shopping fast food area in Montreal had better Pizza and Chinese and Italian food that you could get at the best pizza places here in Calgary.  Pastry shops were a joke until Lena's on Center (just above 17th avenue on East side of the street started by hiring chef from Banff springs to open her own bistro cum italian grocery - great stuff now and she does some hot lunches too.

les__f MSN said...

Again Shirley I agree,......the same was true here in Victoria,very generic boring Pizza & most other types of Food,.......I did find a real good place back in the 70's,.and I was there best customer for many years,...the owner finally sold,.and the place just was not the same,..So I did as you ,....learned to make my own,.....also have a sister-in-law who makes incredible EggRolls & I usually have some plum sauce in the freezer that I've made with Plums given to us,.....All good stuff,...but I have to figure out how she does the egg rolls ,or just keep bugging her to make them.......hahahahah (pleading stupid,gets you alot of good meals)............hahahahahah It's funny the food has gotten a lot better since the 70's,.(out here anyway),.or perhaps we've been away long ebough to appreciate a different twist on stuff,...but when it comes to Montreal Grub,......I really still love that stuff,......Remember in Montreal rarely did you ever find a bad restaurant,..cause it wouldn't stayaround long if it wasn't up to par,.... a Mom & Pop diner could feed you quite well,and if you wanted something that wasn't printes on a Menu,....they'd make it for you,.....nowadays,.if it's not on a Menu the people go suddenly blank..........hahahahaha  

mom1945-linda MSN said...

I sort of agree with Les_F about food places out here.  Do wish there were more of the typical "Moe & Gerts" greasy food places out here.  They always gave more than was expected, and not often disappointing.  Awwww, Montreal~~sure do miss it!