New Deli

Welcome to the third installment in my W and CP Toronto series. You may recall that I had so much great information to tell you about the tasty adventures I took while North of the border that I split what would have been one gigantic post up into several restaurant specific recaps. And in case you don't recall that, I suggest you reread my post on my search for authentic food in Toronto and the pie mecca that is Wanda's Pie in the Sky to set the scene.

On our second night in "the 416," Elissa F. and I decided to try one of Rabbi Aaron L.'s suggestions: Caplansky's Deli.

Let me first tell you that I really love delis.

And I love trying new restaurants, especially in new cities when I get personal recommendations that they are excellent (duh).

But I am pretty cautious when getting excited about a deli prospect for several reasons:

• You see, I grew up about 600 feet from Weissblatt's Deli (which is now called the Celebrity Deli but that is not important). Weissblatt's was no New York Deli, but it was a fantastic option for a hungry Baskin Robbins cake decorator and set the bar pretty high for neighborhood delis (I did not appreciate this fact until I moved into the District).
  
• I once accompanied my grandfather to four (yes, four) delis to select the perfect chopped liver for our Passover Seder (he sampled at least three types of chopped liver at each destination).
  
• And whenever I'm in New York, I make a point to stop at the 2nd Avenue Deli or Zabar's for a deli fix (as the deli selections in DC are admittedly weak--you know I am not messing around because it is rare that I ever make a sweeping generalization about the District).

Alas, the prospect of Caplansky's was quite significant. And according to Aaron L., a native of Montgomery County and ordained Rabbi, Capalansky's is the real thing. In fact, it is owned by Aaron's friend, Zane. The more I learned about Zane Caplansky, the more I knew I needed to visit his hotbed of Jewish culinary delicacies and smoked meat.

So we took the Toronto subway to the neighborhood which houses Caplansky's. We walked through the University of Toronto campus and marveled at the low cost of tuition for higher education in Canada.

Then we arrived.

Caplansky's did not disappoint. It was an extra unique experience as it was a Canadian deli (which basically means that they didn't serve Dr. Browns but did have some other black cherry soda that the waitress told us was "something Jewish"). I was wowed by the borscht (which contained a very large amount of smoked meat and was described by our waitress as "a party in a bowl") and milk chocolate bread pudding. (The only way I can explain how good the bread pudding was is to say that if Caplansky's were in DC, this bread pudding would have been on the W and CP 100th post top 10 desserts list. Thanks to Elissa F. for making this comparison to illustrate the deliciousness.) And the tiny potato latkes that came with my scrambled eggs with lox were crunchy and fantastic too.


The decor was crisp and impressive. The walls are lined with giant photos of Zane and posters with sayings like "Six days to create the world. Fourteen to cure a brisket." Ah, Zane C., such a jokester.


Lastly, Caplansky's is using social media so well! As soon as I returned to my hotel room from this deli field trip, I found Zane on Twitter (@Caplansky) and am now following his deli revival lifestyle in Ontario... A lovely little reminder of my healthcare-for-all/affordable college/excellent-bread-pudding-home-away-from-home also known as the 416.

PS--Here is a fantastic article about Zane C., my new best friend, from the second to last issue of Gourmet Magazine, z"l.*

*of blessed memory