the buzz

“Smoky Heaven at Mile End”

Now that I am on staff at Brooklyn Law School (serving my alma mater as Managing Editor of our magazine, BLS LawNotes), I was particularly interested in a visit to Mile End, the smoked meat house and "Delicatessen" in the style of Montreal's Schwartz's that former part-time BLS student (and Montreal native) Noah Bernamoff opened a few weeks ago.

Named for a  Montreal neighborhood, the slim washed-wood space is filled with five rows of picnic style tables built from wood salvaged from bowling alleys, and is lit with large school desk lamps, with a lunch counter for elbow-to-elbow eating with a bird's eye view of the luscious hunks of house-smoked beef being sliced to order. But the most notable element of the room is not the design. It's the intoxicating aroma of smoking meat, a savory, carnivorous perfume of undeniable appeal. Salivation is the only answer.

The menu is brief and reasonably priced, a nice combination. Stop in before noon and feast on salami scrambled with eggs, onions and peppers, or have a Montreal bagelach (sort of small, dense and bready, with a slight sweet taste, coated with sesame seeds) with smoked salmon and cream cheese. At lunch, the menu includes poutine ($7/12), The Ruth Wilensky (salami on onion roll, $7), smoked turkey on rye with mustard ($7), or the crowning glory: smoked meat--$8 for the sandwich, or $13 for a platter that easily feeds two.

Craig, Emily and I stopped in for lunch the other day after we got the okay from her doctor to start with finger foods. Her first "real" food? Little morsels of Noah's house-smoked beef, gobbled up quickly and happily. We are spoiling her, I know. But so be it.

Craig and I had her leftovers from the smoked meat platter ($13) which left us enough meat for two nice sandwiches. We piled the meat onto our soft rye, slathered on a bit of Gulden's brown mustard, and were transported to beef heaven. The smoked meat is hand-sliced and thick cut, but so moist it falls apart, crumbling almost too easily so it may be more of a smoked beef scraps sandwich by the time you've assembled it, but no matter, it's terrific: the meat is luxuriously smoky, with just the right amount of pepper and pastrami seasoning, and some bits have a little char from the smoker, which are so nice to snack on.

The sandwich begged for a nice pickle, but Noah's are still pickling. Hopefully they'll be ready soon. We had a few bottles of cherry cream soda, and a small side of poutine (more than enough at $7), which was done with some restraint: a healthy portion of hand cut fries skin on potatoes, still crispy and piping hot from the fryer, doused in just enough gravy to add flavor but not make them soggy, dotted with the requisite cheese curds.

They're looking to expand the menu for dinner in the next few months but for now, come for lunch. He has been known to sell out by the time evening rolls around. Don't miss out. Come early, and enjoy.

Mile End (97A Hoyt St between Atlantic Ave and Pacific St, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, 718-852-7510). Hours: 8am till the meat runs out (10am on weekends).

Share ! Post a comment