Hunger… it’s a funny thing, take cannibalism for example. How bad do things have to be before you decide to eat Steve? I guess desperate times, call for desperate measures… and my desperation led me to the land of the people who don’t stop at stop signs, drive 10 minutes to the nearest grocery store and whose weekends comprise of picking out tiles at Reno Depot or driving their kids to soccer. Wait, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t headed out to the west to eat humans, but my desperation to find quality Creole cuisine led me 25 mins down the 40 into D.D.O.
In preparation to the second edition of the Shut Up and Eat Food Face-off, a while ago, I informally polled both my Facebook page and Twitter and asked you guys which is the “definitive” and your favourite “Montreal smoked meat”. The front runner was obviously the famous mainstay on St. Laurent, Schwartz’s delicatessen, followed by random shouts of The Main, and Smokemeat Pete. Montrealers take their smoked meat seriously, and this goes without saying. When asked what Montrealers are passionate about, the things that come to mind are hockey, poutine, bagels, smoked meat and the amount of cleavage Mutsumi Takehashi is showing at 6pm. Okay, maybe not that last one, cos I don’t think about that either. The idea was brewing in my head for a while now; get the “best” smoked meats all in one place, have a bunch of people taste them all at the same time, and find definitively which is the superior meat.
I was planning a welcome back BBQ (if you’re been following the count, it would be #9 in the past three months) for a buddy of mine who just recently returned safe and sound from a tour in Afghanistan. We all take turns hosting parties every summer, and as a result of this circumstance, I told him on the the eve of his deployment that I’ll wait for him to get back to have my BBQ, so he won’t miss out on any of the gluttonous grilling gluttony… little did he know he would get back from the war and find himself in another one; The war of SMOKED MEAT.
I once was helping my sister set up a lunch party she was having at her place. There was nothing that would have prepared me for what I was about to witness. As I was bringing in a bowl of salad to the dining room, I stopped frozen in bedazzlement – not in the sense that I was blinged out – but there they were… two huge deli containers piled high with sandwiches and casserole dishes of pasta. I was alone in the room and realized there would be no witnesses, but it was too good to be true. It had to have been a setup, I looked for the cameras thinking leaving me alone in a room with platefuls of deli sandwiches must have been some sort of prank or a social behavior experiment like when they dump a crate load of bananas in a primate cage at the zoo.
I was told about this small Italian deli in an nondescript strip-mall facing the highway hugging the side of a Couche-tard on the outskirts of the suburbs a while ago. The idea of writing about it never crossed my mind, because every time I come here, I suffer from deli-hypnosis; something comes over me and I can only see and think about what’s in front of me. Don’t judge this book by it’s cover. Looks can be deceiving, Deli La Trattoria is like a sugared up three year old after you’ve spun him around 15 times… full of surprises.
Behold. Wipe your slobber whilst admiring these works of beauty in all their glory. With an assortment of sandwiches and wraps, what stands out is their sausage sandwich and their fried chicken sandwich. If you can handle spicy, I recommend the spicy sauce. Also, you can also asked for it pressed.
Along with the freshly made sandwiches, you also have the option of hot meals; pasta and soups that change daily. Get the meatballs when they have it, then grab a baguette and then CALL.ME.
Those beautiful tiled pizza squares was what I was in the hunt for this particular day. Please note the loaves on the lover shelves, they are made fresh in-house daily.
This is a piece of the quarter vegetarian I took home. Topped with grilled peppers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, olives on top of a homemade focaccia and marinara sauce. The tartness of some of the pickled vegetables cut through the sweetness of the bread and sauce.
Make sure you get an order of these “fries”. Herby and battered potato wedges, it’s never really an option NOT to ask for an order (which comes in both half and full bags). There have been times where I’ve got my sandwiches in hand, a pile of sliced coldcuts and walking past the service line and grabbed a bag… it would feel wrong otherwise… like the old men who wear short running shorts at the gym pulled up to their nipples.
A deli case to rival most deli cases. If any of the prepared sandwiches don’t tickle your fancy (which I don’t see how it wouldn’t unless your fancy is really picky), sandwiches of choice are made to order, so don’t hesitate to ask.
From fine Italian products to freshly-made ready to eat dishes, Deli La Trattoria in Kirkland is a small deli that packs a wallop with everything Italian imaginable – minus an old man out front hosing down the sidewalk.
With a warm and friendly atmosphere, La Trattoria’s ultimate goal is make sure you’re fed and full. Where else can you go pick up a container of home-made red sauce, half a pound and Genoa ham, a sausage sandwich and an espresso to spill all over yourself while driving home? One of the few places around town where when they ask you how you’re doing, you can tell and feel that they actually mean it.
Deli La Trattoria
19787 Ch Ste Marie, Kirkland
514-694-0595