Next time you get a craving for New York, head straight to Gastown for a grilled Rueben at the newly reopened Mensch Jewish Delicatessen.
Get this: to make his popular pastrami—a heaping 10 ounces in each sandwich—Israeli-born owner Nitzan Cohen brines the beef for 10 days, smokes it for eight hours and steams it for another four. “I like things that are old school, done traditionally and done right,” he says, adding that, for now, Mensch is a "pop-up" of sorts. If all goes well, the deli will remain permanently. In the meantime, everything’s made in-house, including the sauerkraut, the yogurt-based labneh cheese and the cured (not smoked!) salmon.
Insider’s note: the deli storefront was designed by Emmy award-winning set designer Brian Kane, including the nostalgically staged window display featuring an old-school meat grinder and scale to boot. —Miranda Sam
Mensch Jewish Delicatessen, 212 Carrall St., Vancouver, facebook.com/menschdelicatessen
Photo by Olivia Sari-Goerlach.
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