Return to Smokey Mt.

 fig. a:  the invite

It was that time of year again.  Time to head down the 87 to the Catskills.  Time to fire up the smoker. Time to feed a whole mess of nice people from the City, from the Catskills, and beyond, on a gloriously beautiful midsummer's eve with some true Southern hospitality.

 fig. b:  the bill

Thing is, up until the last minute, for the first time in five years, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it--which is why we didn't make the bill.

But by Friday afternoon, by the grace of God (and with a little help from an extra-special friend--TY!) we'd arrived at the Stone House, checked in, and gone for a dip in a nearby swimming hole.  And by evening that Smokey Mountain smoker was all fired up, sending sweet hickory smoke wafting in the air, and slowly, magically turning almost 40 pounds of Fleisher's pork shoulders into hog heaven.

 fig. c:  getting up to temp

By noon the next day those shoulders had been pulled, chopped, and dressed into a towering heap of luscious North Carolina-style smoky chopped pork, and we were busily putting together our sides.

By 3:00 p.m. the guests had started to arrive in full force.  And by 6:00 p.m. dinner was served.

The spread:

3x 12-lb Fleisher's pork shoulders, hickory smoked and chopped 

Martin's potato rolls 

Tidewater coleslaw 

AJ's Down East baked beans 

Smokehouse potato salad 

AJ's Holy Grub BBQ sauce 

AEB Totally Jacked-Up BBQ sauce 

Blackcurrant lemonade 

Michelle's rhubarb & white chocolate petit fours

By about 7:15 the pork had been entirely cleaned out.  People made themselves four or five heaping sandwiches.  It was like a well-mannered, totally relaxed feeding frenzy.

By 9:00 p.m., as Color War took the outdoor stage, hickory smoke wasn't the only smoke in the air.

 fig. d:  up in smoke

And by 10:00, after Color War's set had ended in ecstatic dancing and thunderous applause, there was a whole mess of other smoke shooting into a clear, star- and firefly-filled Catskills night.

 fig. e:  c'mon, baby, light my pyre

I'm not sure if it was all that smoke, or what, but I started to have all kinds of strange and interesting visions.  Like this guy.

 fig. f:  double fantasy

Saw him in a vision not long after the Theme from Twin Peaks played announcing the arrival of Color War onstage.  Had the even stranger experience of seeing him mounted to the wall of a log cabin the very next day.

Didn't get an invite?  Like to try some of my "luscious North Carolina-style smoky chopped pork"?  Well, if the Good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise, you'll get your chance tomorrow.  I'll be selling chopped pork sandwiches at Place de la Paix, right next to the Société des Arts Technologiques and the Foodlab, tomorrow, July 17, from 7:00 p.m. till 9:00 p.m.  What's the occasion?  It's a Pop Montreal/Film Pop presentation of Computer Chess on the outdoor screen.  It's also part of a Film, DJ's, and Chefs series that's going on all summer again this year.

Hope to see you there!

In smoke we trust.

aj

p.s. Many thanks to Patricia for making all of this possible, and to Flannery for invaluable assistance in the kitchen.

The horror! The horror!

fig. a: icon

Oh, that makes me feel a lot better.

Apparently, René Angelil and Céline Dion are only part of the investment group that has purportedly purchased Montreal's greatest culinary icon: Schwartz's. Bill Brownstein of The Gazette reports, "the kingpin of the operation, according to several sources, is Paul Nakis, who is involved with the Bâton Rouge chain and the Sir Winston Churchill Pub, among other interests."

Any way you slice it, this news makes a mockery of Schwartz's: The Musical (which was based on Brownstein's book Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen: The Story) and its "this is Montreal, not Toronto"*/"no sell out" moral.

Save the deli, indeed.

Stay tuned...

aj

* i.e., culture vs. commmerce

Franklin Judd Miller Memorial Dinner, pt. 1

Schwartz's, pt. 2: (l-r) Smoked Meat getting prepared behind the counter & "the goods"
Originally uploaded by ajkinik.

Thursday night, Michelle, Thea, Claudine, and I descended upon Schwartz's Charcuterie Hebraique de Montréal (3895 St.-Laurent Blvd.) in honor of Zoe's father, Franklin Judd Miller. Montreal smoked meat was one of Mr. Miller's favorite meals, and something that wasn't exactly easy to find in Brisbane, Australia. Zoe suggested a trip to one of Montreal's famous smoked meat houses, a round of smoked meat sandwiches, and some pickles might make a fitting tribute.

Thea had had a number of take-out sandwiches from Schwartz's before, but, strangely, she'd never actually sat down to eat on premises in all her years in Montreal. Claudine grew up on the island of Montreal, but, she, too, had never been there--but then she's been a vegetarian since the age of 16. Montreal is not without its dissenting voices, but most fans of smoked meat consider Schwartz's to be the best in town. Say what you will, but theirs is the real thing: huge slabs of beef brisket that are cured (not pickled), then liberally spiced with their legendary spice mix, and then smoked. True Montreal smoked meat is something akin to pastrami, and comes from similar Romanian/Balkan-Jewish origins. Both dishes appear to be related to ancient dry-cured and wind-dried beef dishes that were found across Asia Minor and the Holy Land. Most pastrami starts off with brined or pickled beef brisket these days--so does most second-rate smoked meat. At Schwartz's the end result of their cured-meat process is a smoked meat that is downright luscious--tender, juicy, and spicy. There's a reason it leaves such an impression.

Schwartz's is also renowned for its classic interior and its Old World, no-nonsense (and, frankly, sometimes brusque) service. Not so long ago, Montreal still had plenty of these kinds of operations--places that would fit neatly into the world of Ben Katchor's Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer, places that time seemed to have forgotten.

aj

Franklin Judd Miller Memorial Dinner, pt. 2

Schwartz's, pt. 1: Thea gets ready to dig in to her very own Smoked Meat Sandwich & "the spread"
Originally uploaded by ajkinik.

The spread:
3 smoked meat sandwiches, "medium" (Schwartz's offers their smoked meat three different ways: "lean," "medium," and "regular")
2 dill pickles
1 half-sour
2 orders cole slaw
2 orders french fries
2 Cott black cherry sodas
1 Coca-Cola
1 Schweppes ginger ale

aj

P.S. Wish you were here, Zoe.
Love, from all of us