Caplansky's sky blue sign
There’s a few things I have to point out before I get started on my review. My friends and I went to Caplansky’s new location on College street right on their opening weekend which was during labour day weekend 2009. They were still trying to get a few things right, and a few of the things we ordered were sold out. That said, the owner was there that night and did sit down to chat with us and ask us how we felt so we were honest, and everything said in this review has also been told to the owner. Even though Caplansky’s is at a new location, the owner has been running the previous restaurant at the Monarch Tavern for about a year, and is very eager to please. What also makes this restaurant unique is Caplansky runs a blog detailing his ordeal with running a restaurant which has been really interesting to read and I look forward to his updates.
When I think of the strip of College between Spadina and Bathurst, the first thing that springs to my mind are cheaply and competitive computer stores. Recently nestled among the heart of this computer store strip right near Little Italy sits a white and sky blue deli by the name of Caplansky’s. It recently opened yesterday (labour day weekend) and Sara, Antony, and myself decided to go check it out.
The deli was bustling with tons of patrons, waiting eagerly to check out what this new deli has to offer. The staff of about a dozen or more were quickly buzzing around taking and delivering orders. The paper menus are laid across the tables as place mats, allowing you to check out the menu the second you sit down (and allowing them to adjust their prices every time they order a new batch of paper place mats). The menu features such Jewish deli favorites as matzoh ball soup, knish, and kishke.
Coleslaw
Sara went ahead and ordered a smoked meat sandwich on rye, with matzoh ball soup, and coleslaw. I also ordered a smoked meat sandwich, but had a smoked meat poutine as my side. The sandwiches come in fatty, medium, and lean. Lean tends to be more dry so I went with medium and Sara with fatty. Antony went to order the smoked meat hash but was told they were out of it. So he went ahead and ordered the “Special” which comes with three eggs, smoked beef bacon, latkes, and toast. Unfortunately they were out of latkes, so he had it replaced with a poutine instead. Sara asked for some pickles (a deli favorite) and they were sold out of those as well. Yes, we know, opening weekend hiccups, but I did take note to mention it to the owner.
Smoked Meat Poutine
Our poutines, coleslaw, and soup all arrived quickly enough. Antony’s poutine came on the side as well so it was delivered before his meal came. The poutines were okay with beef gravy, chunks of smoked meat and a fair amount of cheese on them. I wouldn’t say they were the best though as the best smoked meat poutine I’ve ever had came from Montreal, but it wasn’t too bad and I’m glad there’s a place in Toronto that now has decent putine. Sara’s coleslaw was a little too dry, but that’s good for Sara as she prefers the dry coleslaw over the moist wet kind. I prefer my coleslaw to be soaked in mayonnaise, and for my own personals tastes, the coleslaw wasn’t so great. Now as for the matzoh ball soup, it was a little on the bland side, almost like there was too much water in the broth. I was expecting more than one matzoh ball, but Sara wasn’t as shocked. Sara has claimed in the past that she hasn’t found a place in Toronto that has matzoh ball soup that’s comparable to the good stuff she’s had in New York. After eating the soup at Caplansky’s, her claim still remains.
matzoh ball soup
After about 10 minutes, Antony’s special came, and voila, with fries. Of course after consuming all that poutine, Antony didn’t bother eating the plain fries. He said the beef bacon was good, had a bit of a crisp on the outside, and was chewy all around. He asked for his eggs to be done over easy, but the were more cooked then what you’d usually get, with no liquid remaining inside the yolk.
the special
10 more minutes later, our sandwiches arrived. Yes, it took 20 minutes from the poutines and soup until our sandwiches arrived. I have no idea how they took 20 minutes to make as we sat right next to the sandwich counter and all these guys have to do is slice meat, stick it on some bread, and serve. So how was the smoked meat? It was okay but a little bit too dry. I generally love smoked meat. I think Mel’s, up in the Annex, had some of the best smoked meat the city had to offer. I also worked at a deli for a few years where we served smoked meat so I know how good smoked meat should feel and taste, but unfortunately, dry and crumbly isn’t it. The smoked meat did have a nice hint of smokey flavor in it though. It was actually kind of a unique smokey taste that I haven’t had before, almost like it was smoked on pine wood. This did help salvage the overall experience of the dry sandwich. What also was really good was the side set of condiments that came with the sandwich which included my favorite, honey mustard.
smoked meat sandwich
The owner, Zane, did come and sit down with us and we discussed with him how we felt about the food. He shows good initiative as an owner and I believe if you give him feedback, he will do his best to accommodate you. He removed Antony’s special right off of the bill due to his eggs not being prepared the way he asked, but he also persuaded us to try a slice of cheesecake topped with blueberries. The cheesecake wasn’t too bad, and had a very homemade feel to it. It wasn’t really to my liking though as it felt more crumbly like a dry pastry than a soft bakery cheesecake. On the other hand, the blueberry topping was really excellent and we could also tell it too was homemade.
Blueberry cheesecake
Between the three of us, we have mixed feelings about Caplansky’s. I’ve had better smoked meat sandwiches, but there aren’t too many great places in Toronto that I’ve had them at. I’ve heard recently that Caplansky’s smoked meat is still a bit on the dry side, but if I ever hear that they’ve fixed the problem, I wouldn’t mind giving them another try and adding to the review.
Average Price: $8 – $12 per entree
Hours: Sun-Wed: 10:00am – 11:00pm, Thur-Sat: 10:00am – 2:00am
Address: 356 College St
Phone: 416-500-3852
TTC Directions: Hop onto the College Streetcar and get off just west of Spadina
Website: http://caplanskysdeli.com