Mile End Jewish Deli Hits Manhattan

Smoked meat sandwich is smokin'

Visiting Mile End on Bond St. on Day One of opening week is really too early to tell much other than the meaty menu will lure me back. Specifically, smoked meat is the star by far. Whether it's the classic smoked brisket (aka smoked meat sandwich), smoked lamb, or smoked mackerel, the process is all done in-house. Ditto for bread baking and veggie pickling.

The Bond Street sandwich shop is the first Manhattan offshoot of the original Montreal-style Jewish deli in Boerum Hill. Husband and wife team Noah Bernamoff and Rae Cohen created an enticing menu of old and new. Jewish classics such as whitefish salad ($10) and chicken and matzo ball soup ($8) sit side-by-side with fried eggplant, ramps and haloumi on pita, smoked lamb sausage with harissa slaw on a zatar roll, and pickled veal tongue with onion raisin marmalade on pumpernickel. Sides include golden beets ($10) and dandelion greens ($10).

Deluxe platter with poutine ($21) was uneven

I stuck with the deluxe ($18) with poutine ($3), a platter that includes the smoked beef brisket on house-made rye, with a side of coleslaw, pickles and poutine, the classic dish of gravy and cheese curd-smothered fries from Montreal. The soft sandwich slices were small but piled high with thickish slices of spice-crusted meat. The infusion of smoky flavor means that nothing more than a schmear of mustard is necessary. It's very, very good.

Unfortunately, other than the hefty sour pickles, it was the only item on the platter that was polished off. The red cabbage slaw was bland, but the real disappointment was the poutine which came out with warm fries coated in cold gravy and cheese curds. I know that wasn't the intention.

The interiors are shiny and bright, with white tiled walls and a giant blond wood high top table in the center. The table is designed for standing only, but has boomerang shaped grooves, to keep parties clustered together.

Mile End adds to the haute deli sandwich concept which is alive and well in the area, from Joe Dough, to This Little Piggy and even legendary Katz's a few blocks away. It's good to have options.

53 Bond St near the Bowery
212 529 2990
8am - midnight daily