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Wilensky's

Coordinates: 45°31′24″N 73°35′42″W / 45.523302°N 73.594932°W / 45.523302; -73.594932
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Wilensky's Light Lunch
Wilensky's storefront
Map
Wilensky's is located in Montreal
Wilensky's
Location within Montreal
Restaurant information
Established (1932-05-15) May 15, 1932 (age 92)
Food typeLunch counter and soda fountain
Dress codeCasual
Street address34 Fairmount Avenue West
CityMontreal
StateQuebec
Postal/ZIP CodeH2T 2M1
CountryCanada
Coordinates45°31′24″N 73°35′42″W / 45.523302°N 73.594932°W / 45.523302; -73.594932
Websitewilenskys.com

Wilensky's Light Lunch, also known as Wilensky's, is a kosher-style lunch counter located on Fairmount Avenue West in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened in 1932 by Moe Wilensky, the restaurant was immortalized in Mordecai Richler's novel, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. Scenes in the film version of the book were shot in the restaurant.[1]

Products

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Wilensky's is most famous for its Special: a grilled salami-from-beef and bologna-from-beef sandwich with mustard on a kaiser roll, pressed flat from the grill — mustard is compulsory, as a sign in the restaurant announces.[2] Though recognized as part of Montreal's Jewish community, the restaurant is not kosher. Their soda pop drinks are still mixed by hand.[3]

History

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Originally called Wilensky's Cigar Store,[4] the restaurant was located at the corner of St. Urbain Street and Fairmount Avenue in Montreal's Mile End district. It moved to its current location in 1952 [1] and was run by the founder's widow Ruth Wilensky (until 2012), his son Asher, daughter Sharon and granddaughter Alisa.[5][6]

Wilensky's Special

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The famous Wilensky's special sandwich is a grilled bologna sandwich. It was included in Travel + Leisure magazine's May 2012 edition's article about the 'Best Sandwiches From Around the World', written by Jonathan Gold.[7] It was also featured in the second episode of David Chang and Anthony Bourdain's PBS series The Mind of a Chef,[8] with Bourdain visiting again for another Wilensky's special as part of the Quebec episode of Parts Unknown.[9][10]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Brownstein, Bill (2007-05-13). "Yes, there's something truly special about Wilensky's". Montreal Gazette. Canwest. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  2. ^ "Famous Montreal eatery Wilensky's marks 75 years". CTV News. 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2009-04-26.[dead link]
  3. ^ Kaell, Hillary (2003-03-10). "Nausea? What's A Little Nausea?". McGill Daily. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  4. ^ "Wilensky's History". Top 2000.
  5. ^ "Bill Brownstein: Wilensky's puts on its party hat to celebrate 85th birthday". 12 May 2017.
  6. ^ Sietsema, Robert (November 2010), "The Inspiration for Mile End's Ruth Wilensky Sandwich", The Village Voice
  7. ^ Travel + Leisure, "Best Sandwiches From Around the World" page 10; The Wilensky’s Special, Montreal. May 2012
  8. ^ Eater, "Watch Aziz Ansari, David Chang, and the Joe Beef Guys in The Mind of a Chef", 9 November 2012
  9. ^ "Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown". edition.cnn.com. May 5, 2013. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  10. ^ "Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" episode 4 recap: Quebec is Canada's culinary capital". 6 May 2013.
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