We Jews love our deli, but when it comes to smoke meat, a delicacy of Jews from Montreal, it’s a different story. “It’s as if pastrami and corned beef got together, had a couple of glasses of wine, turned on some Barry White, and made a baby.” So says Lex Gopnik-Lewinski, a Montréal native so in love with it that he used to smuggle pastrami back to Berkeley from family visits in Montréal. 

Last month, the Bay Area got its first taste of Gopnik-Lewinski’s notorious meat when Augie’s Montréal Deli opened in Berkeley. Smoke meat is a Montreal specialty, originally brought there by Romanian Jews. According to Wikipedia, “it has taken such strong root in the city that both Montrealers and non-Montrealers alike identify it as emblematic of the city’s cuisine.” Although made from brisket, it’s not quite pastrami and it’s not quite corned beef, it’s the best of both.

While the flavor of it is very close to pastrami, the crumbly texture of the beef is what makes it so special. And even the turkey, when given a smokey treatment, is extraordinary. The pickles have a wonderful garlic bite, and the slaw hits the right acidic zip. As for the latkes, the rye adds a slightly sour note. Real Canadian poutine (French fries) come topped with smoke meat crumbles and cheese crumbles. Diet food, this isn’t.

For Gopnik-Lewinski, who moved to Berkeley when he was 11, smoke meat was part of his family tradition. Eventually, in his own Bay Area kitchen, Gopnik-Lewinski created a product he liked so much, he started doing pop-ups. In his Beauty’s Bagels Oakland pop-up home, plans started taking shape for opening a restaurant.

Now that Augie’s is officially open, it’s important to know a few rules. Do not try to “Reuben-ize” or “California-ize” your sandwich. It comes the way it comes: meat on rye bread. “We have no avocado, no bacon, no lettuce, and no tomato,” Gopnik-Lewinski says. “The one concession I’ll make is to give customers their choice of mustard; in Montréal it’s traditionally yellow mustard only, but here we’ll offer deli mustard, too, but I’m not telling the Montréalers that.”

Open Wed-Sun, 875 Potter St, Berkeley CA, (510) 984-0283