Wilensky's Light Lunch (), also styled as simply Wilensky to conform to

Bill 101 The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...

, is a

kosher-style Kosher style refers to foods commonly associated with Jewish cuisine but which may or may not actually be kosher. It is a stylistic designation rather than one based on the Halakha, laws of kashrut. Generally, kosher-style food does not include me ...

lunch counter A lunch counter (also known as a luncheonette) is, in the US, a small restaurant, similar to a diner, where the patron sits on a stool on one side of the counter and the server or person preparing the food serves from the opposite side of the ...

located at 34 Fairmount Avenue West in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Opened in 1932 by Moe Wilensky, the restaurant was immortalized in

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

's novel, '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz''. Scenes in the

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of the book were shot in the restaurant.

Products

Wilensky's is most famous for its ''Special'': a grilled salami-from-beef and bologna-from-beef sandwich with mustard on a

kaiser roll The Kaiser roll (''Emperor roll'', german: Kaisersemmel), also called a Vienna roll (; as made by hand also: , sl, kajzerica), or a hard roll, is a typically crusty round bread roll, originally from Austria. It is made from white flour, yeast ...

, pressed flat from the grill — mustard is compulsory, as a sign in the restaurant announces. Though recognized as part of Montreal's Jewish community, the restaurant is not

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

. Their soft drinks are still mixed by hand.

History

The restaurant was originally located at the corner of St. Urbain Street and Fairmount Avenue in Montreal's

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

district. It moved to its current location in 1952 and was run by the founder's widow Ruth Wilensky (until 2012), his son Asher, daughter Sharon and granddaughter Alisa.

Wilensky's Special

The famous Wilensky's special sandwich is a grilled

bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

sandwich. It was included in ''

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownershi ...

'' magazine's May 2012 edition's article about the 'Best Sandwiches From Around the World', written by Jonathan Gold. It was also featured in the second episode of ''

The Mind of a Chef ''The Mind of a Chef'' is a non-fiction television series on PBS narrated and executive produced by Anthony Bourdain, and combines travel, cooking, history, and science. Each season follows a different chef, or pair of chefs, and examines their be ...

'' PBS series with

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...

and

David Chang David Chang (Korean: ; born August 5, 1977) is an American restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin stars, which the restaur ...

.Eater
"Watch Aziz Ansari, David Chang, and the Joe Beef Guys in The Mind of a Chef"
9 November 2012

Gallery

File:Wilensky's - Ruth Wilensky 01.jpg,

Ruth Wilensky Wilensky's Light Lunch (), also styled as simply Wilensky to conform to Bill 101, is a Kosher style, kosher-style lunch counter located at 34 Fairmount Avenue West in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened in 1932 by Moe Wilensky, the restaurant was immo ...

File:Wilensky's - 1.jpg, Two opened ''Wilensky's Specials'', a dill pickle, and a cherry coke File:Wilensky's - 6.jpg, Sandwich with beef salami and bologna File:Wilensky's - 2.jpg, Wilensky's interior with back wall File:Wilensky's - 3.jpg, Wilensky's interior with side wall File:Wilensky's - 4.jpg, Wilensky's entryway

References

External links