May the Schwartz be With You

How could I say no? The Ridge Theater was showing a documentary on the famous Montreal smoked meat eatery complete with a sandwich flown in from Montreal. As part of the Jewish Film festival, “A Year in the Life of Schwartz’s” drew a nearly packed crowd on a sunny Saturday Afternoon.

The documentary followed the daily events of the staff and customers of the Montreal icon for a period of a year. Venerated eateries often have a timeless feel with menu items virtually untouched for decades. The tables, stools and signs may not changed much but the customers did. Generations filtered through the doors but the food remained unchanged. There’s a real sense of family and community that can develop with both customers and staff bringing a sense of pride to a place that they know and grew up with.

As touching as the movie was, people immediately lined up for the sandwiches once the lights came back on. And who could blame them? The just spent 90 minutes watching people eat the perfect Schwartz’s smoked meat sandwich with a black cherry coke. Sadly, my friend was unable to attend so I held onto her ticket so that I could bring her a sandwich. The line was immense but Frank Silva, the general manager of Schwartz’s, sliced the smoked meat quickly while answering questions from the audience. When I reached the sandwiches, I laid out two paper plates and explained to the organizer that my friend was unable to make it to the movie. To my surprise she told me that only attendees would receive sandwiches. I showed her my two tickets and explained that I had paid for two tickets. Luckily Frank Silva intervened and provided me with the second sandwich as there was plenty of food to go around.

It was hours later before I realized that it may not have played out so well at the Jewish Film Festival, if I had stuck with plan A and asked the lady why she had to be such a Nazi about the sandwiches.