Mile End

This new-school deli makes pastrami the old-fashioned way, but here it's called ‘smoked meat’—a deli meat variant endemic to co-owner Noah Bernamoff's native Montreal (his partner, Rae Cohen, is from New York City). The secret to the real-deal deliciousness of their smoked-meat sandwich? Bernamoff and Cohen don't cut any corners, making it the way their grandparents did. The couple starts with all-natural Creekstone Farms beef, adds a healthy dose of garlic, cures it in 18 freshly ground spices for 11 days, smokes it for eight hours, steams it for another four and then hand-slices it. Mile End was such a phenomenon when it first opened earlier this year that the meat was usually gone by mid-afternoon. They've since acquired a separate kitchen space to supplement the 425-square-foot eatery, enabling them to double their brisket preparation and stay open through dinnertime. At breakfast, look for a Montreal bagel sandwich of house-cured lox (currently made from wild Pacific salmon), heirloom tomato, onions, capers and cream cheese.