A popular Toronto deli is now open for dinner
Schmaltz by Night kicks off today
Schmaltz Appetizing, chef Anthony Rose’s sandwich counter and pantry on Dupont, has been keeping customers stocked with smoked salmon, gefilte fish, cream cheese and sour pickles since 2014. Its tag line: “A store that sells food that generally goes with bagels.” (Oh, yeah, it sells bagels too.) It’s been a daytime staple for breakfast-and-brunch-y food, closing most days around 2 p.m.—until now. That’s because, starting today, Schmaltz is open for dinner.
Schmaltz by Night, which kicks off at 5 p.m. and runs Wednesday through Sunday all summer long, isn’t a new idea for Rose—he’s been kicking it around since Covid. “It’s just been so hard to staff and get the concept right,” he says. “But now I think we’re onto something.”
That something includes a freshly renovated 20-seat patio with lush greenery, a new menu, wine and cocktails. For now, it’s a summer-only experiment. “We’re setting up shop for now, then potentially starting something new in the fall,” says Rose.
The concept is inspired by the high-low dining culture Rose encountered on trips through New England. “They had these shacks everywhere serving regular old hot dogs alongside fresh-caught lobster rolls prepared with cheffy precision and finesse,” he says.
That philosophy of simple food done exceptionally well runs throughout the new dinner menu. Smoked wieners from the Butcher Shoppe come dressed with things like house queso and Cincinnati-style chili, with sides including pickle-packed potato salad and slaw. There are also East Coast lobster rolls and Nordic shrimp rolls.
Rose is also reviving a few old Drake Hotel and Rose and Sons favourites, including loaded nachos and house-made pastrami chili. Dessert features rotating sundaes and a weekly special from Anthony’s mom, Linda. “Every week, my mom will come here to bake one of her awesome creations,” he says.
Related: Toronto is getting a bagel shop with a Montreal connection
Up first: Linda’s sundae, made with Kawartha Dairy ice cream, crushed pecan butter squares, maple syrup and whipped cream. There’s even talk of a Jell-O-inspired version featuring vanilla ice cream, condensed milk, whipped cream, cubes of Jell-O and fresh fruit.
While the menu feels built for the long haul, Rose insists that it’s temporary. The evening space, however, will likely live on as something of a culinary think tank. “We’re thinking of using it as a long-term pop-up, where we bring in new ideas and intermingle them with things we’ve done in the past—a quiet nod to Big Crow or some of our other past haunts.”
If that means barbecued vursht is in our future, we’re on board.
Erin Hershberg is a freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the lifestyle sector. She currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two children.
