Bravo to Roy
One of Côte Saint-Luc’s most distinguished individuals, Roy Salomon, will be been presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Jewish Hall of Fame in 2019. This honours those individuals who have contributed to Jewish life, Israel, society and the community at large, through sports. After he first experienced the Magic of the Maccabiah Games as a basketball athlete representing Canada in 1969, Roy knew he had to stay involved with the Maccabi Movement and found other ways to get involved. His mission was to promote Canadian Jewish athletes and he has remained a pillar in the Maccabi Movement since he first got involved. In 1979 he founded the Montreal Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. From 1981 through 1985 he was Maccabi Canada’s National Athletic Chair and in 1982 led Canada’s delegation to the first JCC Maccabi Games. In 1990 he was the First Vice President of Maccabi Canada and in 1992 he was elected president, a position he held for two terms until 2001.
Roy has been the recipient of numerous awards over the years, including the Yakir Award in 2001, and in 2013 he received the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal for volunteer work and was inducted into the Israel Softball Hall of Fame as a Builder. One of the accomplishments of which he is most proud was a proposal to bring junior athletes to participate in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel, one that he saw through to fruition with the first Juniors athletes participating in the 1985 Games. Professionally Roy has always worked in the corporate real estate field and for many years served as the managing partner of the Cavendish Mall.
The return of Robert Vineberg at Nosherz
Robert Vineberg is back as owner of the fabulous Nosherz bakery on Westminster Avenue near Mackle. Robert had sold the operation a few years ago to focus more attention on a series of puzzle businesses. He clearly missed the excitement and can now be found behind the counter offering freshly baked goods, prepared meals, fabulous side dishes, homemade favorites, hearty soups, prepared foods made daily, a full deli and cheese counter, sandwiches, salads, catering and so much more. They also deliver now.
Vineberg has kept the same great staff, notably the very popular Mena. “We are a small local, long-standing neighborhood, business working hard day-after-day to bring people delicious foods,” says Robert.
“ It would be great if you could include us in your blogs and hopefully even write an article and have it printed Suburban for everyone to see (FYI – since we spoke, we stopped advertising Nosherz in the Montreal Times).
For more information call 514-484-0445 or log on to www.nosherz.com.
Briskets founder Saul Ettinger has not lost his magic touch
One of the great things of having been in office for 13 years now as a city councillor is that I get to know many of my constituents very well. Take Saul and Farla Ettinger for example. They are wonderful people who always support my different initiatives, such as the recent benefit concert for our CSL Cats Committee.
Saul is a well-known respected restaurateur and real estate magnate, having brought us the Briskets smoked meat chain and the Il Etait Une Fois burger spot. Almost 40 years ago Saul opened his first Briskets deli on Bishop Street. Twelve franchises in Montreal and Ottawa soon followed. As Saul says, people who remember dining at Briskets described the smoked meat sandwiches as "addictive." Briskets smoked meat was not only homemade, but it was never pumped. “Most smoked meat in Montreal and elsewhere were and still are prepared with briskets that are pumped with phosphates and a preponderance of nitrates and sodium,” he explained to me a few years ago. “This pumping technique is used in order to increase profit margins by making the briskets heavier. Strange, isn't it—the government bans the use of phosphates in your dishwasher and laundry detergent, but allows it in food? Briskets' smoked meat was made with unpumped briskets using a tightly-held secret recipe. They were dry-cured the truly old-fashioned way over a period of two to three weeks, producing superior smoked meat—smoked meat that was mouth-watering, and truly addictive.”
Briskets smoked meat sandwiches were just about everywhere, be it the Olympic Stadium concession stands or catered at private parties. As for Il Etait Un Fois, the classic hamburger spot was located in a standalone building in heart of Old Montreal at a time when it was a relative ghost town, Saul recalls pioneering a new phenomenon. While McDonald's was selling burgers for as little as 60 cents, he decided it was time to introduce Montreal to a gourmet half-pound burger at $5. In those days, the thought of a burger for $5 was ludicrous. Yet, within a short few weeks, Il Etait Un Fois attracted huge line-ups and rave reviews. Saul's burgers were made through a rarely used secret process that turned out the juiciest and most scrumptious burgers in Montreal. And along with mouth-watering burgers and incredible fries, the menu included specialities such as homemade beer-battered onion rings and fish n' chips as well as fried mushrooms and foot-long dogs.
Another of Saul's visions was launched on the Trans Canada, Linguini, an Italian restaurant situated in a rustic log cabin built by Saul on the south side of the 40 just west of Morgan.
Long retired from the restaurant business, Saul still hosted dinners and parties where he serves his amazing smoked meat. When I saw him at the cats concert I jokingly asked if he planned to make any briskets. Two days later I got a call to come to his condo. My brisket was ready. When I arrived Farla presented me with a special fork which Saul used to demonstrate to me how to carve the huge piece of meat. It was absolutely delicious. Boy Quartier Cavendish could use a Briskets franchise if Saul ever considers reviving it!
MITCHELL AND ELAINE:
