Deli Duel 2

This is going to be a crazy day since I have to cram this and Luminato's 1000 Tastes of Toronto in an afternoon and it is already 1pm before leaving home.

I missed it last year while I causally chatted it Tom Davis when they were still serving smoked meat regularly.  This year I also got a reminder after just failing to meet the merry men of 'Epic Meal Time'.  Timing was everything since it looked like supplies were starting to run low from the vendors. 

One vendor had to pull out so it became a 3 pony race between The Stockyard, Caplansky's, and Goldins. 

The first place I stopped to sample their trade was at The Stockyard.  At their both was an almost spartan in appearance of the tabletop.  Only a few sandwiches were left so I had to act fast to make it a fair vote for myself.

Hefting the sandwich up I immediately enjoyed the light smoky and peppery aroma already teasing my palate. Piercing the skin of the bread I reached the moist meatiness at its core.  The fatty skirt added more richness and contrasted with the firmness of the muscle.  Mustard played a small role to lighten up the flavor.  It was all that it advertised to be to my tastebuds and I didn't feel like I needed a drink after. They ran out early but I liked their bravado even when I asked them if they were worried about losing votes.  Distance was not an issue since their location was closest to the event.  In all fairness though they shouldn't be able to restock due to poor planning.

Let me just say for the record that I do not believe this pickle does not belong there for the purpose of competition.  Having said my peace, this was not the rapture that I experienced from the last sandwich.  Appearances of being neat and proper would hide the mess inside. The sandwich didn't have the same bite to it in texture.  Given my late arrival time I give some allowances since I may not get the best cut of meat.  Dry loose meat crumbles doesn't satiate the carnivore inside of me and the bright yellow stuff was a bit overpowering that time.

Caplansky's line up never stopped from the time I first arrived to finally sampling my last contender.  Surprisingly what looked to be excess mustard worked well.  At the heart of this one, the meatiness was not as pronounced as the others but it was seasoned much better.  Primarily I attribute the seasoning to the good usage of celery seeds to the mix. 

In the end this was where my vote went to but you can click on this link to find the winner.