Mensch's Deli in Evanston

This traditional Jewish deli has opened fairly recently. My recent lunch there was excellent. I had the half sandwich and cup of soup. Pastrami on rye with mustard was on point as was the matzo ball soup. The standout, however, was the latke, which are fried to order. Crunchy and well seasoned.

No pickles on the table, but that seems to be because they take their pickles seriously. The sandwich came with 3 different types of pickle slices, all excellent. You can also get an extra side of green tomato pickles.

One of my companions said she'd heard the pastries were good so we tasted the chocolate babka. Jewish desserts are not generally my favorite, but this was pretty good.

They seem to focus on keeping the menu limited, but doing what they do very well. By this I mean, for example, they had pastrami and corned beef, but no tongue,

The place was busy at lunch on a Wednesday, so from that absurdly small data sample it seems they may have found a niche. They are generally open from 8 to 3;00.

Go have a nosh or two.

Mensch's Deli
1608 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201

Both the Lovely Dining Companion and I were fairly certain that we had independently read about Mensch's making their own bagels. So we've been curious for some time to try and compare to NYB&B which is our go-to, particularly since its Dempster location is only a ten-minute drive from the house.
Popped in yesterday and bought some to try. We both thought they seemed remarkably similar to NYB&B bagels. So I thought I'd see how the prices compared, per bagel. I went to Mensch's website where a careful reading of the menu surprised me by saying that in fact Mensch's buys their bagels from NYB&B.
We must confess to a bit of disappointment since we we believed they made their own and were quite eager to try the new kid on the block (relatively speaking).
Live and learn.

Mensch’s has always been forthright about their bagel supplier.

The newish bagel bakery in Evanston is Lefty’s Righteous Bagels at 827 Chicago Ave. They sell a wood fired, Montreal style product.

On the plus side Gypsy Boy, you now have a tip for a rare Bagel style to try in Evanston!

Thanks, Scottsol!

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:On the plus side Gypsy Boy, you now have a tip for a rare Bagel style to try in Evanston!

Thanks, Scottsol!

Regards,
Cathy2

If they're anything like the ones I had at St Viateur Bagels or Fairmount Bagels when I visited Montreal this summer, prepare for disappointment. Definitely nothing to write home about.

=R=

scottsol wrote:Mensch’s has always been forthright about their bagel supplier.

The newish bagel bakery in Evanston is Lefty’s Righteous Bagels at 827 Chicago Ave. They sell a wood fired, Montreal style product.

I'm not accusing them (Mensch's) of anything. We made a mistake.

We'll be trying Lefty's soon (and hoping Ron is wrong.... Nah, that won't happen. Well, maybe our tastes diverge. Yeah, that's it. Anyway, looking forward to trying them and finding out.)

Lefty’s technique differs from the typical Montreal in one respect, the dough is proofed overnight, yielding more rise.

Gypsy Boy wrote:

scottsol wrote:Mensch’s has always been forthright about their bagel supplier.

The newish bagel bakery in Evanston is Lefty’s Righteous Bagels at 827 Chicago Ave. They sell a wood fired, Montreal style product.

I'm not accusing them (Mensch's) of anything. We made a mistake.

We'll be trying Lefty's soon (and hoping Ron is wrong.... Nah, that won't happen. Well, maybe our tastes diverge. Yeah, that's it. Anyway, looking forward to trying them and finding out.)

Lol, it's a low barrier to entry. No (culinary) reason not to try them out. On a trip to Montreal during which we ate really well, the bagels were the biggest disappointment. Hence, my harsh comments. Now, if Lefty is owned by the same Lefty who owns the pizza place, there may be other reasons one may want to steer clear. There's a thread here somewhere . . .

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:, if Lefty is owned by the same Lefty who owns the pizza place, there may be other reasons one may want to steer .
=R=

Clearly not. The bagel Lefty is a righteous dude.

scottsol wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:, if Lefty is owned by the same Lefty who owns the pizza place, there may be other reasons one may want to steer .
=R=

Clearly not. The bagel Lefty is a righteous dude.

Hahaha!

=R=

Per a post on Next Door (texted to me as a dead-end .jpg by a friend) the former Honey Butter Fried Chicken space in Glencoe (668 Vernon Ave.) will soon become home to an outpost of Evanston's Mensch's Deli, as well as Evanston's Picnic. The current owner, Peter Kadens, will partner with both of those entities/operators in yet another attempt to get something lasting going in that space.

=R=

Stopped in for lunch. The good news is the food was still tasty and the place seems to be thriving. a 10 minute wait for a table Friday at 12:30. The only downside was that a peak lunch hour, the place gets pretty noisy. Not a place for quiet conversations during their rush.