A fire in Perls!

The bad news is farther down, but till we get there, I had to ask: “Where will I get my pepperoni from now?” From the deep fried greeben, to the pepperoni and pickles, Perl’s is always home. The women behind the counter never age; they seem as old now as they did a decade ago. The food is always consistent, and no matter what, they will be completely sold out of everything except for packages of lungs and liver on a Friday. The smell of the store makes me hungry, as my friend George put it “it smells like a morgue” but I knew its potential. From the back room always emerges trays of meat, deli and prepared foods. It was sometimes strange or spicy, I remember the time I picked up the wrong container of hummus and mustard and both were searingly spicy. Pepper steaks, breaded chicken, pickles and pepperoni were only a few of the reasons we kept coming back for years and years. Even after we had moved cities, and then continents, Perl’s was always a place to come back to and relive the childhood experience of peering into the glass display case hoping the woman behind the counter would offer a taste. Steaks on the grill, teriyaki lamb, hot dogs, hamburgers, and meat filled buns are all happy memories. The rice with chicken, chicken stuffed rice and a dozen types of mystery meat salami are all part of the meat mosaic. Smoked, sauced, and sautéed, the variety was immense and the new creations always interesting. When did we ever have a function, from back yard BBQ to a fancy dinner that Perl’s didn’t attend? From chulent to soup, their food was everywhere. Coming in to Perl’s, everyone knew your name (which may have meant I went there just a tad too often), and someone always asked “so young man, what can I get you? A pound of salami? Some pepperoni? Try something new?”. Perl’s didn’t wait for Chanukah to deep fry latkes and liver knishes; you could enjoy a hot one or pop it into the microwave all year round. No matter where I went and the places I have been, Perl’s is the best meat store the world over in my experience. I remember going to get that baseball cap at Bais Burger. It was always a problem seeing as you got it free with a minimum order of $100, and everything on the menu was so cheap. I think we only hit the jackpot once, before we went on a long drive up north and needed chicken nourishment for the road. A dozen burgers, fries, sandwiches, hot dogs and jumbos later, we had one Bais Burger hat, which I am sure belongs on the same wall as the “I ate a Kilo Burger” T shirt from Normans. The famous heart attach on a bun was always good, two burger patties, roasted pastrami and toppings. I think the first time I saw shmaltz in a jar was in Perl’s, as was the first time I found out you can eat chicken skin and lungs as a snack. Sometimes the food seemed to transcend cultural boundaries, food from the old country, food from today, and guessing at what type of meat nosh we will be eating tomorrow. I don’t think it’s a great experience for the heart, and undoubtedly not great for the waistline, but an occasional indulgence for the palate is understandable, its Perl’s after all. Its hard to sum up the allure of a store which seems like just another butcher shop, in reality its so much more. Maybe like all things, this too has to eventually fade away into the realm of imagination. I was hoping this memory of my childhood would be around a lot longer, so one day I could buy my kid his first latke in July as I remember my parents doing for me so long ago.

From the Globe and Mail:

North York butcher shop burned in four-alarm fire: A major fire burned for hours last evening at a butcher shop in the former North York. Fire broke out shortly before dark at a building near Lawrence Avenue and Bathurst Street. A total of 38 units were dispatched and the blaze grew into a four-alarm fire before it was brought under control. The business, Perl's Meat & Delicatessen Products, was not open and no one was injured.