Dunn's Famous

BF, let's be open minded - with smoked meat, Montreal smoked meat. Our favourite and go to place for Montreal smoked meat sandwiches is Estrella's in Langley. And that is it. We have no back up plan in case Estrella's closes or a runner up if we are too lazy to go to Langley, and that scares me. So we decided to try Dunn's Famous. When I saw some photos online, the smoked meat did not look good and I gave the restaurant the benefit of doubt, thinking perhaps some people ordered the lean meat which make the sandwiches look dry.

We decided to have a quick snack on a game night and the restaurant was not busy. There are comfortable booth seating arrangements, comfortably spaced out tables and bar seats, along with large televisions. I do not do the bar or pub scene but this is what one would look like to me, a more luxurious one I guess.

LARGE MONTREAL ORIGINAL COMBO, served with fries, coleslaw and a pickle ($17.00).

Rating: 1.5/5.

When the sandwich arrived, wow, it did look the same as the photos online. Okay, no biggie, perhaps the sandwich tastes better than it looks. The thick slices of smoked meat taste very dry and chewy, with the exception of the top couple of slices and the one slice on the bottom which taste moist (but not juicy). We chose "medium" meat instead of fatty because silly me, thought the meat would taste juicy like Estrella's.

Fortunately, the waitress left a bottle of ketchup and mustard on the table for us. We ended up having to douse a ton of mustard just to finish the sandwich and I have never had so much mustard in my life. As for the slices of rye, the crumb tastes soft but the crust is very hard and chewy. For the sides, there is a light tangy coleslaw which lacks that nice "freshness" and a juicy pickle.

QUEBECOISE POUTINE, "Dunn's Famous BBQ gravy" ($7.00).
Rating: 2/5.

We upgraded our side of fries to a Quebecoise poutine for an additional $3.50. The fries taste soft but not soggy, and there is not much gravy. The lack of gravy actually works for us though because we do not like the taste. The gravy tastes like a premix and there is no rich beefy flavour. This is around the time we were fortunate that there was mustard on the table however, because the waitress also provided ketchup. As for the cheese curds, they taste very dry.

CHICKEN WINGS, "Hot sauce served with vegetable sticks and a ranch dipping sauce" ($14.00).
Rating: 2.5/5 (hot sauce 4/5).

The highlight at Dunn's Famous is definitely their hot sauce. There is plenty of tang from the vinegar and a tasteful spiciness, rather than a fire hot spiciness with no flavour. Furthermore, the wings taste moist but not juicy.

TOTAL: $38.85 + TIP $6.15 = $45.00.

Dunn's Famous has a stamp card system for their smoked meat sandwiches, FML! I am obsessed with stamp cards and if only the smoked meat tasted better, I would be all over that. Like, at least three times a week just to get my free sandwich fast so I can feel like I conquered something. Oh well. Dunn's Famous is disappointing because two of their signature items fall below average. But surprisingly, something the restaurant is not known for such as the hot sauce tastes pretty good!

POSITIVES

- Friendly staff

- Great hot sauce

NEGATIVES

- Weak poutine

- Dry smoked meat
- Expensive for the quality

LITTLE THINGS
- Stamp card system!
- Estrella's is a must try

Food: 2/5
Service: 2.5/5