Up until recently, all my years in Halifax were spent car-free (not to be confused with CAREfree; I…read morehad many, many cares) and living on the Halifax side of the harbour. As such, there were many places in places as relatively downtown Dartmouth I'd never been to, let alone as far out as 2 Boys Smokehouse and Deli. Now that I'm living on the Dark Side and have a sweet set of 2016 wheels, I made the effort to hit up 2 Boys for a late lunch and for some of their carnivorous wonders when I was in the area one day.
Despite it being mid-afternoon, there was a steady line at both the meat and sandwich counters. I was hitting both - grabbing a couple smoked pork chops, double-smoked bacon and some Black Forest ham at the former, and the mixed meat sub at the latter. You can choose from a large swath of options for breads, cheese, toppings and sauces, and I appreciate that there's no up-charge for things like smoked gouda. Twelve bucks for a big ol' sub, and that's that!
I attacked my sub once I was back in the car, although I opted to only have half of it before heading home. I forgot to ask, and now can't readily find the answer online, but the meats in the mixed meat appeared to be salami, ham and donair. A true Nova Scotian sub! The smoked gouda held its own against the hearty meats, while a generous helping of lettuce, tomato, bell pepper, and red onion brought crunch and freshness. For a sauce, I went with their "sub sauce" which seems to be an herby vinaigrette, and its tanginess helped cut through all the big, rich flavours and add some zing.
A step outside my car to brush the crumbs off myself and the seat, and I was on my way home.
My next time back at 2 Boys found my wife and I looking for a quick lunch in the Cole Harbour area after having gone for a walk on the Salt Marsh Trail. Once again, despite the mid-afternoon time, there was a constant flow of people in and out of the store, but luckily the ticket system was getting put to use today, so in spite of the poorly-formed line, the individual numbers helped keep things moving along.
This time around, I went for a ham sub, while my wife got the Montreal smoked meat sandwich. I continue to be a big fan of their toppings options, especially the inclusion of ostensibly more "premium" cheese like the smoked gouda with the regular items - without an extra surcharge.
Staff guided us through the sandwich construction process deftly and with a smile, which can't be easy with the constant onslaught at 2 Boys.
This time we sat down at one of the small, two-person tables along their storefront, to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Cole Harbour Road.
There was a good amount of ham, with the layers of lightly sweet and salty meat generously topped with my chosen toppings of lettuce, onions, bell peppers, tomato and cucumber. The smoked gouda added some more umami oomph to the sandwich and having had my sandwich toasted brought out the flavour of both the meat and cheese more.
My wife's sandwich went over well, as she's a big fan of Montreal smoked meat. I prefer it when it's been heated, like in the delis where it originated, but even at fridge temperature, the peppery bite of the smoky meat comes through well. The regular white bread was pushed to the edges of its structural integrity with the stack of meat, but it *just* managed to hold on.
Whenever I'm in 2 Boys Smokehouse & Deli, I feel like a kid in a candy store, with so many great options - both the sandwiches, and the deli and grocery items. It's a diamond in the strip mall rough, and one that I'll be frequenting when I'm in the area.
