The dish: the Hambourghini (regular Dic Ann's burger with a slice of pepperoni). Dic Ann's unusual style of hamburger (pressed flat, meat-sauced) gets pimped up to next level status with pepperoni. Open since: 1954.

The dish: stimé hot dogs. When someone writes the book on Montreal casse-croûtes this place will have its own chapter. Open since: 1971.

The dish: Italian deli sub. Raffaele Ferre was possibly the first baker in Montreal to extol the beauty of genuine pizza al taglio with his original shop at Ste-Catherine and de Bullion in 1953. The slab pizza is duly killer at Friulano but the meat-packed cold subs are also imperative. Open since: 1972.

The dish: bone-in prime rib. This randomly-located butcher shop and steakhouse close to Trudeau Airport came back from the brink of bankruptcy in 2012 with the original owners—the Seltzer family—at the helm. Open since: 1980. Update: Bankruptcy did finally claim the restaurant in 2015.

The dish: sfiha (Arab or Levantine flat bread with ground lamb). Andalos undertook a sterile makeover to handle the bakery's booming wholesale business a while back but it's still well worth a detour, even if the gritty charm has been scrubbed cleaned. Open since: 1991

The dish: burgers and hot dogs. A singular Montreal landmark built by Hermas Gibeau to serve his trademark orange drink. Gibeau's original restaurant on Sherbrooke Est was torn down in 2009 after 80 years in business. Open since: 1932.

The dish: goat roti. This Côte-des-Neiges Trini roti shop spices and stews morsels of toothsome goat meat and wraps them in a flaky, unleavened naan-like pastry. Glorious. Open since: 1980.

The dish: smoked meat and other assorted Jewish deli meats. Brothers Abe and Joe Morantz opened this quintessential delicatessen after returning home from the war. Another brother, Phil, joined them two years later. Open since: 1946.

The dish: The Creation, a BLT with a fried egg, all-beef salami and cheese on a bagel, challah, pumpernickel, or rye. Tony "Man of Grease" Koulakis died tragically in 2013 but his beloved N.D.G. eatery lives on. Open since: 1967.

The dish: half chicken dinner or hot chicken sandwich. Plump birds slowly roasted over hardwood charcoal in custom brick ovens that pre-date V Day. Open since: 1944.

The dish: sausage sub. Alessandro Momesso left Italy for Montreal in 1951 with notions of becoming a professional footballer. Son Sergio would go on to play hockey for the Montreal Canadiens. Open since: 1978.

The dish: kebabs. Daou's claim to fame is that it catered Celine Dion and René Angélil's famously lavish wedding but the day-to-day reality is that this is just a solid neighbourhood place for killer kebabs. Open since: 1975.

The dish: mixed grill platter (chicken, lamb chops, pork chop, quails, veal chop). Marven's wins the prize for most gargantuan portions. The most unassuming restaurant on this list is still run by the same family. Open since: 1976.

The dish: charcoal grilled lamb chops, veal chops and chicken. Most Greeks decamped Park Ex for Laval years ago but Panama is one of a few consistent family-run tavernas left in the old neighbourhood. Open since: 1989.

The dish: souvlaki. A more upscale outpost of Village Grec exists in Laval, naturally, but the original is a meat must. Open since: 1977.

The dish: smoked meat. Is the best in Montreal? Nope. But arcaded St-Hubert wouldn't be the same without Abe Kligman's time warp of a diner. Open since: 1973.

The dish: smoked meat. For a lot of Montrealers, it's not about Schwartz's or the Main or the defunct Ben's. Lester's is where they were weaned on smoked meat and other Jewish delicatessen exemplars. Open since: 1951.

The dish: the Royal Special (steak, ham, pepperoni, capicolli). The neighbourhood has changed dramtically in 65 years but this place hasn't. Thank God. Open since: 1950.

The dish: the Wilensky's Special® (all-beef salami and all-beef baloney grilled on a pletzl roll with mustard). As much museum as lunch counter, with the feisty Ruth Wilensky still on the premises at 95 years old. Open since: 1932.

The dish: burgers. "Steerburgers" over charcoal on the same grill for close to four decades now. A Plateau classic. Open since: 1975.

The dish: charcoal grilled chicken. Gruff service is part of the charm at this neighbourhood standby in Little Portugal. Open since: 1974.

The dish: Portuguese rotisserie chicken. The first name in Montreal chicken sells upward of 600 birds a day. Open since: 1994

The dish: tartare or onglet. Or the ris de veau, bone marrow or quails. Hard to go wrong at Montreal's bellwether bistro. Open since: 1980.

The dish: New York strip. It's good former busboy Moishe Lighter pressed on and didn't heed those second thoughts he had about running the steakhouse he won from his boss in a poker game. Open since: 1938.

The dish: rotisserie chicken. The ribs and roast pork are equally addictive at this temple to meat on the Main. Open since: 1970.

The dish: smoked meat or jumbo rib steak dinner (20 oz. rib steak with liver and hot dog, coleslaw, pickle and french fries). Peter Varvaro grew up immersed in the Jewish delis of the Main. His untouched paean to that culture is alive and well. Open since: 1974. Update: Varvaro's legacy may no longer be so alive and well.

The dish: sausages. Slovenia has reams of meaty delights behind its steamy butcher shop counter. Flip a coin. Open since: 1980.

The dish: stimé hot dogs. Granted, Montreal Pool Room isn't the same since it cleaned up its act and moved across the street after a century on the west side of the lower Main. No matter, the steamies and fries haven't changed all that much. Open since: 1912.

The dish: Mister Steerburger. Downtown Montreal's stalwart burger, tenderly sandwiched between strip clubs. Open since: 1958.

The dish: tête de filet for two. Owner Jacques Müller is old school in the best possible frogs'-legs-and-snails way, especially when it comes to meat. His menu at Le Mas des Oliviers keeps it classic with the likes of ris de veau braisés au porto, l’entrecôte grillée à la moëlle and carré d’agneau à la provençale. Open since: 1974.