Cooking and Eating
Supplement to Jewish News February 13, 2017
Published 22 times a year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.
Dear Readers,
I
t is said that some people live to eat, while others eat to live. I’ve got an idea
which category I fall into, how about you? In this, our first section devoted to cooking and eating, we have articles that should appeal to both categories of diners. For example, the piece on the adjacent page about Israeli chefs turning Baker’s Crust Artisan Kitchen into an “urban Israeli-style” restaurant for One Night, is more about the experience, than the nutrients, but then again, most Israeli food is pretty nutritious. Speaking of nutrition, Sandra Porter Leon, nutritionist-extraordinaire, shares information about the updated Nutrition Facts label. She tells us what to look for and why changes are taking place after
Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 voice 757.965.6100 • fax 757.965.6102 email news@ujft.org Terri Denison, Editor Germaine Clair, Art Director Hal Sacks, Book Review Editor Sandy Goldberg, Account Executive Mark Hecht, Account Executive Marilyn Cerase, Subscription Manager Reba Karp, Editor Emeritus Sherri Wisoff, Proofreader Jay Klebanoff, President Alvin Wall, Treasurer Stephanie Calliott, Secretary Harry Graber, Executive Vice-President www.jewishVA.org The appearance of advertising in the Jewish News does not constitute a kashrut, political, product or service endorsement. The articles and letters appearing herein are not necessarily the opinion of this newspaper. © 2017 Jewish News. All rights reserved.
20 years. Even though the new labels won’t be around for more than a year, her insight will help us all to read the labels
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on our packaged food now. Our recipes in the section are new twists on old favorites…perhaps a bit more nutritious. Certainly tasty! Sprinkled throughout these pages are short pieces about some of our advertisers who happen to own dining establish-
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Cooking and Eating One Night of Israeli cuisine at Baker’s Crust Wednesday, May 3, 6:30 pm
and culture of Israel to communities across the globe with Kitchen Encounters, which focuses on fresh, farm-to-table meals, and preparation. “When I first heard about this event I was so excited to experience a little bit of Israel right here in Tidewater,” says Jodi Klebanoff. “For all you foodies and lovers of Israeli cuisine (like me), the evening promises great food, drinks, music, friends, and an opportunity to interact with two amazing Israeli chefs. “You’ll feel like you’re in a Tel Aviv restaurant,” says Klebanoff. “We’ve all been to a lot of fundraisers—this is going to be a little different and hopefully very memorable.”
Tickets for One Night are $75 each and are available at simonfamilyjcc.org/onenight. Space is limited. For more information, contact Corrie Lentz at 757-321-2337.
Nir Margalith and Guy Marom. Corrie Lentz
F
or one night, Baker’s Crust Artisan Kitchen is flipping its Hilltop location to become an urban Israeli-style restaurant for a Simon Family JCC fundraising dinner. Featuring Puzzle Israel chefs Nir Margalith and Guy Marom, and locally sourced greens from Neighborhood Harvest, the evening, called One Night, will raise money for Simon Family JCC Camp scholarships and youth athletic leagues. Baker’s Crust has already designed signature Israeli cocktails and will serve Israeli beer and wine to accompany the five-course meal of modern and traditional Israeli cuisine. Israeli music will contribute to the atmosphere. “I love the concept of communities gathering around the table, tasting great food and sharing their stories,” says John Stein of Baker’s Crust. “I am a firm believer in giving back to our community, and have found one of the many ways I am able to contribute is through our food.” In fact, it appears that the mission and vision of Puzzle Israel aligns with Baker’s Crust vision: to gather around the table,
You’ll
feel like you’re in a Tel Aviv restaurant
taste, and savor great food and share stories. Nir Margalith and Guy Marom have spent the bulk of their lives perfecting their mouth-watering delicacies. Since 2010, they have brought the taste
jewishnewsva.org | February 13, 2017 | Cooking and Eating | Jewish News | 17
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Cooking and Eating Healthy Jewish Side Dish: Lightened-Up Kasha Varnishkes Shannon Sarna
JOIN US FOR
(The Nosher via JTA)—Kasha varnishkes is a much beloved Ashkenazi comfort food dish. Traditionally made with bow tie pasta, onions, schmaltz and kasha (buckwheat), it is filling, comforting peasant food at its best. I wanted to add a little bit of healthfulness into the traditional recipe, so we decided to swap out regular or egg pasta for some whole grain pasta and include some riced cauliflower into the mix for a
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serving of vegetables. This recipe is based on this classic recipe for kasha varnishkes from celebrated food writer and cookbook author Adeena Sussman.
Shannon Sarna is the editor of The Nosher. The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at www.TheNosher.com.
Ingredients 1 cups cooked whole wheat bow tie pasta 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, diced 1 egg 1 cup kasha 2 cups vegetable stock, chicken stock or water 1½ cups “riced” cauliflower (about ½ small raw cauliflower pulsed in food processor) salt and pepper to taste Directions Cook pasta according in salted boiling water to directions, around 10 minutes; can be prepared a day ahead of time. Beat 1 egg in a medium bowl. Add kasha and combine until coated. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook kasha and egg until kasha has separated and egg has cooked out. Add broth, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce on simmer for 10 minutes. In another skillet, saute diced onion in olive oil over medium heat until slightly brown, around 7 minutes. Add riced cauliflower and continue to cook for 2–3 minutes. After kasha has cooked, add onion and cauliflower mixture along with cooked pasta to pan. Cook another 5–10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
18 | Jewish News | Cooking and Eating | February 13, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Cooking and Eating
O
n the oceanfront, Holiday Inn North Beach offers guests more than accommodations with spectacular views. Along with its resort amenities, it provides places to host receptions and an award-winning restaurant for dining. The hotel has two rooms for receptions. The larger space can hold up to 300 guests, and the smaller space
can hold up to 120 people. Plus, the spaces close and open into smaller or larger spaces depending on the group. “We try and accommodate all of the needs of our guests,” says the hotel’s Marisa Powers. “Our executive chef is great at everything she makes. She offers a traditional banquet menu, as well as some
• Holiday Inn North BEach •
themed buffets. Our guests especially love the salmon with the mango salsa. It has a lot of flavor and is a great touch for an oceanfront venue,” she says. Isle of Capri, a Virginia Beach tradition, offers panoramic Virginia Beach views from the hotel’s sixth floor. “Some examples of the amazing food that Isle of Capris is known for,” says Powers, “is their table side Caesar salad, veal parmigiana, and traditional spaghetti with homemade meatballs.”
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jewishnewsva.org | February 13, 2017 | Cooking and Eating | Jewish News | 19
Cooking and Eating Operation Hamantaschen Sunday, Feb. 19 10 am–1 pm Simon Family JCC
T
he annual community baking event, Operation Hamantaschen, usually generates about 1,500 cookies which are distributed to U.S. troops overseas, to the Israel Defense Forces and to Jewish Family Service clients. Filled with assorted fruit jams or other sweet confections, the triangular shaped cookies, known as Hamantaschen, are traditionally served during the Jewish holiday of Purim.
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20 | Jewish News | Cooking and Eating | February 13, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Stephanie Steerman, Operation Hamantaschen committee chair, encourages people to participate in the event. She says she views it as an opportunity for Tzedakah, the important Jewish concept of giving back to the community. “Operation Hamantaschen is a truly wonderful multi-generational community event. It provides a great opportunity to teach children about not only the holiday of Purim, but about the sacrifices that others are making to ensure our freedom,” says Scenes from Operation Hamantaschen 2016. Steerman. “Attendees will be able to roll out their dough, cut and form their Hamentaschen and decorate boxes (for the cookies) and thank-you cards that will be sent to Jewish service members overseas. I hope the entire community will come out and bake!” she says. The free event is open to the community. All ages are welcome. Babysitting available. For more information, visit www.JewishVa.org/OperationH or call 757-321-2342.
Presented by Children, Family and Camp Department of the Simon Family JCC, UJFT and PJ Library.
Cooking and Eating • Ruth’s Chris Steak House •
O
n its website, Ruth’s Chris Steak House proclaims, “This is how it’s done. Our recipe is simple: Fresh ingredients. Classic dishes. Skilled preparation. And a passion for every detail of your perfect night.” With restaurants across the nation and one in Virginia Beach’s Town Center, Ruth’s Chris is especially known for the way it cooks steak, which includes searing it, finishing it with butter and freshly chopped parsley, and serving it sizzling on a 500-degree plate. The Petite Filet (eight ounces), with this preparation, is the most popular item on the menu. In addition to its restaurant service, Ruth’s Chris can accommodate private events for up to 90 guests seated and up to 110 for standing/cocktail functions. For those who are wondering, the restaurant’s popular outdoor patio opens in early April, just a few months away.
R
ealizing an increased demand for vegan food, Tonya Deveau opened My Vegan Sweet Tooth after working out of her
home for five years. “It was important to me to be animal
friendly in all aspects,” says Deveau. The bakery’s customers, however, are not just vegans. “We also make a large selection of gluten free items, so we get many gluten sensitive customers. We also get a
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• My Vegan Sweet Tooth •
lot of customers who have food allergies,” notes Deveau. The most popular item at the bakery continues to be the cinnamon roll. “We even won The Virginian-Pilot’s cinnamon roll taste
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test over the other non vegan entries!” says Deveau, who quickly adds, “We recently started offering cannolis, which also sell out quickly.”
Ceder Plank Salmon
Oven roasted fresh salmon on a cedar plank served with roasted fingerling potatoes, fresh asparagus and our own maple pear chutney jewishnewsva.org | February 13, 2017 | Cooking and Eating | Jewish News | 21
Cooking and Eating Clearer Nutrition Facts label for 2018 Sandra Porter Leon, MS, RDN
I
t’s about time! The Nutrition Facts label, a helpful nutrition guide printed on packaged foods, is getting a face lift. After 20 years, the FDA has updated the new labels to reflect current eating habits, and, according to its website, “provide information that can help consumers make informed choices Sandra Porter Leon about the food they purchase and consume.” Most manufacturers will have to comply with new food labels by July 2018.
Whether reading the Nutrition Facts label for total calories or protein grams, the following changes will help navigate the new format:
Serving size. Finally, the serving size on the new food label will reflect more realistically on what people ACTUALLY eat, not how much SHOULD be eaten. American’s average consumption has increased over the past 20 years, contributing to an obesity epidemic with nearly two thirds of Americans overweight. A serving of ice cream, for example, will increase to two-thirds of a cup instead of one-half and a serving of soda will change from eight to 12 ounces. Added sugars. With the new labels, it won’t be necessary to be a detective to uncover the source of the whopping 26 sugar grams in Yoplait’s Original Fat-free Strawberry Yogurt, whether it comes from the fruit, milk, or added sugar. The FDA has inserted the “added sugar” line so consumers will know how much sugar is naturally in the product and how much is added. While the food industry fought hard to keep this addition out, the FDA won. The new dietary guidelines recommend that daily intake of “added” sugar calories not exceed 10 percent of total calories. Translation? This is about 50 grams (200 calories) or 10 teaspoons of added sugar, the same amount in a can of Coke. Cut that in half for children up to three years old.
even stricter “added” sugar limits, excluding those in fresh fruits, vegetables, and milk. Women should consume only about 100 calories (six teaspoons) a day and men no more than 150 calories (nine teaspoons).
Vitamins/Minerals. Vitamin D, important for bone health, and potassium, which lowers blood pressure, will be added to the list of nutrients since most Americans do not get adequate levels of these nutrients, according to the NHANES Survey. Vitamin A and C will no longer be listed on the label since deficiencies of these are rare. Calories. Put away those reading glasses—help won’t be necessary to see the bolder and larger calorie line. In light of the nation’s obesity problem, the FDA wants consumers to see how much they are eating. Fat. For those who only look at Nutrient Facts for fat calories, look again since research shows that the type of fat is more important than the amount. Categories will still exist for total fat, sat fat, and trans fat. % Daily Value. The % DV informs the consumer how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to their daily diet plan. For example, a serving of Progresso’s Creamy Tomato with Penne (1 cup) has a 29% DV for sodium (690mg) which provides 29% of the total sodium that should be eaten each day. If two cups are consumed, that translates to nearly two thirds of that day’s sodium intake. Go low (5% or less) on the % DV’s for sugar and sodium and high (20% or more) on the % DV’s for vitamins and minerals. Dual Column. Some products that are larger than a single serving, but could be consumed in one sitting, will have a dual column providing information per serving or per package. So, with the new label, when one is watching television and the entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s Rocky Road accidently gets eaten, a calculator will not be necessary to know that 800 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, and 20 teaspoons of sugar were consumed. Bottom Line: The government is not telling consumers what to eat, just providing the tools to eat more healthfully. This article was first featured in grandparentslink.com.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends
22 | Jewish News | Cooking and Eating | February 13, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Cooking and Eating • Aldo’s •
A
Virginia Beach favorite for 29 years this April, Aldo’s modifies their menu yearly and specials daily. In fact, a new menu went into effect Monday, Feb. 6 that includes many of the restaurant’s specials from the past couple of years. “We make the changes to our menu to continue our great relationship and encourage our clientele to return,” says Deborah Kassir, managing member of Ocean Horizon Properties LC. “We listen to them and now offer more variety of vegetables, salads, pastas, and gluten free items. There is something for everyone to enjoy. We always try to stay in a price point that has value. Our key points have always been value, quality product, and excellent service,” she says. Kassir says that while there isn’t just one most popular item, “for appetizers, the most popular probably is our award-winning calamari. For salad, our homemade Caesar. Pasta, our Shrimp Gorgonzola, Romanelli Alla Vodka or Fresh Fish special. We have a fantastic filet and stuffed veal chop that’s on special nightly. You can eat at Aldo’s seven days a week and have something different and love it.” Every third Thursday, Aldo’s has a wine tasting for $15, 5-7 pm. “We have three sommeliers on staff and wine education every Monday for our staff. We host pre-bar mitzvahs, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, baby showers, corporate events, business events, family events—both happy and sad. We seat anywhere from 20-50 in our backroom.
P
opular
with
patrons
since it opened in June 1979, Lynnhaven Fish
House’s owners make sure the restaurant is always up to date in all aspects. “To stay current, we watch the trends,” says Chris Kyrus. “We
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also have a wide selection of Virginia
brewed beers and wines on our menu. Plus, we purchase a variety of Eastern shore vegetables and fruits.” Speaking of local, local seafood is “absolutely” on the menu at all times, says Kyrus. “We purchase as much local seafood as we can. Scallops, oysters, fish, clams, crabmeat, and soft shell crabs are always a Fish House staple. “We also branch out for interesting seafood from all over the world. In the summer months, we can have as many as 10 fresh fish selections and six different oyster varieties. The selections can come from Florida to Maine, Canada to Mexico, or Hawaii to Australia, giving our guests a chance to experience something fresh and new,” says Kyrus. Preparation of that fresh seafood has evolved over the years, according to Kyrus. “While fried items still play a significant role here, guests often lean more towards grilled, broiled, or poached fish. Healthy eating habits
M y V eg a n SweetTooth
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and ‘clean’ simple preparations have taken over the ‘foodies of today.’”
jewishnewsva.org | February 13, 2017 | Cooking and Eating | Jewish News | 23
Cooking and Eating Brisket Tacos Recipe with Pickled Red Onions Gabi Moskowitz
(The Nosher via JTA)—“Leftover brisket” is something of an oxymoron, since traditional braised Ashkenazi brisket is usually the first thing to run out on most dinner tables. But at my little table of two, it’s rare that my husband and I can finish even the smallest of briskets by ourselves. Fortunately, too much brisket is one of the best possible problems to have, and my favorite way of solving it has always been to shred the leftover meat, cook it in a spicy sauce, and serve it in warm corn tortillas. The sauce and tortillas stretch the brisket, helpfully increasing the number of servings we can squeeze out of it, all while transforming the brisket into a totally different meal. But sometimes I want to skip the first iteration of traditional brisket and go straight to my next day favorite, so I make a big batch of brisket tacos. Brisket tacos—just like their setit-and-forget-it cousin, the braised, sliced brisket—cook slow and low, immersed in liquid and covered. Except rather than the usual broth, onions and carrots, this brisket cooks in a spicy, garlicky roasted tomato puree until the meat is meltingly tender and the sauce is rich and reduced.
Ingredients For the brisket 6 cloves garlic, chopped 1 green jalapeno, chopped (remove the seeds and white internal veins if you are sensitive to heat) 1 24-ounce can crushed tomatoes (preferably the fire-roasted variety, like Muir Glen) 4 cups low-sodium beef broth (instant or bouillon is fine) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 3-pound beef brisket (leave the fat on) 3 teaspoon each salt and pepper For the pickled red onions 1 medium red onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced 1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon salt 2 ⁄3 cup red wine vinegar
To cut the intensity of the meat, I love to top my tacos with pickled onions. Make these while the brisket cooks and refrigerate until serving, so you can contrast the spicy flavors with a cool, sour-sweet crunch. The tacos don’t need much else in the way of toppings, but I love to gild the lily and add sliced jalapeños and cilantro. Guacamole or sliced avocado probably wouldn’t hurt either, if you were so inclined. Hint: If, by some miracle, you find yourself with leftover taco filling, by all means, serve it with scrambled eggs and more corn tortillas for the best breakfast tacos this side of Texas.
Gabi Moskowitz is the editor-in-chief of the nationally acclaimed blog BrokeAss Gourmet, author of The Brokeass Gourmet Cookbook (May 2012) and Pizza Dough: 100 Delicious, Unexpected Recipes (November 2013). She writes regularly for The Washington Post and The Guardian. The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at www.TheNosher.com.
spices in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth and set aside.
Cut away any remaining ribbons of fat on the brisket and use 2 forks to shred the brisket.
Heat the oil in a large oven-proof Dutch oven or pot over high heat.
Heat the sauce remaining in the Dutch oven over high heat and cook for 5 minutes. It will begin to thicken.
Using 2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper, season the brisket generously on both sides.
Leave the heat on and add the shredded brisket back to the sauce and mix well to coat all the meat with the sauce.
Place the brisket in the pan and brown well on both sides. Pour in the tomato-broth mixture. It should cover (or almost cover) the brisket. Cover the pot with the lid and bring the liquid to a boil (this should take 7–8 minutes). Once it boils, remove from the stove and place in the oven. Simmer in the oven for 3–3½ hours, or until very tender. Prepare the pickled red onions Combine the onion, sugar, salt, and vinegar in a small pot over medium high heat. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 15 minutes.
For serving the tacos 12–14 corn tortillas sliced jalapeño chopped cilantro wedges of lime Directions Prepare the brisket Preheat the oven to 325 F. Combine the garlic, jalapeño, tomatoes, broth and
Transfer onions and their liquid into a glass bowl or jar, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. Prepare the tacos During the brisket’s last 15 minutes of cooking, warm the tortillas by wrapping them in foil and putting them in the oven with the brisket. Take them out when you take out the brisket. Once the brisket has cooked, remove it from the sauce and place on a carving board.
24 | Jewish News | Cooking and Eating | February 13, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Cook for another 5–6 minutes to completely saturate the meat with the sauce. Use tongs to toss the meat in the sauce, pulling apart any shreds that are stuck together. Bring the pot of shredded brisket to the table with the tortillas, pickled onions, jalapeño, cilantro and any other toppings you like (guacamole, hot sauce, etc). Serve immediately.
A DAY OF
Cooking and Eating
E
veryone loves a bagel…there are myriad ways to eat one and today, equally as many flavors
from which to choose. The popularity of Einstein Bagels proves the point, though what the local management says are the most popular items, might surprise the long-time consumer of the ring-
PERFECTION
• einstein Bros BAGELS •
shaped bread product that originated in Jewish communities in Poland. In Tidewater, Einstein management says that the most popular classic bagels are Everything and Asiago cheese. The most popular gourmet bagels are their Apple Cinnamon and Spinach Florentine options. As far as sandwiches go, the Farmhouse Egg Sandwich makes it to the top of the list. For those who want to share their love of bagels at events or meetings, Einstein has a wide variety of catering options…from
Holiday Inn & Suites North Beach
vboceanfrontnorth.com 757. 419. 3668 Contact: Marisa Powers, Catering Sales Manager marisa.powers@hinorthbeach.com
breakfast sandwiches to lunch sandwiches to cookies to desserts. Menus can be found at https://ebcatering.com/index.cfm.
JOI N
N
ow with six locations from Tidewater to Williamsburg to Richmond, Baker’s Crust Artisan Kitchen
caters myriad events including business and corporate luncheons, parties, weddings, showers, dinner parties, family reunions, and special events. When first meeting with a catering client to determine a menu, the staff of
• Baker’s Crust Artisan Kitchen •
U S D OW N T H E R A BBI T H O L E ...
“WE' RE A LL M AD FOR P URI M”
Baker’s Crust generally asks that guests first review the Catering Menu. If they are looking for something that is not on the menu, the catering team finds out what that might be, has a conversation with the guest to determine the needs, provides suggestions and then invites them to a sampling/tasting. However the menu is determined, Baker’s Crust says that the food will be “lovingly and carefully prepared.“ After all, they’ve been doing so for more than 20 years.
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jewishnewsva.org | February 13, 2017 | Cooking and Eating | Jewish News | 25
Cooking and Eating This new kosher deli may be Miami’s hippest restaurant Lucy Cohen Blatter
MIAMI (JTA)—The first few weeks in January were meant to be a soft opening for Zak Stern’s new traditional deli. But given the massive following that Stern— better known as Zak the Baker—has garnered for his bakery, things didn’t really turn out as planned. “We call it a ‘rough opening’ because there’s nothing soft about it,” Stern says on a recent Monday morning as “the deli,” as it is known to differentiate from the bakery, began filling with customers eager to try the house specialties, like a vegetable omelette, served with corned beef and aioli, potato kugel and more. Of course, the instant success of Stern’s deli isn’t too surprising given that Zak the Baker—both his bakery and the man himself—have garnered numerous accolades since setting up shop four years ago. A line of customers, often dozens deep, regularly snakes around the block outside the bakery. The customers wait—sometimes for an hour or more—for his olive-studded loaves of bread, authentic French-style baguettes, croissants, and deep-dish quiches. Stern has achieved the seemingly impossible: His eateries are decidedly cool and are popular with Miami’s hipsters and foodie sets. At the same time, however, because they are kosher, they are a destination for observant Jewish Miami residents and visitors, many of whom travel about 20 minutes from the city’s more touristy areas to the Wynwood neighborhood north of downtown. “Wynwood is one of Miami’s only counterculture areas,” Stern says of the artsy, industrial neighborhood, where many buildings are covered with bright graffiti. And with the opening of the deli, he’s doubled down on it. “We’ve been able to bridge two worlds,” says Stern, who looks every bit the bearded hipster, but could also pass as a Hasid (which he is not). “It’s hard to find the religious world eating out of
their shtetl, and it’s also hard for the nonreligious world, or non-Jewish world, to interact with the religious world. So this kind of gives them the opportunity to sit next to someone religious and fill in the blanks. It’s a beautiful thing.” “We happen to be certified kosher, but that’s not our identity,” he says. “We’re traditional bakers and now [operate] a traditional Eastern European-style deli, and we happen to be kosher.” On that recent Monday morning, a couple visiting from New Jersey—she wore a wig; he a baseball cap in place of a kippah—were enjoying an almond croissant and oatmeal cookie at the bar of the bakery, both nodding profusely between bites to communicate that it was worth the nearly 30-minute trip. Another woman, who didn’t outwardly appear to be religious, had just bought a loaf of cranberry walnut bread at the bakery, having traveled to Miami from her home about an hour away. In fact, she says she often drives 20 minutes to her nearest Whole Foods to procure some wholesale Zak the Baker bread. “Once you have this, how can you have any other one?” she asks, rhetorically. While chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi in London and Michael Solomonov in Philadelphia have helped make Israeli food “the sexy thing on the block,” Stern thinks it’s time for Ashkenazi food to get the attention it deserves. “Ashkenazi food has been relegated to bland and boring, and that’s so not true,” he says. “Deli is a soulful, soulful food. I think we can shed some light on it.” Stern, a 31-year-old Florida native, was a pharmacy student when he decided to switch gears to bread baking. “I was a 22-year-old in pharmacy school learning all these complicated things, but I was craving basic fundamental life skills; bread making is such a symbol of that,” he says. “You can bake bread everywhere, and it’s accessible to everyone.” Stern quit school and went to Europe
26 | Jewish News | Cooking and Eating | February 13, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
to apprentice on farms. He started with agriculture and then “zeroed in on farms with bread and cheese,” he says. When he returned to Miami, in 2012, Stern launched a bread business out of his friend’s North Miami garage, selling to farmer’s markets and the like. Word of mouth sent the business soaring. “The market quickly drew a line, until the point where I was selling out of bread in less than an hour,” he says. At one point, a woman Stern met while working at a goat cheese farm in northern Israel asked to come to Miami and apprentice for his burgeoning business. Fast forward three years and that woman, Batsheva, is now his wife and mother to his two children. He refers to her on social media as #myreligiouswife. As a suburban kid who grew up Reform, marrying a religious woman from a small village in Israel is practically intermarriage, Stern says, noting how differently the two were raised. She is the reason he started keeping Shabbat, “so she wouldn’t be alone,” he says. And it was Batsheva who introduced him to kashrut; because of her strict observance, he made his bakery kosher. And in the years since, Stern has learned all the intricacies of running a kosher business. Being kosher, he says, brings a real authenticity to the deli, in particular. “If we’re going to do it legit, it’s got to be kosher, that’s part of it,” he says. “European delis that catered to our great-grandparents would not have served melted cheese on their sandwiches—nor would they have sold expensive sandwiches as big as your head,” he says. They also would have cured their meats in house, as Stern does.
“The community here in Miami, I think, needed something that’s wholesome and soulful,” he says. “Delis aren’t fancy or expensive, as a lot of kosher restaurants are. Deli food is the working man’s food.” For now, the menu at the deli is limited, as the kitchen undergoes renovation. (The spot where the deli stands was once the bakery, which was forced to move to a larger location down the street when the wholesale business picked up.) But Stern says there were a couple of things he knew the deli needed to have as soon as they launched—“a really good pickled vegetable plate with a pickled green tomato, a non-mayonnaisey cole slaw and house-made corned beef,” he says. (Stern’s corned beef is made on the premises in a seven-day brine.) There’s also smoked fish—and, unlike New York delis, which mostly use whitefish, they use the blue runner native to Florida. Stern is particularly excited for the upcoming deli case with traditional Eastern European foods like Yapchik (a kugel with flanken), p’tcha (jellied calves’ feet) and kishke (stuffed intestine), which people can take to go. “Whatever obscure Ashkenazi food that you can’t find anywhere, we’ll have here,” he says. But for those outside the Miami area, you’re going to need to travel to try it out. “I’m totally uninterested in creating an empire,” he says. “Zak the Baker doesn’t need to be in New York, it doesn’t mean to be in L.A. There’s plenty of room for other bearded bakers.”