Jewish deli

A Jewish deli, also known as a Jewish delicatessen, is a store that serves various traditional dishes of Jewish cuisine, mostly Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.[1] Known for their robust sandwiches, such as pastrami on rye and Reuben sandwiches, they also specialize in traditional Jewish diaspora soups and other ethnically rooted dishes. As retail delicatessens, most also sell a selection of their products such as sliced meats by the pound, prepared salads, pickles, and offer dine-in or take-out.

The emergence of the Jewish deli developed in accordance with local culture. Jewish delis differed from their German deli counterparts mostly by being kosher.[2] These days, while some delis have full kosher certification, others operate in a kosher-style, refraining from mixing meat and dairy in the same dish. Other Jewish delis serve non-kosher animal products such as bacon or shellfish and non-kosher dishes such as the Reuben sandwich.[3]

Jewish delis feature prominently in Jewish culture, as well as in general American popular culture, particularly in the cities of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles as well as in Canada, especially in Montreal and Toronto.[4] The United Kingdom has also historically been a home to many Jewish delis, especially in the London area.[5]

In the United States

The origins of the American Jewish delicatessen can be traced to the wave of German immigration to the United States in the mid-1800s. In the decade spanning from 1850 to 1860 nearly one million Germans immigrated to America, both Jews and non-Jews, with 215,000 Germans arriving in the United States in 1854 alone.[6] Some of these immigrants opened storefronts to make a living, and to offer culturally familiar food to other immigrants. Many of the original establishments were inspired by German delikatessens, selling beef frankfurters, sauerkraut, cold cuts, dill pickles and liverwurst.[7]

According to American author and professor Ted Merwin, the deli experienced its most significant growth not during the initial wave of immigration, as commonly assumed, but rather during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. During this time that the offspring of Jewish immigrants and Ashkenazi immigrants from Eastern Europe[8] began to frequent delis in the theater district, where they indulged in sandwiches and cheesecake

In the United Kingdom

Whilst some Jewish bakers, delicatessens, and butchers still exist in the United Kingdom, mostly in London with some in Manchester, where the second largest Jewish community in the country is to be found, and a few in other cities, the early 20th century boom in kosher establishments was followed by a decline in later years, with the Jewish Chronicle regularly reporting the closures of food shops in the 1970s and 1980s. There were 198 kosher butchers in 1956, and just 26 in 2005.

This was due to several factors, one being that, as the Chronicle reported at the time, fewer Jews in the U.K. were observing kosher, from 90% before World War II to 50% by 1975, and so would buy their food in the same stores as the majority of the population. Another was simply expense: kosher food cost more, a fact that the Chronicle covered with reports of concerned shoppers and rabinical inquiries. A third was that kosher products were available in branches of U.K. supermarkets where there was a local Jewish customer base to cater to, including Selfridges, Safeway, Tesco, and Sainsbury's.

Menu

Food portions at Jewish delis are known for being large, and the menus are extensive, ranging from baked goods, breakfasts, large sandwiches of pickled, smoked, and cured meats, dinner plates, desserts, and more.[12]

In popular media

Jewish delis have been featured in many instances of popular media.

• Broad City (Zabar's)[13]
• Change of Habit (Glassman's Deli and Market)[14]
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (Mort's Palisades Deli referenced as "Leo's Deli")[15]
• Homicide: New York[16] (Carnegie Deli)[17]

See also

• List of Jewish delis

Further reading