Who Knew? 7 Jewish Delis In Unexpected Places

A classic pastrami sandwich on rye. Image by NicolasMcComber/istockphoto
Here’s a short list of Jewish delis where you might least expect to find them. Call it the “Who Knew?” list. And if we missed any, please let us know!
Bernstein’s, Winnipeg
Close your eyes and inhale: Inside Bernstein’s, Manitoba might as well be Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Thick corned beef is made in-house, fragrant rye bread comes from local fave Gunn’s Bakery, and homemade soups like matzo ball steam in their bowls.
Shlomo’s, Aspen Think about it: Latkes, mushroom barley soup and a pastrami sandwich actually make perfect apres-ski noshes. And no one in the mountains of Colorado does them better than Shlomo Ben-Hamoo, who left Israel for Aspen to spread deli love among locals and tourists. Bonus: Bagels are house-baked; cheesecake and meat gets flown in from The Big Apple.

This corned beef, coleslaw and cheese concoction was created by a Shapiro’s customer, according to the Indianapolis-based deli’s Instagram. Image by Instagram/@Shapirosdeli
Shapiro’s, Indianapolis
After 110 years, Shapiro’s is legit old-school, and — thankfully — still does things the way founder Louis Shapiro did back in the day. House-smoked meats and lush cheesecake round out a menu that mixes nostalgia and now; how many places still serve noodles with sour cream?
Kenny & Ziggy’s, Houston
For their title subject, the makers of 2014’s “Deli Man” didn’t just look to Brooklyn or L.A. Their archetypical deli maven was Ziggy Gruber, who keeps tradition deliciously alive at his two Houston restaurants. We’re talking classics like kishke, farfel, gefilte fish and flanken — deep in the heart of Texas.
Charleston Bakery & Deli, Charleston
“If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well.” Here, that translates as house-made knishes and pastrami, tongue on rye and lush chopped liver. Bonus: The deli’s web site offers a food-focused “Guide to Paying a Shiva Call.”
Momma Goldberg’s, Alabama
We know he’s got a Jewish lawyer. And if Roy Moore ever gets a hankering for pastrami on “Jewish rye” or a whole kosher pickle, he can head to a Momma Goldberg’s location. The “kosher-style” chainlet’s got a wide-ranging menu — pork and ham share space with that Jewish bread — but this is as close as it gets to New York deli in Alabama.
Gruman’s Deli, Calgary
Montreal and Toronto get the deli glory, but western Canada actually has a rich Jewish history. Named for owner Peter Fraiberg’s Bubby Gruman, this downtown Calgary mainstay dishes up latkes, potato “verenikes,” chopped liver and a mean smoked-meat poutine to a diverse crowd of locals. Quirk: Gruman’s is only open from 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m. on weekdays; from 9 a.m. on weekends.
Michael Kaminer is a contributing editor at the Forward.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.