The $23 Caviar-Topped Bagel At Freedman’s
Image by dylan + jeni
Jewish food is tricky. On the one hand, anyone determined to cook some Jewish deli delights has to bear in the mind the importance of tradition and the significance of the decades-old food they are cooking. But on the other hand, traditions are made to be broken.
On the menu at Freedman’s, the new non-traditional modern Jewish deli joint that’s remixing the deli scene, Freedman’s founder Jonah Freedman is grappling with just that. The result? Food like the pastrami crunch-wrap Munchies called “the drunk food of your dreams.” It’s a decadent take on a crunchy wrap, stuffed with pastrami, lettuce, sour cream and tomatoes.
The presentation of traditional deli food might be changing from overstuffed sandwiches to more condensed crunch wraps, but the food remains the same. Freedman’s had the luck of being of the last restaurants reviewed by respected food critic Jonathan Gold before his death. The brisket was an impressive spectacle to Gold, not to mention the celebrities, like Jeff Goldblum, who have graced the restaurant with their presence.
But pastrami crunch-wraps aren’t the only innovation Freedman’s has to offer. When it comes to Jewish comfort food, it’s hard to do better than the Baller Bagel, a $23 tour de force with smoked whitefish salad, caviar and cucumber, or the glazed brisket with smoked bone marrow for 3 that Jonathan Gold raved about, for $105.
Shira Feder is a writer. She’s at feder@forward.com and @shirafeder on Twitter.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
