This year for Passover, the pop-up and farmers market staple Zeitlin’s Delicatessen will offer a brisket braised in Dr. Brown’s Black Cherry Soda. The combination seemed natural to chef and owner Sam Zeitlin, one of many “future family recipes” upon which he has based his young business.
“The classic drink of the (Jewish) deli is Dr. Brown’s Soda,” Zeitlin told me. “When done right, it’s exciting. It accents the roastiness of the meat. It also kind of adds a sweet and sour type element.”
But when I first told Bette Dworkin, president/owner of Kaufman’s Deli in Skokie, about the soda braise, she yelped in what seemed like equal parts shock and delight. Kaufman’s traditional Passover brisket uses wine as a braise.
“You gotta remember, I’m 64 years old,” Dworkin said. “I’ve been doing (this) for 30 years.”
Passover commemorates the story of Moses leading the Jewish people to freedom out of enslavement in Egypt. On the first nights of the weeklong holiday, families gather for a Seder dinner where the story is retold alongside wine, matzo and rituals such as the Four Questions.
This year, Zeitlin’s Delicatessen and Kaufman’s Deli are again offering take-out Seder; it’s necessary for a changing clientele that might need a little extra help preparing laborious traditional Jewish foods.
During a call together, Zeitlin and Dworkin discussed their respective menus, how the Jewish deli is changing, and their own particular likes and dislikes.
Referring to the Dr. Brown’s brisket: Dworkin clarified that she thinks Zeitlin’s idea is “wonderful,” even if it is surprising.
“He’s keeping in the wheelhouse of being a Jewish deli, which I think is fabulous. And he’s trying something funky!”
They agreed on matzo balls.
“They need to be light and fluffy,” Dworkin said.
“There’s floaters and there’s sinkers,” Zeitlin continued. “I’m not friends with people who like matzo balls that sink.”
But, it turned out, Dworkin has never been a brisket lover.
“I tried to make a change here years ago for the holidays to take the brisket out and put in tenderloin and it just completely fell flat,” she said. “I know I’m a weird Jew that I don’t like brisket.”
“Do you not like the texture?” Zeitlin asked her.
“I think it’s overplayed … every holiday. I’ve had brisket that tasted good. It’s just not my thing,” Dworkin said.
Nostalgia is a powerful force and for many in the Jewish diaspora, particular foods (including brisket) are essential to a Seder menu.
“If you don’t have them, (people) get kind of …” said Zeitlin.
“Pissed off,” Dworkin jumped in.
“Frustrated, yeah.”
Dworkin continued the thought. “We all try to put interesting spins on what we’re doing, but certainly around the holidays … that component of tradition becomes very important to people.”
And tradition is certainly what Kaufman’s built its reputation on. The deli can count nearly six decades of experience ahead of Zeitlin’s.
In the 1960s, Holocaust survivor Maury Kaufman founded his eponymous deli, providing a haven for many other survivors to work and meet; Kaufman sold it to the Dworkin family in 1984 and they eventually passed it down to their daughter Bette in 2014.
“One of the hallmarks of a deli is that it’s not only the food, it’s also the circus,” Dworkin said. “I think a deli should be noisy and chaotic.” There ought to be shticks and jokes with the counter staff, she added.
Zeitlin talked about the importance of hospitality and a sense of welcome at the Jewish delis he grew up eating at; many of those delis have since closed. Kaufman’s meanwhile has survived the pandemic, inflation and changing demographics.
“I think that Sam is a component of a group of young bloods that are kind of repopulating the deli business,” Dworkin said. Though Zeitlin is not originally from Chicago, he takes inspiration from his new home when developing his menu.
The Passover menu sets are a newer tradition for both businesses, a reflection of the long history of the Jewish deli in America and its ever-evolving social roles. Such menus may be a new source of Jewish deli nostalgia by establishing a new takeout ritual for future generations.
Zeitlin’s yeast-free Seder main menu is 11 dishes at $60-$80 per person with no order minimum. The brisket is a centerpiece alongside other dishes such as roasted potato kugel, braised Windy City oyster mushrooms with dried fruit and flourless chocolate cake. Limited kosher and vegetarian options are available.
Kaufman’s menu is eight dishes at $41 per person with a four-person minimum order. Diners can customize their menu, choosing between chicken or brisket, chocolate cake or lemon chiffon, potato or apple kugel, amongst others.
Both will also offer a la carte items for those who wish to supplement any home cooking, including Zeitlin’s matzo ball soup with mirepox and dill ($15) and the aforementioned braised brisket with Black Cherry Soda and roasted garlic ($25). Kaufman’s has a much more robust selection befitting its additional 60 years of experience, including tsimmes ($11), potato kugel ($8, or $46 a pan), charoset ($12) and macaroons (starting at $19 a pound).
Both establishments are essentially to-go-focused. Passover orders at Zeitlin’s must be in by Friday for fulfillment April 22-23. At Kaufman’s, orders must be in by Wednesday. The store closes at 4 p.m. on April 22 and stays closed for Passover until May 1.
For Kaufman’s, Dworkin introduced the all-inclusive Seder menu around when she took over in 2014 in response to changing customer demands.
“We decided to do it because we saw there were some changes in the marketplace,” Dworkin said. “People wanted everything done for them and didn’t have time to cook.” So the Kaufman’s team decided to cook for them. Her menu has continued to evolve.
Passover is easiest when the family lives in the same place, assisted by elders with community recipes worth preserving. These things are rarer now, requiring time and a lot of effort, which exhausts Dworkin after all these years.
“In all candor, after all of these years of the Jewish holidays, I don’t go to Seder,” said Dworkin
Zeitlin laughed. “Sounds about right.”
Dworkin continued, “After the holidays, it’s like OK, I need to take a mental break.”
“Hibernate for a bit,” Zeitlin offered.
But tinkering away at a few new items for Seder is something some millennial Jewish Americans still crave. Zeitlin, who does not come from a restaurant family, considers his food traditional, but he also wants to put his own touch on things, much like Dworkin did when she took over Kaufman’s.
Zeitlin is eager to learn, which he did on an early trip to Kaufman’s. After moving to Chicago in 2018, he longed for the deli food of his childhood and explored several around the city and suburbs, including Kaufman’s.
“I think that what really sets them apart is that they’re really trying to make as many things as they can in-house, while also scaling tremendously,” Zeitlin said of Kaufman’s. He was excited in particular by the different cookies they offer and praised some of the “very esoteric” Jewish deli options at Kaufman’s.
“I consider our strongest competition people’s memory,” said Dworkin. “So when somebody was used to having grandma’s gefilte fish, or mom’s chopped liver, or auntie Sadie’s matzo balls, well, that’s what they remember.” They try to make commercial food in a homestyle manner, but at the end of the day, every family has their own style of cooking.
For Zeitlin, that’s one reason he decided to strike out on his own and make bagels.
He committed to Zeitlin’s full time in 2021, but his delicatessen isn’t a full deli in the traditional sense. Their compact menu focuses on baked goods and bagel sandwiches with occasional forays into meat. Zeitlin dreams of his own version of Kaufman’s long footprint in Skokie, but for now, it’s a mobile, evolving operation. Typically, you can find their bagels and other items at farmers markets, local shops and on food delivery apps. The team hit a milestone when they opened their first stall in the Old Post Office in the Loop in 2023.
When asked if she had advice for Zeitlin on his journey to a bricks-and-mortar location, Dworkin joked, “he should have his head examined!”
But she gathered herself and started detailing the importance of solid funding, cash flow and management.
“You gotta generate a serious amount of corned beef and bagels to pay them bills, man,” Dworkin said after laying out her perspective.
“Really, really great advice, “ Zeitlin said. “And I think that … us not jumping in fully to a store has been to our benefit.”
“The idea of another location makes me sick to my stomach,” Dworkin said. “But I think … the other side of it is that you kind of have to figure out what you want out of the business and what you want out of life.”
“Yeah,” Zeitlin said thoughtfully.
“It’s that old work-life balance thing,” Dworkin said. “Oh god, I sound old!”
“No no,” Zeitlin reassured her with a laugh. “You sound wise.”
Kaufman’s Deli, 4905 Dempster St., Skokie, 847-677-6190, kaufmansdeli.com
Zeitlin’s Delicatessen at the Old Post Office, 433 W. Van Buren St., 240-274-4011, zeitlinsdeli.com
