Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on January 16, 2015

Originally published January 15, 2015 at 7:46 PM | Page modified January 15, 2015 at 8:41 PM

When you think Seattle seafood what do you think of? Salmon? Sushi? Lutefisk?

Whatever it is its probably not the traditional Jewish poached whitefish patty known as gefilte fish.

But that was the star attraction at Mondays Gefilteria pop-up restaurant at Capitol Hills stylish Cafe Barjot. And Ill admit, it was surprising to see so many fashionable young people biting into a dish thats more often the butt of a joke than the feature of a foodie menu.

Our mission is to look back and ask not just What are we losing? but What have we lost over the years? explains Jeffrey Yoskowitz describing his and Gefilteria co-founder Liz Alperns passion for reviving Old World Jewish food for a new generation, There are a lot of foods that are not really popular now but were part of everyday life.

Much of that food was on display Monday. There was the gefilte fish (the only artisan-made version in the whole U.S., the Gefilteria chefs say), blood-red pickled beets drizzled with herb-flecked schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), rye-bread kugel (a kind of casserole) served in piping hot Mason jars and cabbage rolls smothered in fresh, sweet tomato sauce.

Yoskowitz and Alpern were visiting from Brooklyn this week at the invitation of (fellow Seattle Globalist writer) Anna Goren and her sister Molly. Seattleites from a half-Sephardic (Jews historically from southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East), half-Ashkenazi (Jews historically from eastern and central Europe) family, the sisters hope to help spark an Ashkenazi Jewish food movement in a city with too few Jewish food options.

Growing up we went to Bagel Oasis (still with a location in Ravenna) for bialys (flat, baked onion rolls) and pumpernickel bagels remembers Anna Goren when asked where her family got Ashkenazi food when she was a kid. But Goren says that Sephardic food a more Middle Eastern style cuisine got more play in her household growing up, I didnt even think about Ashkenazi food until I met (Alpern and Yoskowitz).

Its a common complaint among Jews and non-Jews alike. I myself fell in love with matzo ball soup and whitefish salad sandwiches during college in New York City. But theres just not a lot of great Jewish-food restaurants in the Seattle area.

Ryan Rosensweig, who was at Mondays Gefilteria pop-up, says hes tried the few Ashkenazi food spots around town including Goldbergs Famous Delicatessen in Factoria Mall and a latke-centric food truck called Napkin Friends. But he misses the robust food scene he left back in Cincinnati when he moved here three years ago.

See the original post:

A tasty tale of growth and food in Seattles Jewish community

Category: Ashkenazi
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