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Kosher delis thrive in Silver Spring
Story & Photo by Jennifer Deseo |
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 The parking lot in front of the Wheaton Manor Shopping Center is two dents
shy of a demolition derby. One mini-van swerves wildly into a rare parking
spot. Another peels out in reverse and bucks into rushing traffic on University
Boulevard.
Meanwhile, shoppers leap from their cars and march with unflappable focus
into a kosher market. They are back behind the wheel before the skid marks
set, rolling in reverse as another mini-van anxiously idles in the background,
its turn signal flashing frantically.
"It's always like this on Friday," says Elli Pauli, who sells books and
religious goods at the strip mall's One-Stop Judaism Shop (2305 University
Blvd., Wheaton). "Come Monday, this place is like a tomb."
It's a maddening race against sunset, when the Jewish Sabbath begins and
all work--including cooking and food shopping--must stop. If the faithful
don't get their last-minute ingredients before dusk, their next opportunity
won't come until sundown on Saturday.
A handful of small markets in Wheaton, Kemp Mills and Woodside cater directly
to those observing Jewish dietary law, selling ingredients common to the
kosher kitchen. But these shops and a few kosher restaurants also offer
ready-to-eat foods that invite the curious to experience the diversity
of Jewish cuisine.
At Shalom Strictly Kosher market (2307 University Blvd., Wheaton), ingredients
reflect the hardy, eastern European slow cooking of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.
Plump whole chickens await gentle roasting with lemon and apricots for
the Sabbath meal. Hulking slabs of beef brisket are bought on Friday afternoon,
stewed overnight with potatoes, onions and buckwheat, and served for lunch
on Saturday.
In Kemp Mills, the deli counter at Shaul's Kosher market (1319 Lamberton
Dr.) features a variety of German-inspired kugel, a casserole prepared
with or without egg noodles and served either as a side dish or a dessert.
The savory potato kugel is light and fluffy with undertones of onion and
butter. In contrast, the sweet raisin-noodle kugel is dense and moist,
bound together with a cinnamon-flavored custard. Shaul's also offers knishes,
a chewy dough pocket stuffed with either mashed potatoes or chopped spinach.
Sabbath dinners often include an appetizer of fish, which symbolizes immortality
and fertility in the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition. At Sniders Super Market
in Woodside (1936 Seminary Rd., Silver Spring), the deli case overflows
with pickled herring, tuna salad, cured salmon and smoked whitefish. Gefilte
fish--patties of pike, whitefish and matzo-cracker meal boiled in stock--bob
in jars of broth, anticipating a slather of sharp horseradish sauce tinted
red with beets.
The eastern European emphasis on preserved fish, stews and starches contrasts
sharply with the fresh vegetables and aromatic spices of Sephardic Jewish
cuisine. The Sephardic Jews originated in Spain and Portugal, and later
spread to northern Africa, Asia and the Middle East. This migration is
reflected in their use of cumin, turmeric and saffron.
A familiar Sephardic dish is falafel, deep-fried balls of mashed chickpeas
flavored with cumin and parsley. At Max's Kosher Café (2319
University Blvd., Wheaton), an entire counter is dedicated to assembling
falafel sandwiches. The falafel are set on pita bread and flattened slightly
to avoid uncontrolled rolling. Fresh lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber follow,
and the sandwich is finished with nutty tahini sauce made from sesame seeds.
At the Kosher Pastry Oven and Caf (1372 Lamberton Dr., Kemp Mills),
the sandwich station takes its cues from the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa
and Turkey. Malawach, a Yemeni crepe, is fried and served with hummus.
Moroccan shakshuka, a saut of tomatoes, onions, green peppers and
spices, accompanies fried eggs and warm pita bread. The Turkish-inspired
boureka are thin, crisp layers of buttery phyllo wrapped around a sharp
cheese filling.
With the exception of Sniders Super Market, these kosher establishments
close early on Friday afternoon and remain closed until Sunday morning.
Note: Snider's Super Market is not a kosher deli. It
is an independent grocery store with a popular deli counter
in the rear of the store that is popular for Jewish cuisine
favorites like those described in the article. Several readers
contacted us to point out this distinction. We regret any
incorrect statement or implication.
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