Food

Restaurants Serve Up Yom Kippur Break Fast

Image by Courtesy of Miriam Restaurant

By Lisa Amand September 24, 2012

After a long day of prayers and atonement, the Yom Kippur fast ends at sunset and Jews gather to Break Fast and break bread.

Many people want to go home after synagogue services, putting together a traditional dinner, while some prefer to let a restaurant be the host, relax and be pampered like the chosen people. Here are a few suggestions should you want to let someone else do the cooking.

Brooklyn
No need to make a reservation at Miriam’s, a Mediterranean-Jewish restaurant in Brooklyn. Eat at the wooden bar or grab a coveted place at the tall, communal table in the front window of this popular Park Slope spot. Families and couples can spread out at one of the cozy dining room tables. The long, colorful haunt is strewn with Moroccan lights and atmospheric candles. On Miriam’s menu for Break Fast: roasted, boneless free-range chicken with Israeli couscous, roasted butternut squash and pumpkin seeds. Grass-fed, braised short ribs with traditional kugel is another holiday entree. Those preferring lighter fare can sup on chicken noodle soup served with kreplach.
79 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, will be open until 10:30 Wednesday, 718-622-2250.

Manhattan
Nothing translates into Old World luxury like dinner at New York’s legendary Russian Tea Room. For the second year, chef Marc Taxiera is preparing a special post-sunset Break Fast that starts with beef borscht or chopped chicken liver, a latke and blini tasting or carrot and apple tzimmis. For entrees, choose between sour cherry dumplings known as vereniki in duck ragu or sour cream; lamb stew (slow-cooked with red wine); or lemon-marinated fried chicken drizzled with the requisite holiday honey and plated with black-eye peas and sautéed field greens. For dessert, the Russian Tea Room’s warm, walnut-studded, vanilla-laced bread pudding is a well-deserved indulgence. Whether diners come to the restaurant directly from temple or more personal observances, all are welcome in the gilded rooms furnished with the famous red booths.
150 W. 57th St., New York, 212-581-7100.

San Francisco
For a delicious delicatessen experience, Miller’s East Coast Deli (locations on lower Nob Hill in San Francisco and more recently in San Rafael, Calif.) offers a Yom Kippur Break Fast menu of whitefish, Nova salmon, belly lox, pickled herring and sturgeon, served as special-order platters or by the pound. These Bay Area kosher-style delis import “the real deal” from Long Island’s A & S Bagels, while their babka hails from Brooklyn. If digging into a beautiful pastrami sandwich sounds more festive, Miller’s boasts cured meats with all the trimmings.
1725 Polk St., San Francisco, 415-563-3542 and 421 Third St., San Rafael, 415-453-3354.

Chicago
According to the Chicago Tribune ’s Phil Vettel, a destination for Break Fast in the Windy City is Cru Cafe & Wine Bar. Located in the Gold Coast neighborhood, this sophisticated hangout for oenophiles offers an a la cart menu on Wednesday evening that will include brioche French toast; tomato and goat cheese quiche; Cru’s version of a BLT that layers pastrami, fried egg, romaine lettuce and tomato on sourdough; and a variety of “build yourself” omelets. Dress in your synagogue best or jeans, be comfortable and suit yourself.
25 E. Delaware St., Chicago, 312-337-4001.

Miami
If you are fortunate enough to be in South Beach now and are in the mood for a chic-looking but unpretentious-feeling eatery to break your Yom Kippur fast, Jerry’s Famous Deli is an idea. Housed in an elegant Art Deco building complete with original columns and swanky interior, Jerry’s is a dramatic backdrop for a big nosh if you’re craving matzo ball soup or matzo brei, corned beef with cole slaw, potato pancakes and knishes, platters of smoked whitefish and salmon, or hearty brisket.
1450 Collins Ave., Miami, 305-532-8030.

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