Food

Beyond the Bagel

Image by Thinkstock

By Leah Koenig June 8, 2015

Granola and yogurt. Waffles with maple syrup. Fried eggs on toast. Is there anything more satisfying than a good, unhurried breakfast?

It’s certainly up there.

And when you add a side of Jewish culture, history and recipes, it’s even better.

As a bona fide breakfast fanatic, I am thrilled to announce Beyond the Bagel, a weekly column on the Forward’s food channel that will serve up the best tastes from the Jewish breakfast table. After all, bagels, lox and a Sunday New York Times may be an iconic combination, but they only tell a fraction of the story.

Image by Zivar Amrami

From the sumptuous Israeli hotel breakfast filled with soft white cheeses and chopped fresh salads, to the Yemenite breakfast pastry jachnun or Romania’s mamaliga (cornmeal porridge), to the eggy matzo brei slung at virtually every New York City delicatessen, the story of Jewish breakfast is as global as it is delicious.

Maybe you are the kind of person who wakes up dreaming of your next stack of pancakes. Perhaps, like me, you plan vacations around where you can find a killer biscuit-and-egg sandwich. Or you might just want something to read while you sip your morning coffee. Regardless of where you fall on the breakfast spectrum, join me as I explore how Jews around the world start their mornings — and follow me into my kitchen, where I’ll whip up recipes that will become the delight of yours.

Leah Koenig is a contributing editor at the Forward and author of “,” Chronicle Books (2015).

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

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.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO