My last week in Brookline meant having a little bit of something from the neighborhood every day.
My typical stop was a breakfast of hazelnut coffee and a bagel sandwich from Kupel's. The bagel sandwiches on the menu come with a free bottled water which I always forgot to pick up. The lox spread was really creamy and hit the spot when I wanted to save $$ and skip the real lox. Moreover, my most favorite item at Kupel's had to have been the fresh challah. They had a really sweet dough that resembled (no joke) Chinese BBQ Pork Buns (the baked kind not the steamed kind). I could eat a loaf of that in one sitting if I allowed myself to do so.
Something indulgent but frequent were my stops for lunch with friends or evening to-go orders at Zaftigs, my beloved modern Jewish deli. Cold fish plates, cold cuts by the pound, perfect house coffee, banana stuffed french toast, knish, bagel chips and herbed cream cheese, or even the occasional chocolate chip cookie made me smile. Perhaps I'll spend money one day on a kitschy t-shirt from the counter. Examples: "Knish me" "Almost Jewish" "Got Challah?"
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A rarer stop was going to the "real deal" places like Rubin's Kosher Deli or The Butcherie, a small grocery store. At Rubin's I'd go in off-peak so I could order from the counter by myself, without fear of being perceived as "the other." Shmaltzy kasha varnishkes, pastrami, knish.... I loved taking it all home. The Butcherie had the most Israeli products I've ever seen. I felt it was my little secret that I could read all the packages in Hebrew... but I never dared speak or thank anyone in Ivrit.
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I squeezed in a couple stops into Ruth's Kitchen and Cafe Eilat before I left. I had my first kugel from Ruth's -- mm, it's probably not Ruth's fault, but I don't think I like kugel. I went into Cafe Eilat because the name seemed like something straight out of my Modern Hebrew textbooks. I tried some imported Israeli panna cotta. While I usually LOVE panna cotta, the trip around the world (or the likely freeze and defrosting) killed the texture of my dessert. The place also seemed pretty overpriced without any apparent differences in quality or kosherness.
Good or bad, I'll forever look to Brookline's Jewish and Israeli food stops for great food memories. Life will never be the same without having a fresh, immediate supply of challah.
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