David Sax’s book Save the Deli sounds the alarm about the decline of Jewish delicatessens. But a lot has happened since the best-selling book’s 2009 copyright. There’s new energy — delis are drawing lines that rival ramen spots — and it expands beyond the Big Apple. But one thing that hasn’t changed is how intimidating it can be to open and operate a Jewish deli, because you’re competing with both every deli that came before you and everyone’s bubbe. It’s crucial then to have a point of view and stick to it — whether that’s modernizing menus with nontraditional twists, folding in ethnic fusion, or embracing trends influencing restaurants more broadly, including a back-to-basics attitude. In other words, the hand rolling of bagels is being done not by our ancestors but by 30-somethings in plaid with espresso breath and beards who have trained under the likes of Andrew Carmellini and Joël Robuchon. 

Photo courtesy of Wexler's Deli

Flashes of the South find their way into Chef-Owner Todd Ginsberg’s cuisine, which helped earn him consecutive Southeast semifinalist nods from the James Beard Foundation. Take his field pea salad for example — a staple of every neighborhood restaurant with Southern-accented servers. Ginsberg’s version is filled with herbs, salmon roe and creme fraiche, so it simulates a lox platter. Then there are his fried chicken dinners on Fridays that locals throw elbows over. They often feature pastrami-braised collard greens. Ginsberg cites one of the biggest links between Jewish and Southern cuisine as preserving meat, and more specifically, the less prized cuts of meat. While the Emory Point restaurant is pushing the envelope, its name honors the past, as The General Muir is named for the ship that carried partner Jennifer Johnson’s family from Europe to New York in 1949, including her grandparents — Holocaust survivors — and her mother.

Photo courtesy of The General Muir

To know that Jewish and Japanese cuisines are sewn together with care at Shalom Japan, one needs only to dip a spoon into the restaurant's signature dish: matzo ball ramen with foie gras dumplings. This soulful bowl embodies the spirit of the Williamsburg eatery. Married chef-owners Sawako Okochi and Aaron Israel helm the kitchen, which also cranks out wonders such as challah made with lees from the sake brewing process; tuna tataki with a Sephardic smear of black tahini; and okonomiyaki with all the trappings of a Reuben. General Manager Thierry Mopurgo leads the drink program, which is equally whimsical. Take his Oy Vey Iz Kir for example, which floats Manshevitz instead of a predictable liqueur, or his selection of shochu. “Our cuisine is unique, so most customers are willing if not wanting to experiment with things they don’t know, and shochu is one of those things,” Mopurgo says. 

Photo by Alice Gao

Sweet-toothed diners shouldn’t hesitate to order Eleven Lincoln Park’s black-and-white challah French toast with two chocolate sauces and a pretzel dusting. The homage to a black-and-white cookie is proprietor Bradley Rubin’s reluctant hat tip to New York delis. “It’s not really a Chicago thing, but it’s what people came to expect, so I finally broke down,” Rubin says. “The world doesn’t revolve around the New York deli,” he adds. “Everyone does it differently, but New Yorkers think they’re the only ones with street cred.” There are abundant references on Eleven Lincoln Park’s mammoth menu, including the indulgent #43: The behemoth between bread, complete with corned beef, a latke, sour cream and onion strings, is a callback to the #19 at Langer’s in Los Angeles. It’s a signature dish, along with the open-faced Rubin’s Reuben and matzo ball soup. Nostalgia, and a little love, is paramount at Eleven Lincoln Park, hence the retro candy counter.

Photo courtesy of Eleven Lincoln Park