The High Holidays are coming up, and Jewish Washingtonians are preparing to honor one of the most important parts of the festivities: eating brisket and honey cake on Rosh Hashanah, and noshing after nightfall on Yom Kippur. Here are some of the most delicious ways to ring in the New Year and break your fast on the day of atonement.
Bread Furst
4434 Connecticut Ave., NW
Mark Furstenberg’s Van Ness bakery is cooking and baking up a storm for both holidays. On Friday, September 15 and Saturday, September 16, order a Rosh Hashanah dinner ($240) that feeds four to six. It includes honey-raisin or plain challah; chopped liver (with gribenes and schmaltz); apple-date salad; chicken dumpling soup; eggplant kibbeh; autumnal tzimmes; kasha varnishkes with homemade bowtie pasta; and traditional braised brisket. The dinner finishes off with a choice of cake. On Yom Kippur, there’s a classic bagel spread for “break-fast” with house-smoked gravlax and bagel fixings, cottage cheese blintzes, and orange juice. The spread costs $14.50 per person with a six-person minimum; additional items like rugelach are available for an additional cost. Call to place your order.
Call Your Mother
Multiple DC and Maryland locations
DC’s bagel giant is once again offering High Holidays catering with items like latke platters with sour cream and apple jam ($30); brisket dinner boxes with pastrami fried rice, veggie sides, and challah ($170); Rosh Hashanah honey cake ($30); and various Yom Kippur bagel platters ($60-$145). Offerings are available at most of the store’s locations. Place your Rosh Hashanah orders by Tuesday, September 12, and your Yom Kippur orders by Friday, September 22.
Founding Farmers
Multiple DC, Maryland, and Virginia locations
The Founding Farmers restaurant group has some of the most extensive Rosh Hashanah offerings in the city. There are a la carte heat-and-eat dishes sized for four like matzo ball soup, tzimmes, noodle kugel, and fig-orange glazed chicken. You can also order a set menu ($160-$180) or reserve a table for dine-in, where a special menu includes many of the same dishes, plus a challah basket with pomegranate-date jam. More information and ordering options are available online.
Mon Ami Gabi
7239 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda
This Gallic bistro turns Ashkenazi from 4:30 through 9 PM on Friday, September 15 and Saturday, September 16, doling out a prix fixe Rosh Hashanah spread from chef Andrew Fleischauer. For $59.95 per person ($29.95 for kids 12 and under), feast on challah with apples and honey; chopped liver; matzo ball soup; and a choice of brisket or seared salmon with potato pancakes, tzimmes, and kasha varnishkes. Reserve through OpenTable or preorder the meal for takeout by Tuesday, September 12 by calling the restaurant.
Parkway Deli
8317 Grubb Rd., Silver Spring
One of the area’s longest-running Jewish food institutions wouldn’t be a bad place to celebrate the High Holidays. Call 301-587-1427 to order its matzo ball soup, smoked fish with bagels, chopped liver, brisket dinner with gravy, honey cake, and challah.
Pastry Chef Alex Levin’s Pop Up Bakery
1926 14th St., NW; 2911 District Ave., Fairfax
For the fifth year in a row, pastry chef Alex Levin—who currently helms the dessert program at Alta Strada and Nama Ko—is making Jewish New Year desserts available for pickup and delivery. Levin’s baked goods are rich twists on classic sweets: honey challah, hazelnut-chocolate-crunch rugelach, and apple butter honey cake (an adaptation from his grandmother’s recipe). Place orders here and pick them up at Nama Ko on 14th Street or Alta Strada Mosaic in Fairfax— or opt for delivery anywhere inside the Beltway.
Sababa
3311 Connecticut Ave., NW
Chef Ryan Moore of the Cleveland Park modern Israeli eatery incorporates traditional ingredients into the restaurant’s offerings for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. From Friday, September 15 to Sunday, September 17, visit the restaurant from 5 PM to close for special dishes like roasted halloumi with apple marmalade and honey; golden beet and pomegranate salad;, and braised brisket with carrot-sweet potato-walnut tzimmes. Before sunset on the eve of Yom Kippur (Sunday, September 24) or after nightfall the next day, stop in for a break-fast with items like Israeli couscous salad with smoked trout and sumac-crusted Salmon ($28).
Silver & Sons Barbecue
11910 Parklawn Dr., Rockville
Chef Jarrad Silver’s Jewish-style barbecue truck is smoking special meals for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. With portions hefty enough to serve a crowd of three to four, highlights of the Rosh Hashanah menu include matzo ball soup by the quart; prime brisket with tomato stew; and roasted whole chicken. For Yom Kippur break-fast, Silver’s offerings include frozen potato and brisket bourekas which can be reheated at home. Order online now and pick up your meal at the Silver & Sons kitchen in Rockville.
Teddy & The Bully Bar
1200 19th St., NW
Theodore Roosevelt didn’t celebrate Rosh Hashanah, but this Teddy-themed bar offers an extensive traditional Rosh Hashanah takeout menu for $62 per person. Choose from first courses like beet tzimmes, matzoh ball soup, and house-made gefilte fish and move on to mains like brisket, smoked Virginia brook trout, and roast chicken with parsnip-potato kugel. Challah, apples, and honey are included with every order, which can be placed by email here.
