Where to find Rosh Hashanah foods in Seattle

This year, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, comes extremely early due to the way the Jewish calendar works – starting with sunset on September 6th.

The date of this first of the High Holidays already caused a snafu at the Seattle Public Schools, which had to revise the calendar announced last winter to postpone the first day of kindergarten after the end of the holidays. Now, the date presents restaurants that usually offer special dinner menus with difficult decisions, especially now when there are not enough staff: The holiday begins on a Monday evening when many restaurants are closed.

But Seattle’s Jewish restaurants and delis each found their own way of offering their customers the traditional breads, cakes, and holiday foods, and worked to find a manageable schedule for their team.

If you are looking for a round challah, honey cake or Kreplach this year, you will find it here.

Dingfelders delicatessen

Since this Capitol Hill deli is usually open on Mondays, this year it’s a prime place to get a full meal plan for the holidays. They have an entire High Holiday menu that can be ordered à la carte. Rosh Hashanah’s menu includes staples like a round challah (raisins, poppy seeds, or simple) as well as a variety of soups, scoops, and main dishes like slow-roasted breast and whole toasted kosher pomegranate honey za’atar chicken. (And if you plan ahead, the Break the Fast menu and platters are there too.)

Zylberschteins delicatessen and bakery

If you’d like someone else to do all of the work, including menu planning, this North Seattle deli is the only game in town. While there are a variety of menu options most years, this is the only one this year – thankfully, it’s a great one. For $ 28.75 per person, the meal includes a slow-cooked brisket with tomato and onion (or a vegetarian jackfruit option), fingerling potatoes, a toasted pumpkin medley with garlic, and a seasonal apple pie. There is also the option of adding a Crown Challah, Tzimmes, Sweet Kugel, Soups, Rugelach or a break-apart Rugelach cake.

Dacha Diner

Since Rosh Hashanah starts and ends while this little Eastern European Jewish grocery store is closed, they have their frozen Kreplach, which they make from scratch, on the menu all week before the holidays. They include the cooking instructions with the meal (and online) and say they are a breeze at home – just let it cook for about five minutes. They also have their usual staples that make excellent holiday meals, including matzoh ball soup. (By Yom Kippur, they plan to offer hot, ready-to-eat beef holishkes – although they are closed on the holiday itself.)

“Latke’s” potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce

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Schmaltzy’s Deli

The bad news is that due to the low workforce and booming business, Schmaltzy couldn’t open one day of the week to offer a dinner set, as it did last year. The good news is that they are offering their round challahs and honey cakes for pre-order if you have a box by 7th and lox in a box options 48 hours in advance if you want to add some refinement to your meal.

Stritzel

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Grateful bread

Many of the common places to grab a challah on a Friday aren’t open on Monday, and Labor Day holiday throws an extra wrench into the plans. But Wedgwoods Grateful Bread has rearranged it and kept its normal opening hours instead of shorter holidays in order to stay open for its loyal community to pick up the challah they offer. The Challah requires reservations at least 48 hours in advance – that is, order by Saturday – but this year they are also offering free delivery to northeast Seattle to keep people safe.