Passover starts on Monday and if you’re looking for a place to commemorate the occasion, there are plenty of delicious options. Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen is throwing three Seder dinners, one per night at 7 p.m., Monday through Wednesday March 10-12, at their 24th Street deli. The menu is a traditional with charoset, chopped liver and matzo, house made gefilte fish with bitter green salad, red wine brisket with potato kugel, and tzimmis chocolate. Co-founder Evan Bloom told Haute Living that “a big part of the Wise Sons’ origin story is when Leo and I began hosting Seder dinners during Passover—it’s a holiday and a concept that’s a strong part of our foundation. We have always said that the core of the Wise Sons mission is to build and support community through Jewish soul food and that’s so much of what Passover is about. No matter who you are, once you sit down at a Passover table, you’re no longer a stranger. It’s a holiday that helps us remember and build our community. Jews were refugees, we walked the desert for 40 years, and during Passover we tell that story—we dip the parsley in salt water, we taste the bitter herb in reverence and respect for those enslaved, and because in remembering we hope to prevent history repeating itself. Something that is especially important now.”
For the fifth year in a row Comal, in Berkeley is hosting two Mexican-inspired Seder dinners. On Monday, April 10 and Tuesday, April 11, executive chef Matt Gandin will serve up rock cod fish cakes with chipotle aioli, lamb barbacoa quesadillas, clado de pollo, and beef brisket in adobo. The dinners start at 6:30 p.m. and seating is limited to 22 people per night, so purchase tickets now.
Perbacco is hosting two dinners, one on Wednesday, April 12 and another on Thursday, April 26. Chef Joyce Goldstein will be joining Staffan Terje in the kitchen and the dinners will feature a special four-course menu inspired by Goldstein’s latest book, The New Mediterranean Jewish Table. Menu options include artichokes braised in citrus juice, Venetian sweet and sour sardines, leek soup with wild mushrooms, sea bass with rhubarb sauce, and roast chicken breast with apricots and tomatoes.
Smitten Ice Cream is offering a special Passover-inspired flavor called Not to Be Passed Over. The creamy mixture combines Wise Sons’s coconut macaroons with almond-scented ice cream that is topped with chocolate-covered matzo. It is available from April 10 to 17 at all of Smitten’s nine scoop shops.
