Zaftig From All That Trayfe

The appeal of Sunday brunch has always eluded me. On the morning that lends itself best to a leisurely start, why rush to a restaurant to wait for a table on the day when the main chefs are off? Nonetheless, the line at Zaftig's, the Jewish delicatessen in Brookline, was out the door this morning, spilling into Coolidge Corner as it always does. The appeal of Zaftig's has also always eluded me, partly because it's a Jewish deli that isn't kosher. Why lay on the schmaltz when you also include bacon on the menu, especially in a city like Boston and a place like Brookline, where on a regional level there's a high percentage of Jews and plenty more people willing to indulge in the pure experience, and on a local level the town has the metro area's highest concentration of observant Jews?

Fifteen minutes earlier in the Butcherie, the kosher butcher and grocery down the street, there was a woman shopping in an Ohio State sweatshirt (presumably celebrating last night's big basketball victory). This reminded me of Katzinger's, the Columbus deli that, like Zaftig's, recalls a kosher deli but also serves trayfe. Now, in Columbus, I understand this compromise: The general population is largely Christian and Jewish culture isn't very ingrained. To reach a wide audience and stay in business, the owners probably have to offer the option of prosciutto while serving pastrami and dill pickles, both of which are quite good there. But in Brookline, devoid of blond-haired Midwesterners and full of curt, anxious Northeasterners, you should be able to stay true to who you are. Integrity wins in the end.