DGS Delicatessen: A little taste of the Lower East Side

Pin It Now!

Growing up, Sunday brunch had little to do with eggs benedict or huevos rancheros. As a multi-generational New York Jewish family, brunch in my house was called "Appetizing" and it consisted of bagels, cheeses, different smoked fish, and salads. Despite the fact that DC has the sixth largest Jewish community in the country, we really have not had a place to go to get a good Jewish meal. Needless to say, I was so excited when DGS - a proper Jewish deli - came to Washington! 

DGS Delicatessen opened its doors in November 2012, and I have already been twice -- first for lunch with colleagues and most recently for brunch with my Mom.

Knew it was a match when I saw the Fizzy Lizzy Sodas! 

A couple of points to start. First, be prepared to wait. The first time I showed up for lunch we had to leave because the wait was over an hour. The second time I came prepared with a lunch reservation. DGS doesn't take brunch reservations (I'm really not sure why) and we waited about an hour for a table. Insider tip: If you decide to wait for brunch, walk around the corner to the Tabbard Inn, order yourself a mimosa or a bloody mary and hang out in the living room until DGS calls your cell). Second, although this post is about brunch, I liked the lunch options a lot better. Third, this isn't entirely a "traditional" Jewish deli experience.  Although the menu lists pretty typical items, they each have a slightly unique or modern spin - i.e. the bagel and lox I had for lunch was served with labneh instead of cream cheese. It was absolutely delicious, and I will be going back for it soon! Really hoping DGS starts offering take-out so I can grab this for lunch and head back to work.

For brunch, I was SO excited to see shakshouka on the menu.  Shakshouka is a Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in a tomato sauce, and traditionally served with pita or other bread to soak up the sauce. Like hummus, both Arabs and Israelis claim proprietary rights over the dish, but all I care about is how tasty it is! I really liked DGS's preparation of this dish, but thought it could definitely benefit from a little doctoring up. Since this is the only place to get shakshouka in DC (that I know of), I am hesitant to criticize it, but hopefully someone at DGS will read this and agree that the shakshouka could be even better.  Generally speaking, I am the last person in the world to ask for anything spicier, but I really felt that this dish could have benefited from a little heat and a little more salt. In Israel, my shakshouka was served with fresh crumbled feta on top. This version was topped with flat leaf parsley and a dollop of sour cream. Although I was a little disappointed that the DGS version didn't have any cheese, I still ate up the entire skillet! 

My mom ordered the challah french toast. After seeing it served at a nearby table, she requested that the chef go light on the powdered sugar as the other diner's dish was completely doused.  Although not the best french toast she has ever had (that award goes to the brie-stuffed french toast at the Carriage House in Ithaca, NY), she liked the light and fluffy consistency of this dish. It was topped with slivered almonds and fresh berries, and made for a sweet and filling meal. We both thought the dish was tasty, but nothing particularly unique. Because you can get french toast everywhere, I recommend going for one of the more interesting options on the menu. 

Ultimately, I am so happy to see a Jewish Deli in DC and am inspired by their modern twist on traditional Jewish dishes. My recommendation would be to make a reservation and go for lunch, rather than wait an hour for brunch.

It's a Challah-Day!

Pin It Now!

I never imagined I would be the type to bake bread. And honestly, after this endeavor, it is going to be a long time before I do it again.  Let's consider it an ambitious start to the new year. The ingredients to make this challah are basic, and the process is straightforward. But mixing the dough is the easy part; then you have babysit the dough ALL day.  Although the total time to make this is about 4 hours, you cannot just make the dough and leave it to rise. This challah recipe requires 3 separate rounds of letting the dough rise.  After all that babysitting, was it the challah of my dreams? Truthfully, no. 

The middle section of the loaf is fantastic- crisp on the outside, doughy and flavorful on the inside. The ends of the loaf, however, were a little dry.  But, I cannot blame the recipe. This challah recipe got 4 out of 4 forks on Epicurious. So what can I do to live up to the ratings? I open the floor to suggestions: Did the fact that I used a hand mixer instead of a standing mixer with a dough hook make a difference? Would a round loaf have better retained the moisture? Could the digital thermometer outside my oven be inaccurate?  Would practice make perfect?

If you are an avid baker or try this recipe out and have different results, please leave us some tips!

First you want to make the yeast. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup mix together:

½ cup plus ⅔ cup of warm water

2 tablespoons of dry yeast

1 tablespoon plus ¾ cup of white sugar

Let this yeasty mixture sit for 10 minutes – until it gets foamy.  It will start to smell like bread already!

While the yeast is doing its thing, in a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together 5 large eggs. 

  

Then add in:

¾ cup of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of salt

¾ cup of white sugar

Take an electric hand mixer and blend mixture until it is a light yellow color and becomes thickened. It took me about 3 minutes. Then add in:

2/3 cup of warm water

Foamy yeast mixture

Using the electric hand mixer, mix it all up until it is fully incorporated. Then, in a separate bowl, measure out 7 ½ cups of all purpose white flour. At my mom’s suggestion, I measured this first so I wouldn’t add the wrong amount later.  She knows how bad I am at math.

Then, 1 cup at a time, add the flour to the egg mixture and blend together. Once it is fully blended, add the next cup. You’ll see the consistency of the dough change quickly. It not only gets thicker but also very elastic.

I had some issues with the dough crawling up the hand mixer. It got a little out of control. Perhaps this was the dryness culprit?

Once all of the flour is mixed in, put the whole ball of dough onto a clean and floured surface and knead it for two minutes.

Here is where the babysitting starts. Take another clean bowl and lightly oil it. Then put the ball of dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and then a clean kitchen towel. The dough needs to rise for 1 hour. After an hour it will have doubled in size. Punch it back down, cover it up, and let it rise for another half an hour.

Next, put the dough onto a clean and floured surface. Now you get to make the braids! Split the dough into two even pieces. Then split each of those into three separate pieces. SURPRISE! You get two loaves of challah out of this recipe. 

Roll each of the small balls into long cylinders. Because of the elasticity in the dough, they don’t get very long- maybe 8 or 9 inches.

Now take out 2 cookie sheets and coat them with cooking spray. Then place three of the dough cylinders onto each tray, and braid them together. Pinch the ends so it all sticks together.   Seems like we are almost done, right? Wrong! There is still more babysitting to do! Take two clean towels and cover each challah. Let the loaves rise until they double in size, which should take about 30 minutes.

 

While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then take an egg, separate the white from the yolk and discard the whites. Then mix 1 tablespoon of water with the yolk. Once the loaves have risen, take a pastry brush and coat the outside of each loaf with a thin layer of the yolk mixture. Finally, you are ready to bake!

But don’t go too far.  After the loaves have been in the oven for 10 minutes, turn the temperature down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Epicurious recommends 35 more minutes or until the loaves are “golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on bottom.” I do not recommend walking away for 35 minutes. Our loaves were golden brown in about 28 minutes. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn.

Once your loaves are out of the oven, let them cool off before you slice them! If you can’t eat both loaves right away, you can wrap the other in plastic to store or freeze for a rainy day.

Stay tuned for my Challah French Toast recipe!