Vancouver World Tour > Middle East > Israel
I wrote this for a Museum of Vancouver exhibit (on ethnic bread) that never came to be, but I thought I may as well include it in the Vancouver World Tour.
Walking into Solly’s Bagelry and Deli on a rainy day is tantamount to pressing the Comfort Overdrive button on some kind of sensory device. Filled throughout the day with the smells of baking bread (first challah and rye loaves, then regular rounds of bagels) as well as matzo ball soup, it smells like you expect your grandmother’s house should, even if your grandmother isn’t Jewish. It’s busy in a cozy, friendly way and the windows steam up when it’s wet out – for increased comfort. It’s the kind of New York style deli that makes you want to linger and eat the paper while you linger over lunch – a bagel sandwich or pastrami on rye with pickles and soup. Various counters and cases display all sorts of Jewish nosh including knishes, rugelach, cinnamon buns, chocolate babkas, latkes, and bagels and schmear galore. The ubiquitous pot of matzo ball soup simmers on the stove.
Challah is very similar to brioche, glazed with egg to make it shine and so soft to sink your teeth into. But unlike French egg bread, it can also come covered in sesame seeds or poppy seeds for extra decoration and flavour. At Solly’s the challah is available in sesame, poppy and plain, but also in multiple sizes (including one enormous wedding-size, about a metre long) and in French toast format. Sweet egg bread cooked in egg with syrup on top? That’s a decadent tradition I can get behind.
Tradition-wise, the Oxford Companion to Food tells us that, “two loaves are served at each of the three Sabbath meals, as a remembrance of the double portion of manna which fell for the Israelites in the wilderness to provide food both for the sixth day and for the succeeding Sabbath day.” While they were wandering in the desert for forty years after leaving Egypt, manna fell from the heavens as a gift from God. It didn’t fall on the Sabbath or holidays, thought, so an extra loaf fell the day before. This manna was apparently sweet to the taste – as is the challah – and being braided represents two loaves in one.
Within this realm of comfort, Challah is perhaps less recognized than say, matzo or knishes, but it is nonetheless a traditional, culturally important bread. It’s a braided egg bread sweetened with honey and, plucked off the shelves relatively soon after baking, can be a delicate, pillowy-soft treat.
–
Solly’s Bagelry and Deli
2873 W Broadway, Vancouver
368 W 7th Ave., Vancouver
189 E 28th Ave., Vancouver
Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don't miss a single bite.
