Goldbergs' Famous Delicatessen

Deli specialists turn schleps into mavens

People who know “real” deli think there is a lack of it in the Puget Sound area. One man, Bill Goldberg, decided to make it his personal quest to bring traditional deli to Seattle. He grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, eating often at the Stage Deli, owned by another family named Goldberg (no relation), with his parents. Steve Goldberg's family had been in the deli business since 1962 serving a Jewish and contemporary deli menu. The Goldberg boys grew up and became friends while attending college. They stayed in touch even after Bill moved to Seattle. Consistently over the years, Bill pushed Steve to open a deli in Seattle. His dream turned to reality when Steve finally agreed.

Steve Goldberg

Goldbergs' Famous Delicatessen opened in 2005 in the Factoria Mall in Bellevue, not Seattle. Details, schmetails, it's all about deli here!  “One of the most significant challenges we faced in opening in this area,” says Steve, “was that our staff had no point of reference. Everyone had to be trained on deli from the ground up.” 

The lack of traditional deli information prompted Steve to put together a Deli Maven Seminar with his PR firm, Mintz Media and Williams & Partners. The idea was to create new deli mavens (those who are authorities on all things deli). Since we at Seattle DINING!  happened to be two of the educatees, we thought it would be nice to share our newfound knowledge with our readers. Here is some of what we learned about deli and its history. 

Both Eileen Mintz (deli maven) and Steve agree—Jewish holidays are all about food (not that the rest of the year isn't—“Eat, my darling, eat” as Eileen says). There are traditional dishes for each holiday. Dinner is the first meal after a fast; these meals are festive affairs with food choices that include everything from fish platters to dairy dishes. Jewish New Year specialty dishes often have stuffed cabbage rolls, brisket and noodle kugels to name a few. All are found at Goldbergs'. 

“The essence of deli is abundance and great variety,” says Steve. “More than half our menu is healthy and includes salads, veggie sandwiches, lower-fat items and broiled fish and chicken. There are a number of vegetarian items.” When people think deli, they often think high fat—salami, pastrami, corned beef, etc.—but there are many options and no trans-fats are used. They also have half sandwiches on the menu. As the Goldbergs' experts say “if you're really concerned, get the real thing and skip dessert!”  

When it comes to kosher vs. non-kosher, Steve explains “There are two major food limitations in the Torah. One is that you should not eat shellfish. The other is that you shouldn't eat kid boiled in its mother's milk. Some rabbis say any milk.” When you buy kosher food, you know that the producer has been approved and meets all the official guidelines. “Goldbergs' isn't kosher, but we offer Jewish food delicacies, something for everyone,” says Steve. 

Much like slicing fish for sushi, slicing salmon for lox is an art. If someone is truly an expert, they can make $100,000 per year. Normally, Atlantic salmon is used and it does slice more easily. However, in the Northwest people expect King salmon and the flavor is actually superior, so that is what Goldbergs' uses. They only use the belly because it is the most tender and flavorful part of the fish. This wild salmon is line-caught in Alaska and has more marbling which accounts for the increase in flavor. Smoking is actually done in New York where Steve feels the experts are. 

“Jewish penicillin” (chicken/matzo ball soup) does seem to make you feel better and it's very traditional and symbolic. Matzo balls are made from a Jewish matzo cracker, eggs, oil and water then cooked in boiling water and added into the hot soup. The round shape symbolizes the circle of life and is served all year, but is especially meaningful at holiday meals. Goldbergs' soup also contains kreplach, a triangular-shaped dumpling—the “Jewish ravioli.” It is filled with roasted brisket, onions and spices and simmered until tender. Or you can pan fry kreplach and serve them with brown gravy or spicy honey mustard. Traditionally, kreplach are part of the spring celebration of Purim and the evening meal before Yom Kippur. 

Purim is often spoken of as the “Jewish Halloween” because people dress up. Gifts are exchanged as well. In Jewish lore/history, there is a bad guy named Haman, who wears a triangle-shaped hat, so you will find triangle-shaped pastries (Hamantashen) offered. 

Historically, chopped liver has been an appetizer or side dish, never front and center, which explains the saying, “What am I, chopped liver?” Goldbergs' makes it with fresh chicken livers, caramelized Spanish onions, hard boiled eggs and seasonings (surely a trade secret). They serve it on a sandwich with hot corned beef and Russian dressing or during Passover, on matzo crackers.  Their signature bread, seedless Stage rye, is made to their specifications and half-baked. It is then sent from Detroit to Goldbergs', where it is baked the rest of the way for a fresh-baked taste. 

Harvest time in the fall means something special—cabbage rolls! Cabbage leaves are stuffed with seasoned ground beef and rice then simmered in a sweet/sour tomato sauce. “Most cooks make these the day before they are served,” says Eileen. “This is one dish that tastes even better the next day.” 

Chanukah is the festival lights celebrating the miracle of oil—not oil itself, but the fact that one night's oil lasted eight nights. It is a high-indulgence holiday that spotlights potato latkes, made from ground potatoes and mixed with eggs and flour, then dropped into hot oil and fried. Add a little sour cream and apple sauce and you're set.

Goldbergs' cabbage rolls.

“Because we want the deli experience in Seattle to be the real thing,” says Steve, “we bring some items in from traditional sources. For instance, our pastrami comes from New York. It is lean, but has enough fat to make it juicy and tender. Our corned beef comes from Michigan where it is brined and flavored. Then we boil it for 4-1/2 hours until it is fork tender and melts in your mouth.” Corned beef and pastrami are both brisket, but pastrami is covered with cracked black peppercorns and then smoked for a spicier flavor. 

As with salmon, there's also an art to slicing beef, especially for sandwiches. In fact, the sandwich can be an art form itself. “You want each bite of a sandwich to taste the same,” explains Steve. “There's fine detail in the simplest of sandwiches. The bread needs to be cooled slightly before being sliced. The angle of the knife on the bread is important. Ingredients need to be put on in a certain order and it does matter where the condiments go.” Although this sounds like someone has too much time on their hands, the truth is that the location of taste buds in our mouths determines what we taste.  If you're looking for flavor consistency, the order of things becomes important. 

Although there is more education needed to become true deli mavens, Goldbergs' has given us a good start. Perhaps they'll start some in-house classes where beginners can be exposed to these wonderful dishes and advanced deli-goers can brush up on dishes they haven't had in some time. It's a great idea—tell them you read it on Seattle DINING!

Fall 2005