SEDER, celebrated tomorrow, is the ritual service and meal that starts the eight-day Jewish Passover festival, and the meal is best left to those who know what they're doing. For those who use restaurants as research facilities, that means turning to Bernard's New York Deli, which provides Seder-ready items year 'round. Enjoy a taste of
New York at Bernard’sSeder foods are symbolic of hardship -- bitter herbs, unleavened bread -- and redemption. Traditional fare might include homey chicken soup with knaidlach, better known as matzo balls ($2.95 cup/$3.95 bowl); the stuffing mixture kishke ($3.95); and gefilte fish. The latter -- an especially pungent Jewish version of fishcake, made with freshwater fish -- takes some getting used to, even for those of us who can eat ocean fish raw.
Proprietor Bernard Horowitz knows it's an acquired taste, "but those of us who grew up with it, we love it," he said, patting his tummy as if he could taste it.
The Manischewitz-brand gefilte fish ($3.99) is served with a light rye bread and a helping of horseradish that qualifies as one of the bitter herbs and helps to mask the fishy flavor.
While most of us can empathize with Seder observances once a year, let's face it, in Hawaii how many kids are you gonna meet who can tell you the difference between a kishke and a knish? The latter might be compared to a manapua, with meat or potato baked in pillowy pastry shaped into a square.
For most of us, Bernard's has always been about lox and bagels, luscious cheesecakes and deli sandwiches. A glance around the restaurant at noon reveals the No. 1 sandwich ingredient is pastrami, pastrami, pastrami. We're so predictable and that's good in a way. Given the economic pinch, restaurants are trying harder than ever to accommodate patrons' tastes. Bernard's is no exception. Horowitz has added rice to his menu for the first time in the eatery's 12-year history, spent first on King Street and Kahala Mall before his move to Ward Centre.
A $2.49 early bird special available 7 to 9 a.m. Mondays to Fridays features scrambled eggs plus your choice of ham or bacon, and rice or toast. It's a one-scoop size meal, but the rice is nice, with that familiar fluffy-sticky balance, as if Horowitz has been a closet rice eater all along.
Stick with foods you know on this menu and you probably won't be disappointed. It's a matter of culturally bred preferences and expectations. For instance, a European dinner ($9.99) of grilled bratwurst or bockwurst with German potato salad and red cabbage will delight a native New Yorker. But those of us weaned on plate lunches will find the sausage dinner somewhat meager.
On the other hand, cultural barriers dissipate when we can find common ground in Greek gyros ($5.99) and Italian subs ($6.99), as well as Bernard's original Philly cheesesteak ($8.99). Crusty French bread is packed with grilled steak, sauteed onions, bell peppers and melted Provolone. If you have an aversion to mayonnaise, warn them before they put together this massive sandwich. (A veggie version is a dollar less, and is one of several vegetarian sandwiches.)
And if you're planning a trip to the Big Apple, this is the place to get acclimated.
Hours: 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; to 7 p.m. Sundays
Prices: About $15 to $20 for two
Call: 594-DELI (3354)
<Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
-- excellent;
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