Of all the cuisines out there, Jewish delicatessen food is perhaps the least likely to win accolades for innovation. Sure, there have been forays into creativity on the deli front — pastrami-braised collard greens here, matzo ball ramen there. But stray too far from the classics, and odds are the local bubbes and zeides (that’s “grandmothers” and “grandfathers” to non-Yiddish speakers) will voice their displeasure — oy vey — loud and clear.
That’s initially what happened to Aaron Steingold when he and his wife, Elizabeth Abowd, opened Steingold’s in North Center five years ago with a menu that featured traditional deli items, as well as some that weren’t — a hot-smoked pastrami burnt end sandwich with anchovy mustard and kimchi, perhaps?
“When I first started, everyone thought I was nuts,” says Virginia-born, North Carolina-raised Steingold, who has been in the restaurant business since he was 15, including stints at Table 52 and Charlie Trotter’s. “It was the food I always really wanted in Chicago but didn’t think the options were there to meet my desires.”
While he got some great feedback on their New York-style bagels, and house-cured pastrami and lox, he also received some not-so-great comments regarding liberties taken with traditional Jewish food stuff, his frequently used hashtag #traditionisoverrated notwithstanding.
But that didn’t deter Steingold. “I don’t pay too much attention to what other people think or say for the most part,” he says. “Or at least I try not to.”
That mindset remains alive and well with Steingold’s bagel of the month campaign. The promotion features some very untraditional bagel and cream cheese pairings, with the bulk of the proceeds going to a different charity each month.
“It’s always been part of our mission that we wanted to raise money for causes we believe in,” Steingold says. “But as a struggling small business, we didn’t have much opportunity to do that.”
That changed in January with their first bagel of the month, a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto bagel paired with zesty ranch cream cheese. Available in limited quantities only on the weekends, the special bagel, as with most of the others that followed, sold out. For this first one, about $1,000 was raised for Assata’s Daughters, with similar amounts for subsequent bagel of the month charities such as Chicago Abortion Fund and Illinois Poor People’s Campaign.
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“We love snacks, and we love stoner snacks,” Steingold says of the inspiration for the unique bagel flavors. “(Flamin’ Cheetos) wasn’t my favorite, but it was a huge hit and definitely fit the vibe of our kitchen and clientele.”
Since then, Steingold’s bagels of the month have featured Fruity Pebbles with coconut lime cream cheese; Funyuns with French onion cream cheese; french fry Frosty with chocolate malt cream cheese (the wonderfully weird Wendy’s tribute was a personal favorite of Steingold’s), and blueberry buttermilk pancake with lemon ricotta cream cheese. June’s take riffed on the flavors of tomato soup and grilled cheese.
And for July? Peach cobbler.
Innovative bagel flavors aren’t new to Steingold, who has previously featured Mexican hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, bulgogi-spiced, and green chive, a natural for St. Patrick’s Day. For Easter, Steingold’s offered bunny-shaped Peeps bagels, flavored with marshmallow fluff and sprinkled with pastel-colored candy sugar.
An ongoing collaboration with local spice purveyor Epic Spices inspired The Chesapeake Baygel as well as the za’atar bagel, the latter of which’s popularity led to it earning a permanent spot on the menu.
One you won’t see make an appearance anytime soon, however, is the Oaxacan bagel Steingold tinkered with a few years back. “I love mezcal, and with a classic mezcal service you get little dried grasshoppers on the side as a snack,” he says. “We tried to apply the grasshoppers to the bagel, but that one never quite got off the ground.”
The bagel of the month isn’t the only new thing going on at Steingold’s, which moved to its current larger Southport location a year ago, allowing it to up retail and wholesale bagel production to 10,000 per week.
Steingold’s recently partnered with Lincoln Square’s L&M Fine Foods to open a smaller version of its boutique gourmet grocer in the space next door, which Steingold leased a while back in hopes of opening a neighborhood market. “Their tastes align with mine,” he says of the collaboration.
Dubbed Steingold’s Collective, the mini food hall of sorts features a shared dining area where customers can eat at communal tables after grabbing items from either vendor. A curated selection of beer, wine and cocktails is available too.
Look for plants for sale from Steingold’s green-thumbed landlord, as well as Arlo’s Dog Treats from beloved local chef and restaurateur Sari Worsham (mfk), who also happens to be the new director of operations at Steingold’s.
The bagel of the month campaign is just the beginning of their community-focused programming, says Steingold, who dreams of doing a bagel- or Jewish food-focused fest in the near future.
“There’s always a line you can’t go over, but when it comes to raising money for causes, it’s important to stand your ground, especially in Chicago where we are a voice for progressives for the whole country in a lot of ways,” he says. “Not that a bagel shop is going to change the world too much, but we can try.”
3737 N. Southport Ave., 773-661-2469, steingoldsdeli.com
Lisa Shames is a freelance writer.
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