Chutzpah

Following mouthwatering tips from users of the Roadfood.com forums, we took an hour out of our schedule in Washington for lunch at Chutzpah. Located at the far end of a Fairfax shopping center, it is a modest-size storefront with an immodest personality. Billing itself as a REAL New York deli, it features gigantic sandwiches, smoked fish platters, bagel plates, hot or cold borscht, and a full repertoire of Dr. Brown’s sodas.

We started with a bowl of matzoh ball chicken noodle soup, which was as homey as can be; and of course I devoured the sour and half-sour pickles that are presented to the table with a bowl of good cole slaw. Jane went for wiener schnitzel, a big, thick slab of juicy meat in an envelope of crunchy, dark brown crust. It is served with lemon wedges and a large side dish of serious meaty gravy. We both thought the gravy superfluous; but the latke (potato pancake) on the side was excellent. I had a hard time choosing from among the pastrami sandwich (which is annotated on the menu with the advice, “Please don’t embarrass yourself and ask for mayonnaise”), hot brisket, chopped liver and a white fish salad platter. So I went for a Reuben, which is an extremely unwieldy heap of steamy corned beef, sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese and Russian dressing between two crisp-grilled slabs of rye bread. It comes with thick-cut steak fries and it is delicious!

High on the list of must-try dishes for the future are matzoh brei, blintzes, corned beef hash, chicken in the pot with matzoh ball and kreplach, and noodle kugel. We walked out with a nice black and white cookie, forgoing the seven-layer cake, carrot cake, and genuine New York cheesecake.