The Jerusalem takeway round-up: Preferred catering options for Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah

I really love my job. 

In the latest food roundup article I was assigned for In Jerusalem, I didn’t have to ask which specific type of dish I should focus on. No, I was given the task of looking into something bigger than restaurants: caterers. 

And not just any kind, but the ones that specifically deliver ready-made meals ahead of Shabbat and other Jewish holidays. 

Full disclosure, I’ve used them before, and they are worth it. Being a journalist, I often work hard on Fridays and am too tired to cook. Luckily, with catering or takeout places like these, I don’t have to. That way, I can have amazing food for Shabbat and really get the most out of the Day of Rest. 

So when I was told that I would get to sample a few of these businesses, all I could think was, “Terrific! Now I won’t have to cook for Shabbat.” 

Sadly, I didn’t have the luxury of obtaining food from as many of these vendors as I would have liked. Catering can be costly, and we don’t have the budget to order from seven different places. 

So instead, I had to settle with three. My first choice was a no-brainer: Cholent Bar. That is because when I need to order food for Shabbat, that is where I normally turn. It also served as a very good baseline to compare the other two places.

After surveying Jerusalemites and personal acquaintances in the Katamon area, I selected Prohibition Pickle and Kinamon Catering. With that out of the way, I went online, ordered food, and invited some friends over for an incredible Shabbat meal. 

The goal of this article was to do a roundup rather than an outright review, though I will still be reviewing the food, even if not outright ranking them against each other. This isn’t a competition but rather a way to keep our readers informed of culinary options in Jerusalem.

Spoiler alert: All three places were excellent, and you would not be making a mistake ordering from any of them for your Shabbat or holiday meals.

Kinamon Catering

Based in Talpiot, Kinamon Catering has been serving Jerusalemites for around 20 years, whether it’s for big events or for Shabbat meals. If you have a wedding or a bar mitzvah and you require catering, Kinamon is a terrific option. But if you simply need a Shabbat meal delivered to your door, well, Kinamon has you covered as well. 

Kinamon is equipped with a rotating Shabbat menu as part of its unique Shabbat-in-a-Box catering option. 

And the menu is nothing to scoff at. For starters, it’s very diverse and inclusive, featuring a number of options for those whose diets are gluten-free, sugar-free, or vegan. As someone with friends and family who are vegans, have gluten sensitivities, or are diabetics, that’s a huge plus. 

But what makes it even better is that the food is really good, too. 

The menu is derived from a blend of culinary influences, ranging from the US to Latin America to the Middle East and more. 

For our meal, we selected the fan-favorite fried chicken option, some kugels, and the pulled brisket. 

I am going to be completely honest – the fried chicken did not live up to expectations – at least not at first. It was a bit undercooked, but it did serve as amazing leftovers, especially when reheated for a couple minutes in the microwave after Shabbat. 

The pulled brisket, though, was phenomenal. The beef practically melted in my mouth, and the sauce gave it a flavor that was unmatched. Indeed, in terms of all the dishes we sampled, Kinamon’s pulled brisket was by far the best tasting. It worked perfectly in sandwiches, too. And – as is always important when big Shabbat meals are concerned – it was still great a couple of days later. 

Kinamon has special menus for holidays, and you won’t be disappointed ordering from there.

Kinamon has plans to expand, including options for dairy catering. I’m excited to see what it has in store.

www.kinamon.co

Prohibition Pickle

With a name like Prohibition Pickle, who wouldn’t want to order from there?

In all honesty, me. Full disclosure – and this may infuriate many readers (including In Jerusalem editor Erica Schachne, who “would do just about anything for an authentic half-sour”) – I personally loathe pickles. I think they taste vile and are just a waste of perfectly good cucumbers. 

But despite my supposedly “fringe” or “blasphemous” (Erica’s language again) views on pickles, almost everyone else I know and am related to loves them, lauding them as a classic staple of Ashkenazi cooking. 

And that’s part of the business’s idea. 

According to chef and owner Chaim Davis, Prohibition Pickle got started in early 2020 by accident. He had made aliyah as a single man 10 years earlier and got involved in different food options before getting his start at Beer Bazaar. But a love of working with cured foods, and the desire to do this while finding a heimishe alternative to European charcuterie, led to this. 

Originally, the place was called Shtiebel Market, but after getting in touch with the owners of Café Rimon and beginning to look for leases, COVID hit. Stores closed down, and no one was about to open a new restaurant or deli. 

The world shifted to delivery, and Davis decided to do the same, starting a business from home that focused on pickling in order to leave less of a messy footprint in his house. The name “Prohibition” was meant to reference the prohibition and bootlegging of alcohol in the US, since COVID put restrictions on restaurants, similar to the Prohibition of the 1920s and ’30s.

The business grew, and Davis was able to rent proper premises, as well as secure loans and investors. Now he’s situated in Gush Etzion, offering a full menu, though he still services Jerusalem and other locations in the country. Once the holiday season ends, he plans to open a delicatessen and takeout establishment in Jerusalem.

So, with an incredible story like that, and with the shared love most other Jews seem to have for pickles, I had no choice.

Luckily, Prohibition Pickle has must more than just pickles – though, of course, I did have to order pickles. 

But what else I got were some other classics: chicken poppers, hot-smoked salmon filet, garlic confit, and roasted vegetables. 

Poppers have always been a beloved food for me – sweet and spicy bites of chicken that bring back waves of childhood nostalgia and a satisfying dish in its own right – something my dining companions and I agreed on. 

The roasted vegetables and garlic confit were both great as well, with the garlic going well on everything from salads to sandwiches, and the vegetables being a universal side dish with no bad pairings. 

But the main event for me and my companions was the salmon. The smokiness greatly accentuated the flavor of the fish itself, which was cooked to perfection. And in terms of cost (NIS 150), it was much less expensive than what I would have expected for a catered dish this good. 

I probably will always hate pickles. But if Davis tells me he can change my mind, I just might believe him. His food’s quality has earned my trust in that respect. 

prohibitionpickle.co.il

Cholent Bar

Kinamon and Prohibition Pickle were great, no question about that. But I am so used to the Cholent Bar, that it has often become my go-to Shabbat safe food.

Compared to the other two businesses, Cholent Bar is rather unique. Both Kinamon and Prohibition Pickle have deadlines by when you can order food, usually by Wednesday, so orders can arrive in time for Shabbat. But Cholent Bar takes the opposite approach. It is They only open on Thursdays, so you can order food even just hours before Shabbat starts. 

That is a level of convenience that few can match, and even if the quality isn’t as good as Kinamon’s or Prohibition Pickle’s, it’s far from bad. 

For dinner, we ordered our usual chicken pargiyot and rice side dish, alongside challah and kubbeh. 

It’s nothing fancy. But it is still great for what it is: affordable Shabbat meal essentials delivered to your door even on Fridays. If you’re too tired to cook, or if the only meal you need is for just one or two people, Cholent Bar is perfect –  and yes, you can order via Wolt.

Interestingly, the Katamon-based Cholent Bar got its start not to necessarily break into the catering business but to fill in a different niche: the fact that there were not enough places selling cholent nearby. 

“I loved going out to eat cholent at different places, and I wanted to offer it in our part of the city,” owner Robin Goeta told The Jerusalem Post in 2022. “In the beginning, I bought everything from caterers, but then a group of Belz Hassidim taught me how to make excellent cholent myself.”

The cholent is excellent. And considering how busy my Fridays are, Cholent Bar is definitely a place I’ll be ordering from soon, yet again.

beteavone.com/menu/cholent-bar     ■

Other catering options in Jerusalem

Jerusalem has no shortage of other catering services in the area. Here’s a look at a few of them:

• Goldy’s: This huge bakery and massive catering business proudly wears its haredi (ultra-Orthodox) roots on its sleeve. Located in the Ezrat Torah neighborhood, it boasts having the strict Eidas Haredi kosher certification. Goldy’s has a huge variety of culinary options, from individual dishes to packages, including everything from meat and sushi to dessert. And if you need to order some reading material for Shabbat, Goldy’s can deliver – so long as the publication is something like Hamodiah or Mishpacha Magazine.
• Baked by Judith: This business is a bit different in that it’s a bakery that you need to order from in advance, but it still deserves special mention. Made by self-taught baker Judith Meller and located in the Mahaneh Yehuda market, Baked by Judith specializes in exclusively gluten-free baked goods. From challah and rolls to cookies and cakes, it is a terrific ordering option for those with gluten sensitivities who need a safe food haven.
• Pasha: Founded by Nissim “Pasha” Gazit in Jerusalem, this massive food complex is an institution where customers can come six days a week and buy ready-made takeaway meals. Its success and longevity speak for themselves, and its other related businesses of event catering and food production are enjoyed nationwide. If you live in Jerusalem, chances are you’ve already gone to Pasha or have eaten its food and never realized it.

Rosh Hashanah symbolism

Rosh Hashanah has lots of traditional food to eat and enjoy. From round challah to classics like brisket and chicken, there is no shortage of amazing traditional dishes to enjoy.

But the Jewish New Year also has the classic simanim (symbolic foods) that many Jews eat every year. And I personally love them because, at the end of the day, simanim are all very... punny.

Here’s a list of some, including some that I’ve adopted/made up myself over the years.

Traditional

• Apple and honey – may a sweet New Year “apply” to you.
• Pomegranate – a year filled with good things, as pomegranates are filled with seeds.
• Carrots (gezer in Hebrew; mern in Yiddish) – for good decrees (g’zar) and to ask for more (mer).
• Beets (selek) – may our enemies “beat” it (yistalku), as in leave!
• Dates (tamar) – may our enemies have a date with destruction (yitamu).
• Fish/sheep head – so the New Year may be like the head and not the tail. Or, as I put it, to get a head start this Rosh Hashanah.
• Leek (karti) – may our enemies “leak” out: be decimated (yikr’tu).

Novel

• Rock candy – have a rocking New Year!
• Peanut butter – may the New Year be better, and smooth like butter!
• Ice cream – may you have a chill and sweet 5785.
• Grapes – the New Year doesn’t just sound great, it sounds grape! And may the challenges that we grapple with be easily overcome.
• Lettuce leaf half; raisins and celery – “Let us have a raise in salary!”
• Canned tuna – so you “can” have a good year, and hopefully sing a new tune – and in tune!
• Sprouts – so your New Year will sprout with freshness and life.
• Bananas – have an a-peel-ing New Year!

Nathan Rothstein contributed to these puns