The Nice Jewish Boys Brunch Brings People Together Through Food
Chefs Moshe Karlin and Jordan Fleischer are serving traditional Jewish dishes they grew up eating but with a creative twist.
Moshe Karlin and Jordan Fleischer created the Nice Jewish Boys Brunch.
Two “nice Jewish boys” have teamed up to launch the Nice Jewish Boys Brunch. The monthly event will take place on Sunday, November 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Slow Rhode restaurant in Providence. The “two nice Jewish boys” are Moshe Karlin and Jordan Fleischer, two chefs who met while working at the Slow Rhode and have their Jewish heritage in common. Sous chef Karlin and cook Fleischer first shared their traditional Jewish snacks they made during downtime at work with staffers, and then they got the idea to host a popup brunch to highlight the foods they grew up eating with their families.
“We would mess around and make flatbreads or chicken soup. Things we grew up eating,” Fleischer says. “Everyone said this is amazing. We are not able to offer that type of food on the regular Slow Rhode menu, so we joked around and said, ‘Let’s see if we can start something with this, maybe one evening where we cook our type of food?’”
The idea evolved into a special popup brunch. Fleischer and Karlin were motivated by sharing their similar cultural backgrounds. Though times are tumultuous in the world, Karlin and Fleischer hope to bring people together through their food and educate about Jewish cuisine. “We are not trying to make a political or religious statement with this brunch,” Fleischer says. “We want to take the foods we see as forgotten or undesirable and turn them into things people are excited about and educate.”
Many of the traditional foods of Jewish cuisine are focused on preserved items that can last a long time. “Our families have been eating the same things for hundreds and thousands of years, so a lot of this is about the tradition of it for us,” Karlin adds, “and taking those foods we grew up eating, that our families have made for generations, and turning them into something new.”
They are putting a creative spin on Jewish dishes like whitefish salad, quiche, kugel and chicken and waffles. The kugel dish is an example of turning something common to Jewish families on its head. Their version will have a pumpkin base, comparative to pumpkin pie filling, with the noodles baked into the casserole, served on a bed of mole negro with pepita seed granola over the top. Fleischer says every family has its own version of kugel and sometimes it’s served hot and sometimes cold.
Fall kugel with pumpkin puree and pepita seeds.
“These Jewish dishes are seen as something you eat out of a deli container on your way to work. They get forgotten,” Fleischer says. “Using our backgrounds, we are making these dishes more approachable but exciting at the same time.”
Karlin came to the Slow Rhode after working at Chomp Kitchen and Drinks in Providence. He started out as a prep cook in high school and took on an internship at a restaurant called Marcel in Montclair, New Jersey, where he grew up. After that, he enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at Johnson & Wales University in Providence and started working events at Brown University. He spent time at Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia, then moved in with friends in Providence, which is when he started as a line cook at Chomp, two weeks after it opened. There, Karlin worked his way up to the sous chef role over a few years. He also spent a short stint at Bayberry Garden, until a new opportunity called.
Moshe Karlin.
“The Slow Rhode chef Alec Nadeau texted me and said you can be my sous chef and we can figure this thing out together. It felt like a good opportunity,” Karlin says.
Fleischer, who also graduated from Johnson & Wales, splits his kitchen time between the Slow Rhode and Broadway Bistro. He came to the team after working in fine dining for five years as a chef at Gracie’s, where he gained invaluable experience from chef Matthew Varga, who also taught him about foraging. “While at JWU, I started at Gracie’s as a weekend warrior. I was in classes everyday and my weekends were spent at Gracie’s,” he says. “Eventually, after graduating, I had fallen in love with Providence and with the restaurant. It was full steam ahead. I put blood, sweat and tears into that kitchen, and attribute all of my learning as a chef and young adult to Matt Varga.”
But soon he needed a change and connected with owner James Dean of the Slow Rhode through the owner of Gracie’s Ellen Gracyalny. The two restaurants are a good fit for him, and several times a week, he goes out foraging for mushrooms and brings them back, and his fungi finds are incorporated into dishes at the restaurants.
He and Karlin clicked right away, and are thrilled to team up for the Nice Jewish Boys Brunch. The name came to them when a fellow Jewish friend, Hannah Meharg, tried their chicken soup at the Slow Rhode. She ended up drawing an illustration of Karlin and Fleischer over a bowl of matzo ball soup, and said, “You two are nice Jewish boys,” handing them the drawing. That drawing became their logo and name, and now she’s their graphic designer.
The Nice Jewish Boys Brunch logo.
Hanna Meharg, Moshe Karlin and Jordan Fleischer.
Other dishes they are planning for their popup brunch include a la carte items like a Jewish surf and turf, with a smoked whitefish rillette, chicken liver mousse, red onion marmalade and matzo crackers. The lox toast involves Seven Stars sourdough spread with avocado puree, sliced lox, radishes, curly scallions and drizzled with everything bagel chili oil. The mushroom quiche will include Fleischer’s foraged maitakes on top and a savory dill whipped cream. Their take on chicken and waffles starts with a Cornish game hen that will be brined in pickle juice, cooked sous vide style and deep fried, which will be served on top of a potato latke waffle.
“We’re making latke batter and a waffle batter, and we’ll press it into a waffle iron,” Fleischer says. “Like a hash brown waffle. I remember a point in time when every video on the internet was people putting things in waffle makers.”
Lox served at the Nice Jewish Boys Brunch..
There are no reservations for the brunch. It’s walk-in service, but tends to sell out by 2 p.m. Each dish can be ordered a la carte or guests have the option to order the whole menu, served family-style.
“That ends up being a great option because we want everyone to try everything. Some plates are bigger; some are snack-size. That’s what Jewish cooking is about,” Fleischer says. “When we’re eating at home with our families, it’s not plated for the most part, it’s a modge podge, a pot luck, served aggressive buffet style.”
“Every holiday, you eat far too much and far too many things,” Karlin adds. “And then everyone is full and content.”
Sounds like a Sunday well spent.
425 W Fountain St., Providence, instagram.com/nicejewishboysbrunch
