When you think of great knishes, your mind’s eye probably wanders to the streets of NYC’s Lower East Side, right? Old-school, round knishes stuffed to the brim with potato and kasha. Or maybe you think of those equally New York-centric square knishes, sold from hot dog carts for $1, with a crispy outside and creamy potato-y inside.
But, do knishes make you think of Texas?
This Knish is Austin’s first knishery, founded and baked by Brooklyn-born Joel Weinbrot. While Austin has long been a culinary destination known for its barbecue. breakfast tacos and Tex-Mex, Weinbrot is hoping to add knishes and Jewish comfort food to the list of reasons to enjoy eating in the city. And This Knish isn’t just serving up classic knishes but they are doing it with a side of culture. Weinbrot has a Ph.D. in English and so he named his knishes after literary characters like the The Leopold Bloom (potato & caramelized onion) and The Puck (spinach & goat cheese) among others. The gorgeous, pastrami stuffed knish sandwich pictured has been dubbed The “Jewish” Leopold Bloom, which can also be served “Irish” with corned beef instead of pastrami.
A knish sandwich piled high with pastrami? That’s the kind of food journey I want to take. So, anyone up for a knish road trip?
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