A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Mamaleh’s is a great Jewish deli located in Kendall Square (from the same team that brought you State Park). They are closed Mondays and serve breakfast all day! I’ve been there twice and we actually catered my dad’s birthday party with Mamaleh’s.

So what is with the name? Mamaleh is a yiddish term of endearment for a young child.

What’s the food like? Well I brought my dad there, he’s from New York and is serious about his Jewish delis. He always grumbled that he could never find an egg cream soda anywhere (pictured bottom left). What’s an egg cream soda you ask? Well, there’s actually no egg or cream in it. It’s a beverage made of milk, carbonated water and chocolate syrup. My dad says that the reason why they were so good is because the seltzer came out of the soda fountain – you just can’t get that same consistency when you try and make it with bottled seltzer. The verdict. He liked it, complete with pretzel rod.

I had the Dr. Brown’s black cherry float with a chocolate scoop ($6) which was delicious (middle right) and I’m not really a chocolate ice cream kind of gal. Now, let’s get to the food. The matzah ball soup ($7.50). Delicious. Flavorful broth with carrots, celery and chicken. I grew up eating kasha varnishkes but these are totally different. Mamaleh’s makes the buckwheat with mushrooms and Brussels sprouts. The hot dog in a homemade bun did not disappoint. The potato latkes ($8.40) were delicious. Perfectly crisp on the outside, and served with sour cream and apple sauce (but I really only love them with apple sauce).

The hot pastrami (middle left) sandwich is what I dream about…it is hand sliced and served on marble rye with deli mustard (but hold the mustard for this girl). The cure, brine, smoke, roast, braise and steam all of their meats in house. You can taste the love. Can’t do a whole sandwich, you can order most of them as a half a cup of soup and a half sandwich.

Let’s talk sweets. You can grab some to go at their bakery – and everything is delicious. I love the glass case that spins the cakes around. The rugelach were my favorite, the raspberry walnut of course (but they also have chocolate). The black and white cookies were pretty tasty too, although I have to admit, I only like the “white” side.

They have a great website, make sure to check it out and maybe even learn a few yiddish words! They now offers these cute “welcome to the world, mamaleh” gifts which are such a cute idea. See them here. Head in to browse their gift shop for some super cute cards, shirts and bags!

Mamaleh’s

One Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA

www.mamalehs.com 

Tags: casual dining, deli, kendall square, restaurant, takeout