If you are strolling through Coolidge Corner, either visiting John F. Kennedy's birthplace or shopping in one of the quaint shops in Brookline, Zaftig's Delicatessen is the perfect place to stop for some food. Situated at the Coolidge Corner stop on the Green Line, Zaftig's is about an hour away from Tufts' campus, but the lengthy trip is well worth it thanks to the amazing food at this well known delicatessen.
Zaftig's creates unique dishes that mix traditional Jewish cuisine with more common American cooking techniques and ingredients. As soon as you enter the tiny restaurant, a babble of voices immediately surrounds you. Vibrant paintings by Daniel O'Connor hang on the walls, enhancing the cozy atmosphere that endears itself to your eyes and ears.
Zaftig's Delicatessen serves an almost endless variety of breakfast dishes, mostly ranging from $7?12, great prices given the quality and quantity of food.
Customers can also choose from a wide range of sandwiches and entrees fairly priced between $12 and $15 each. For people interested in Jewish cuisine, just have some small appetizers and side dishes with the meal and taste the various flavors of Jewish cuisine. The mixed pickle plate with an assortment of pickled cucumbers and tomatoes is a great introduction to Jewish food, as are their kasha varnishka, some of their delicious knishes and matzo ball soup.
The entrees offer you a huge variety of choices, from baked meatloaf and kasha to salmon burgers and falafel. For healthier fare, try the fresh salad with smoked salmon. A meal at Zaftig's is a complete sample of Jewish?style cuisine, starting with the bagel chips and hummus dips that you can get as an appetizer.
While its dinner options are very tasty, Zaftig's is better known for its breakfast menu. They serve breakfast all day, with choices like hearty potato pancakes and sweet banana?stuffed French toast. But if you decide to come in for a cozy brunch during the weekend, you should expect wait times of at least an hour.
The food is definitely worth it, and, fortunately, the neighborhood around Coolidge Corner offers sufficient attractions to make your waiting time seem much shorter. Deli fans who hate to wait should try Zaftig's on a weekday when it is less crowded with a wait time of less than 15 minutes to get a table.
All of Zaftig's dishes are available for takeout, and customers often bring home some of the baked goods it offers by the entrance.
The popularity of Zaftig's Delicatessen also shows in the accolades it has received since opening in 1997. Recently, Zaftig's also opened another location in Natick. It is indeed a delicious change of pace for Jumbos who are tired of the offerings in Medford and Somerville.
Zaftig's offers enough possibilities to please adventurous customers as well as people who just want to eat a basic sandwich or burger.
Because of its popularity, on busy weekends the atmosphere can be so loud that you may have to raise your voice to be heard by the person sitting next to you. It may also take a bit longer for the closest waiter to come to your table and take your order, but the staff is friendly and the food quality usually makes up for the time spent waiting.
So be patient and enjoy tasty Jewish cuisine at the charming Zaftig's in Coolidge Corner. The wait time might be longer than many would prefer, but service, food quality and a special atmosphere more than make up for those shortcomings.
