The Jewish deli is experiencing a resurgence. While the traditional (or stereotypical) Kosher-style delicatessen of high-calorie, overstuffed sandwiches and side-eye service has experienced a deep decline in past decades, younger entrepreneurs are picking up the crumbs and opening imaginative restaurants that expand on customs to create millennial-grabbing concepts. Chinatown’s new On Rye (740 6th St. NW) is one of them.
Steps from the Verizon Center, this bright space is also a block from D.C.’s storied Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, a fitting location for a restaurant that finds inspiration in both the traditional and the modern.
Sitting in a booth under stark black-and-white shelves showcasing cookbooks, bottles of mustard, and pickle jars, owner Ilyse Fishman Lerner, a native Floridian, said that the restaurant’s goal “is to change the perception of Jewish sandwiches and other deli items as ‘heavy, special occasion food’ to everyday fare… while still maintaining a connection to the comfort and tradition of the cuisine.”
Few of these types of traditional delis still exist, losing market to younger, fresher restaurants. With the success of DGS and other similar restaurants across the country, On Rye is filling a growing niche. It’s catering to a broad audience hungry to try new dishes, and welcoming everyone from deli veterans to those who have never heard of a Reuben.
Lerner spoke warmly about bringing people together over her food. “Our restaurant opened during the week of the election,” she said. ”During a time of fragmentation, we have been so grateful and inspired by our team, our guests and our community. The neighborhood has welcomed us with open arms.”
The menu, written daily in black-marker capital letters on butcher paper behind the register, is a concentrated affair of sandwiches, salads, and of course, matzo ball soup. The counter-service style is efficient and friendly, a boon to pre-game noshers (the line snaked out the door before a Caps game last week) and office workers who take brown-paper-wrapped sandwiches and cans of Dr. Brown’s root beer back to their desks. There’s both tables and a bar space to scare up a seat and devour tradition while working on your MacBook, as plenty of customers were doing on a recent afternoon.
This isn’t your grandmother’s Lower East Side meat. Thickly sliced between buoyant marble rye is sous-vide Wagyu pastrami, corned beef, or turkey. It’s accompanied by your deli staple, spicy mustard, or slipped into a Reuben, with sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and a slice of Swiss. There’s also a roasted-beet salad, brilliantly red, made with eggs, quinoa, spinach, and toasted sunflower seeds. Sandwiches run $10-$14, and while they aren’t enormous, paired with soup ($6) or side of salad or pickled veggies ($3), it’s more than enough for a hearty meal.
Lerner said that “while our food is inspired by the Jewish deli, we also designed it to be as inclusive as possible. We have no pork, no shellfish and no nuts on our menu. Half of our menu items are or can be made vegetarian.” She went on to tell a story about Muslim customers who were surprised and thrilled that the entire menu was pork-free, and have since returned—a true sign of creating community.
And, of course, this being D.C., there’s brunch.
“We’re very excited about our Eggs All Day sandwich,” says Lerner with a smile. “It’s available all day, every day—although it’s definitely proven to be most popular during brunch hours.”
It’s highly recommended to toss on corned beef “bacon,” sliced, glazed and rendered (just like the porcine version). Brunch also includes babka in the form of French toast. Add to that a liquor license in the works to serve beer, wine, and champagne to accompany your deli staples, and it’s clear Lerner knows her audience.
Even though it makes vegan sandwiches and serves bubbly, On Rye has not forgotten its roots. Latkes, challah rolls, black-and-white cookies, and egg creams dot the menu, as well as the infamous babka ice cream sandwich stuffed with creamy Dolci gelato that brought the shop into the national spotlight during its pop-up at Nats Stadium this summer.
Sipping the last of a can of Dr. Brown’s and answering a customer’s question about what goes in sauerkraut, Lerner said, “This is the comfort food that we crave, served with a playful, modern twist.”
On Rye is located at 740 6th St. NW. Hours are 11 a.m. through 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.
This post has been updated to correctly identify a dish as the beet salad
