Despite Birmingham’s rich food scene, there isn’t an abundance of Kosher options when dining out. For those who follow Jewish food laws, one synagogue is trying to fill the gap – and it’s not through a community meal or food festival.
Knesseth Israel in Mountain Brook is a small Orthodox Jewish congregation with about 40 to 50 members according to Beth Smokey, who is one of those members. They are self-led, as they haven’t had a rabbi since 2022.
What they do have is a food truck.
Smokey came up with the idea to raise money for the congregation.
“We started off with it being called Holy Crepe Food Truck, and it was a crepe truck. And crepes didn’t really go over very well for Birmingham for some reason,” Smokey said.
On a trip to New York City, Smokey and her sister visited the iconic Katz’s Delicatessen.
“There was a long line around the corner of people waiting to go to Katz’s,” Smokey said. “Everybody was gonna pay $30 for this sandwich. And it was delicious.”
Smokey said that after that experience, she called the food truck’s chef and told him they needed to change from selling crepes to deli food.
Nathan Lichtenstein, the food truck’s chef, is from Williamsburg — a neighborhood in Brooklyn — where he learned to cook. He also realized the crepes weren’t a good fit. That’s when the truck became JJ’s Sandwich Shop. The name came from a young member of the congregation whose name made for an unclaimed website domain. The menu features pastrami, corned beef, brisket, as well as hot dogs, hamburgers, salads and smoothies.
Lichtenstein smokes the pastrami and corned beef himself after receiving the meat from a kosher butcher in Atlanta.
The food truck parks all over Birmingham. On a recent day, it set up outside a Hoover office building where Riva Bard, a member of the congregation and fan of the food truck, was deciding what she wanted to order for lunch.
“I used to mail order from Katz’s Deli all the time. I don’t need to anymore because this is just as good,” Bard said.
Lichtenstein’s thoughts on the truck are pretty simple. He says that he enjoys feeding people and putting a smile on his customers’ faces.
Not a bad side item to go with pastrami or corned beef.
Vahini Shori is a Report for America corps member covering faith and culture for WBHM.
This reporting is supported by WBHM’s Local Journalism Innovation Fund. Find out more about the fund and how to donate here.
