Have you ever dreamed of eating the first course of a holiday meal off a plate with a delicately painted watercolor likeness of a deli sandwich on it, complete with a pickle on the side? Well, that is an oddly specific but wonderful dream — and now it can become a reality thanks to a new set of plates from West Elm that I may or may not be slightly obsessed with.
There are several sets of Jewish delicacy-adorned plates, though of course, the word “Jewish” is not in the (very sparse) marketing lingo. These plates, which are made in a fair trade certified facility and are microwave and dishwasher safe, appear to be marketed for Hanukkah holiday celebrations, but they do feel perfect for any Shabbat meal.
The first is a $60 set of four plates titled “Savory Deli Favorites Appetizer Plate Sets.” One has an illustration of a beautiful sandwich, which appears to be of the pastrami persuasion, one features a latke with sour cream (or crème fraîche if you’re fancy), green onion and fish egg garnish, one has a bagel with lox, cream cheese, tomatoes, red onion and capers (the perfect bagel, but we can fight about it) and one includes a whole challah, which I’ve never sat down to eat at any deli or appetizing shop, but now that I think of it, may be a pretty great idea.
Another option, the “Sweet Deli Favorites Appetizer Plate Sets,” also priced at $60 for all four, is an interesting mix. There’s a plate with a drawing of a black and white cookie and a plate with a rugelach — two true New York Jewish deli classics — and then for some reason, there’s a plate with a painting of hamantaschens and a plate with a very fluffy-looking sufganiyah (jelly donut), Purim and Hanukkah foods, respectively.
I can definitely imagine setting one, perfectly fried sufganiyah atop the plate or a beautiful hamantaschen that didn’t explode in the oven on a painting of perfectly folded hamantaschen. But I am cackling at the idea of serving gefilte fish on one of these cookie-adorned plates — it feels almost criminal.
My favorite of this West Elm offering of plates featuring classic Ashkenazi foods is the “Deli Favorites Matzah Ball Soup Bowl Sets.” A set of four of these will set you back $64, but serving matzah ball soup on top of a drawing of matzah ball soup — that’s priceless. I would love these for all my Jewish holiday celebrations, please, especially since these are the only ones I can imagine using on Passover without having all my guests glare at me.
Seriously, serving a Passover meal off of plates with a drawing of chametz on them is actually criminal. Luckily, these are being marketed for Hanukkah. Which, while a little weird, is fine. If someone wants to gift them to me, I’m available to receive them!
I’m pretty stoked that West Elm is giving us beautiful Jewish food representation on these plates, and am hoping that they might branch out to Sephardi cuisine next year. A plate with some shakshouka, bourekas or a bowl with harira soup on it sounds pretty amazing any day of the week.
