Some combinations are obvious: peanut butter and jelly, rock and roll, Bert and Ernie. Others aren’t quite so apparent. Take, for instance, classic Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine and traditional Irish fare.
Washington DC restaurateurs Jason Feld, Mark Menard and Mike Schuster thought up this unusual fusion and are bringing it to life at the Star and Shamrock Tavern & Deli.
At Star and Shamrock, deli favorites rub shoulders with Irish whiskeys, and inventive hybrid items fill the menu, like a shepherd’s pie with a latke instead of mashed potatoes on top, and an indulgent (if not-quite-kosher) Reuben Egg Roll that features corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese wrapped in dough, fried, and served with a Thousand Island dipping sauce. Even the cocktail menu is feeling the Irish-Jewish love, with fig and date-infused Jameson, and a Manischewitz sangria. With its old-fashioned bar, wooden rafters, and an illuminated logo of a shamrock inside a Star of David, a trip to the restaurant feels like visiting an imagined country with a delightful local cuisine.
On your next trip to our nation’s capital, stop by the Star and Shamrock to see how two delicious (if famously beige-colored) culinary legacies come together in one modern-day neighborhood melting pot.
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