The Lincoln Del Cookbook

For Jewish and non-Jewish customers alike, the Lincoln Del was a Minneapolis version of Cheers—at the Del everybody knew your name. Folks hardly minded waiting in line for the fresh caraway rye, the cabbage borscht, the corned beef sandwiches, or the towering strawberry shortcake because every visit was like a family reunion, complete with warm embraces, recounted stories, boisterous jokes, and—of course—plenty of amazing food.

From modest beginnings as a bakery in 1930s north Minneapolis to a local chain of three bustling restaurants in St. Louis Park and Bloomington, the Lincoln Del was a neighborhood institution for decades. These popular spots drew visitors from all over the metro and across the state, and even years later patrons nostalgically recall the tasty baked goods, the generously portioned sandwiches, and the sense of belonging that beckoned everyone who walked through the door.

The Lincoln Del Cookbook gathers not only coveted recipes—for blintzes and challah, coleslaw and chicken matzo ball soup—but also family lore and patrons' memories, with photographs, menus, and memorabilia that will bring you right back to the Lincoln Del—or make you wish you'd been around to experience its delights in person.

Tess and Moishe Berenberg ran the St. Louis Park Lincoln Del; since the Del closed in 2000, their granddaughter, Wendi Zelkin Rosenstein, has been fielding requests for recipes from fans far and wide.

Kit Naylor is a professional writer and an amateur chef. A military brat, she grew up longing for the sort of community she might have found at the Lincoln Del.

Long before Thomas Friedman became an award-winning journalist, his mother was a bookkeeper at the Lincoln Del.