Leo Beckerman and Evan Bloom started out cooking kosher dinners at the Hillel House in Berkeley, then spent a few years smoking pastrami to perfection in their backyards, then set up a Saturday morning pop-up deli, and this past February officially opened Wise Sons Delicatessen in San Francisco's Mission district.
A few years back the two twentysomething owners noticed a significant gap in the Bay Area pastrami market and set out to revive the traditional Jewish delicatessen (a legacy Bloom brings from his grandparents, owners of a deli outside of Boston).
Living in the neighborhood, I've found that a visit to Wise Sons has become a weekly occurrence where I'm tempted to venture outside of the usual Reuben—with classic fare like noodle kugel, matzo ball soup, and a house-smoked trout salad. The corner deli, located at 24th Street and Folsom, features a black-painted sign in bold lettering and an inviting interior that captures the feeling of dining in an East Coast family living room.
Photography via Wise Sons (except where noted).
Above: Wise Sons is at 3150 24th Street in San Francisco. Photograph via Niall Kennedy on Flickr.
Above: Layers of antique photographs on the restaurant's back wall.
Above: Co-owner Evan Bloom baking poppy seed-adorned bialys.
Above: Pastrami is sandwiched between two slices of house made rye bread. Photograph via TastingSF.
Above: The perfect lox bialy (house made pickles included).
Above: Photograph via Mission Local.
