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ANNAPOLIS — Mention Golda Meir at Chick & Ruth's Delly in downtown Annapolis and you'll end up with lox, cream cheese, onion and tomato, open face on a bagel.
If Israelis attending next week's Mideast peace conference get a chance to explore Maryland's capital, that's about as close to home as they can expect to feel.
Meir, Israel's prime minister from 1969-1974, is the only international leader honored on the menu at Chick & Ruth's, an Annapolis institution. Several local Jewish politicians have sandwiches named for them, too, including former Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel (corned beef and chopped liver on rye) and Sen. Ben Cardin (a reuben).
Chick & Ruth's isn't a kosher deli; owner Beth Levitt calls it "kosher style." But it serves the only traditional Jewish cuisine in Annapolis, a city known for crab cakes and oysters on the half shell — regional delicacies that won't be enjoyed by conference participants who keep kosher.
"I have no idea what they're going to eat," said Rabbi Ari J. Goldstein of Temple Beth Shalom, a Reform synagogue in nearby Arnold. "They can either buy their stuff at Trader Joe's and borrow someone's kitchen ... or they can just go vegetarian, which is what they're probably going to do."
The delegations with Muslim members will have a few more options. "Halal," the Islamic laws that govern food, place no restrictions on shellfish.
"Crab cakes and oysters are halal," said Dr. Muhammad Chaudry, president of the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America. "All types of seafood are OK," as long as they're not prepared with alcohol, he said.
The State Department won't say who's catering the marathon portion of the meeting that will be Tuesday on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy. But the chef will have to venture outside Annapolis for ingredients. Maryland's sleepy capital, a city of 36,000, doesn't have a kosher or halal market.
"There's basically not much kosher food in Annapolis," said Rabbi Nochum Light of the Chabad of Anne Arundel County, who has launched a Web site, kosherkaptain.com, where people can order kosher meat and have it delivered.
Former White House chef Walter Scheib, who worked for seven years under President Clinton and for four years under President Bush, said an event as formal and politically charged as a peace conference presents a challenge for chefs and foodservice workers.
"It would be a tremendous social faux pas to disrespect their culture or religion," Scheib said.
Honoring the guest countries is the priority when preparing a menu for international gatherings, said Scheib, who also did his best to use local and seasonal ingredients. Rockfish from the Chesapeake Bay or produce from Maryland farms would be viable options for the peace conference, he said.
At the White House, the culinary staff strives to make international dignitaries feel at home. That means any meat served to Muslim guests is prepared using halal techniques. Twice during Scheib's tenure, the entire White House kitchen was shut down and certified kosher to accommodate Jewish guests.
"It involved burning off the kitchen, applying flame to open surfaces ... and using pots and pans that had never been used for nonkosher dishes. It's a fairly daunting proposition," Scheib said. "We did it all under rabbinical supervision."
Kosher and halal both have rules for the proper slaughter of animals used for meat, and neither tradition allows consumption of pork. While kosher prohibits mixing meat and dairy, halal bans alcohol. Adhering to either set of restrictions can be difficult, said Mary Anne Jackson, founder of J&M Food Products Co., which distributes heat-and-serve meals under the Halal Certified label.
"If I bought meat and served it to someone, and if I didn't have someone independently review it to see that it was meeting the standard, I could be held responsible," Jackson said. "You really have to be sensitive to it, because if you don't, our government could look bad."
Scheib noted that while many Jews do not keep kosher and many Muslims do not follow halal, participants in the conference would likely be careful about what they eat in a public setting because they are representing their countries.
Annapolis restaurateurs aren't expecting many peace conference participants to stroll into their dining rooms, but they're happy to do whatever they can to prepare an acceptable meal.
"We do special menus all the time," said Andrew Ackerman, a manager at the popular and decidedly nonkosher Buddy's Crabs and Ribs. "We're always able to produce a menu or whip up something in the kitchen that adheres to your dietary needs."
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On the Net:
Chick & Ruth's Delly: http://www.chickandruths.com
Kosher Kaptain: http://www.kosherkaptain.com
