Bagels and lox. Kugel. Babka. To break the Yom Kippur fast, think made-ahead food, and lots of it

The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which begins this year on Sunday evening (Sept. 25), is a solemn 25 hours of fasting and atonement.

But when it’s over, fast turns to feast.

The spread at a “break fast” gathering (not to be confused with breakfast) traditionally consists of foods that are made ahead, served either at room temperature or reheated right before serving. Observant Jews don’t cook on Yom Kippur, and even if you’re less observant, it’s pretty hard to stand in the kitchen cooking while you’re fasting.

BAGELS, LOX, THE FIXINGS

Perhaps the most common foods used to break the fast are bagels and lox (or smoked salmon) with all the fixings. Those typically involve dairy and fish dishes, such as smoked fish, whitefish salad, flavored cream cheeses (“schmears” or “shmears”), pickled herring, capers and cucumber salad.

The break fast meal is usually meat-free, since meat and dairy don’t mix in kosher foods.

I always include a noodle kugel in my break fast menu, another traditional offering that can be made ahead and reheated (or served cool, as you like). That, plus egg salad, are substantial vegetarian options for the non-fish eaters.

Jake Cohen, author of the just published “I Could Nosh: Jew-ish recipes Revamped for Everyday” (Harper Collins), mostly adheres to traditional foods for his break fast, but has some firm opinions about the components. Quality counts, he says, and he has dedicated time looking for the best bagels, the best smoked fish, and so on

Walters: Compromise settles dispute over status of fast food franchises

In some ways, the most interesting — and perhaps most significant — event of the 2023 legislative session’s closing days was a compromise agreement on state oversight of the fast food industry.

Last year, unions pushed through legislation that would have created a new state commission to set wages and working conditions in the industry.

Inferentially, the legislation set aside the industry’s franchise system and treated locally outlets of as merely branches of their corporate franchisors.

While the wage increases that would have resulted garnered most of the media attention, erosion of the franchise model was most worrisome aspect to the fast food corporations and their franchisees.

Immediately, big guns in the industry pledged tens of millions of dollars for a campaign to challenge the legislation via a referendum that qualified to go before voters in 2024.

The Legislature’s response was entertaining another bill that would have doubled down on attacking the franchise model by making corporate franchisors legally responsible for labor law violations in their franchisees’ fast food outlets.

With the outcome of the referendum election in doubt, the long-warring factions began negotiating and last week a bargain was struck.

The 2022 legislation would be repealed, the 2023 legislation would be scuttled and a substitute for both would retain the fast food council, but alter its membership slightly, limit its authority to set wages and working conditions, provide a new $20 per hour minimum wage for fast food workers, prohibit local efforts to affect wages, and remove threats to the franchise model.

Like all legislative compromises, this one, written into Assembly Bill 1228, had something for everyone but didn’t give every stakeholder everything it wanted.

Chinese fast-food chain opening another Johnson County location. Here’s when and where

Construction has begun on Chinese fast-food chain Panda Express’ newest Johnson County location — and the company has now announced a tentative opening date.

The restaurant, approved by the city of Overland Park earlier this year, is being built at 15890 Metcalf Ave., next to Walmart.

Panda Express hopes to have the new location ready by April 9.

The California-based chain’s menu items include orange chicken, fried rice and Beijing beef. The company has more than a dozen locations across the metro, including in Shawnee at 12160 Shawnee Mission Parkway, in Overland Park at 9090 Metcalf Ave. and in Olathe at 11996 Strang Line Road.

The intersection at 159th and Metcalf has been a prime spot for development lately. Most recently, the city approved rezoning for the 40-acre Metcalf Village in August, where developers plan to put up 11 buildings with residential and commercial space.

Earlier this year, a Taco Bell and a Scooter’s Coffee opened on the northeast corner of the intersection.