Matzo ball soup is a star on deli menus throughout South Florida.
Those soft, fluffy matzo balls in savory broth, with veggies or noodles, making it the perfectly satisfying bowl of steamy comfort food.
It’s both a traditional Jewish dish and an essential part of the Passover Seder, the holiday’s ceremonial feast. Unleavened bread, or matzo, is eaten symbolically during this time as a way to remember the rushed exodus of enslaved Jews from Egypt when they didn’t have time to let their dough rise.
This month’s Best of South Florida Dining series topic — you guessed it, matzo ball soup — is dedicated not only to the celebration of Passover, which begins at sundown Saturday, but is also as a special way to warmly welcome our new Jewish Journal editor, Jessica Tzikas.
Here’s how it will work:
First, we want to hear about your go-to spots to dive spoon-first into a bowl of matzo ball soup (Broward and Palm Beach counties only this time for logistical reasons), and we’ll put the Top 5 most-nominated finalists up for a people’s choice vote.
Then, we’ll kick the competition up a nosh by putting the finalists to the test — a blind taste-test, that is — with a panel of hungry judges, including Tzikas and Sun Sentinel features reporter Lois K. Solomon. They will gather to determine a judges’ choice winner during a live event in May on “Mike Mayo’s Lunchbox,” South Florida food writer (and former Sun Sentinel columnist) Mike Mayo’s streaming show. (More details to come on that later.)
In the meantime, you have until Wednesday, April 23, to submit your nominations by using the link below. Can’t see it? Click here. And make sure to tell us why your favorite should reign “soupreme” for a chance to have your comments featured in the voting round story.