Starters and Soppers

• An elegant Jewish holiday feast might begin with an appetizer, such as smoked trout blinis, and it might include bread such as a yeasty challah loaf made with lots of eggs. In the Midwest, starters for a festive brisket dinner might be a spinach artichoke dip, while Texans may serve chips and salsa. Midwesterners traditionally use biscuits to sop up the tasty brisket gravy, while in Texas, the accompaniment is corn bread or Texas toast.

Count Your Carbs

• Holiday feasts or Sunday dinners need starches to fill out the plate and to soak up some of the brisket juices. On the Jewish table, potato pancakes, also called latkes, potato kugel, a baked pudding, or egg noodles would do the trick. But plenty of Jewish families also follow the Midwestern tradition of serving mashed potatoes or scalloped potatoes with brisket. And in Texas, either a big pot of beans or a helping of potato salad would round out the meal.

Eat Your Veggies

• Many beef brisket recipes called for onions and carrots cooked along with the meat, so additional vegetables aren't necessarily required. But for holidays and celebrations, asparagus is traditional in some Jewish households. Green beans, coleslaw or corn on the cob spell tradition for Texan or Midwestern families, and a green salad goes with brisket in any culture.

There's Always Room

• One thing that people in all parts of the country agree on is that you can never go wrong with chocolate cake. Some Jewish families might go with more traditional jelly-filled donuts or sweet, dessert blintzes. Any type of fruit pie served with ice cream would also work as an ending for any special Midwestern dinner or Texan brisket barbecue, as would strawberry or peach shortcakes if the season were right.