Where to even begin? Massive press day.
Wow. Talk about an insane day of press. I’m floored and extremely grateful for all the coverage. Big props to my publicist Taryn Roeder and her boss, Lori Glazer. Applause please.
First off, let’s hear the audio from my brief chat with Brian Lehrer from WNYC, who looks suspiciously like Mitch Dermer, my friend from McGill who co-wrote that fateful deli paper all those years back. Download the audio here.
Next, we have a great story in the New York Post, with a Letterman headline twist.
“Hello, Deli”
Author hungry to save the delicatessen
By CARLA SPARTOS
DAVID Sax isn’t meshuga, but he is on an “obsessive quest.” The 30-year-old author visited more than 100 delis around the world while researching his book, “Save the Deli,” out Monday. According to Sax, the deli is on the decline even here in New York — “the spiritual, historical and cultural capital of Jewish delicatessen.” So where can you join the cause and add a little schmaltz to your life? Over pastrami sandwiches at Katz’s, Sax discussed NYC’s delis to die for.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE
Next up, a preview of tomorrow’s AMNewYork article on me and Saving the Deli
An Ode to the Deli
by Lucy Blatter
photo by Stephen Reiss
David Sax is a man on a mission — to get people excited about Jewish delis again.
These temples of comfort food have become an endangered species — in New York City, they’ve declined from 1,550 deli stores in 1931 to just under two dozen today.
For Sax, the fate of delis is a deeply personal issue. The freelance writer, 30, who grew up in Toronto, opens his new book “Save the Deli” with a story that has shaped his life: His grandfather, just released from the hospital, died after chowing down on a smoked-meat sandwich.The problem facing delis has little to do with healthier eating habits: “This is an immigrant food of an immigrant group that doesn’t exist anymore,” said Sax, whose book will be released Oct. 19. “The last line of Jewish countermen were emigrants from the Soviet Union in the ‘80s.”
And then, of course, tough economics make it difficult for a kosher deli to survive. “You take already slim margins and tack on a higher cost of food, kosher supervision, and closure every holiday, Saturday and every Friday afternoon at a certain time,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
Time Out New York gives the party at Ben’s a sweet mention:
MON 19 SAVE THE DELI
Meg Ryan may have been faking it, but you might not have to at this free meal of pastrami on rye, salami and pickles, part of a book signing for David Sax’s Save the Deli. If the cured meat isn’t enough to turn you on, keep an eye out for a performance by Jelvis, the Jewish Elvis. FREE Ben’s Kosher Delicatessen, 209 W 38th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves (212-398-2367). 7:30pm.
And a nice blog post from longtime fan Allergic Girl:
Deli for me, or more pointedly deli meat like corned beef, pastrami and brisket has a deep and profound place in my heart and in my mind. I imagine I’m like many New York Jews in that way. Food is memory and well-made pastrami can be the best memory evah. I may not be old enough to remember when this city during the golden age of the Jewish deli (that would have been my grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ time in Brooklyn) but my lingering hunger for pastrami is a deep desire for history.
READ THE REST HERE
More to come…
October 15th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Kudos to Tara and Lori - the coverage for the book is great, and just wait until people get to read it!!!! October 19th, here we come!