Teddy at the Pastrami Blog hits Seattle
Monday, December 7th, 2009Sometimes I can’t be everywhere, which is why the Save the Deli network of crack correspondents covers the globe.
Teddy over at the Pastrami Blog is a San Francisco deli lover, and big fan of Save the Deli. He’s been reading and commenting faithfully, and so I’m going to share his observations from a recent pastrami hunt in Seattle. Take it away Teddy.
Seattle is a lovely place! I went the weekend of November 20th to the 22nd and I did my best to try as many pastrami places as I could, but there were a few miscues that led to me not getting to all the places I wanted to for the blog. However I enjoyed my trip very much and made it to the Seattle Center, University of Washington, the Fremont neighborhood, and various other cool locations. Above pictured is Pike’s Market from Pike and 1st Ave.
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Kenny and Zuke’s: A Visit
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Allow me to start a long post by saying this: there are delis, and then there are delis.
The first meet our expectations, serving us the comforts we want, in the atmosphere we’re used to, keeping the tradition alive.
The second exceed our expectations. They take deli and bring it a notch higher, raising the standards on the food, on the packaging, on the whole damn idea of Jewish deli.
Portland, Oregon’s Kenny and Zuke’s Delicatessen is such a place (the latter). It is, simply put, in a class by itself.
Ready? Let’s do this! (more…)
Leo’s and Gleiberman’s in Charlotte
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009So as one old friend and Save the Deli fan recently wrote in an email “Sax, your less than once a week posts to the blog are just not working for me. It’s almost as demoralizing as putting butter on a smoked meat sandwich.”
Ha. I slave away for you my minions, and this is the thanks I get!
Truth be told I’ve been a bit lazy lately, first because of Passover (it’s allowed), and then just due to a lack of anything to write. But with the book coming out six months from this week, rest assured, shit is going to get crazy.
One thing I’ve been procrastinating is catching up on delis I visited, but never got around to writing about. I’m specifically interested in those that didn’t ultimately make it into the book, due to space constraints.
So today let’s head down to Tarheel country and visit Charlotte. It’s been two years since I was there, but the taste is fresh in my mind. (more…)
Escaping to the Cleve
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
Me Luv Deli
Sorry I’ve been woefully absent as of late. Last week I found myself hunting for new digs in New York, and am proud to say that Save the Deli HQ will soon be moving to Brooklyn, the historic home of Jewish delicatessen in America (current recommendations welcome). And while I have a juicy tidbit from the 2nd Ave Deli in the wings, I must write about my Labor Day trip to the Cleve. (more…)
A Return to Maison David
Friday, July 4th, 2008
Ahhh mes amis. Cetait un long temps que nous avons visiter Paris, oui? Presque deux ans, je pense.
Yes friends, my grade school French was recently back in action as I vacationed with Lauren in the city of light. Like the Eiffel Tower, no visit to Paris would be complete without passing by Maison David, the kingdom of Michel Kalifa…butcher, charcuterie artist, wine expert, chef, flirtatious genius and possibly the most talented deli man in the world.
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Write in Delis in Philly and Jersey
Monday, April 7th, 2008I realized this week that it was just over a year ago when I finished my deli journey around the United States. In two months, and over 10,000 miles, I drove from Toronto to Los Angeles, over to Miami, and back home, hitting as many delis as I could along the way. I probably went to over 200 delis, though I’ve yet to formally count them all. I had very little free time, drove like mad, and ate like a fiend. But even then, I missed quite a lot. Geography deprived me of delis in Minnesota and the Pacific Northwest. And in the end, with Passover approaching, I had to cut the trip short and head back home straight from DC. So I missed out on several key deli markets, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Boston. (more…)
Save the Deli Seattle correspondent report: I Love New York Deli
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
I wish I could get to every single deli in the world, I truly do, but geography, time, and sweet moolah prevent me from doing so. Yet, in the past year, since launching Save the Deli, I’ve heard from hundreds of deli fans around the world, who share with me their recommendations, tips, images, and stories (plus the occasional kvetch), about the deli world. I have to say that without your help, I’d know a hell of a lot less.
And so it was with David Cowles, a Washington state deli fan who has an obvious passion for this food, but for years has been bemoaning the lack of true deli in the Pacific Northwest. After all, the wet, cool climate is salmon country, and is almost as far from LA as it is from Chicago. It’s the last deli frontier in America, and the last place many would go looking for anything on rye…let alone rye!
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London: On Her Majesty’s Salt Beef Service
Sunday, November 18th, 2007
B&K Salt Beef Bar, London, England, Great Britain
‘Allo ‘allo then! What ‘ave we ‘ere? A lovely bit of salt beef guvnah? Smashing.
Yes, my Britishisms are awful when written down, but you should hear my faux Cockney accent these days. Straight out of Dickens, or some Michael Caine flick.
That’s right my lovelies, I’ve finally returned from London, the seat of HRH’s empire, where salt beef rules the waves, hand carved in several select locations around town.
First, you should all know what salt beef is. Salt beef is corned beef. The same thing…different name. In fact, the corn in corned beef refers to “corns” or kernels of salt, and the only corn that comes near salt beef in the United States, it that which is force fed to the cattle in feedlots. British salt beef, by comparison, comes from grass fed cattle, who roam the lush pastures of the British Isles munching away happily.
Now, while the UK has a dubious reputation as a place to eat…the land of grey, lifeless, spiceless dishes…I’m happy to report that the delicatessen is excellent. The salt beef is almost always barrel cured, sometimes for as long as three weeks, and has a mild, brackish flavor that tastes of the sea. The tongue, sliced from the Ox, is the best I have had anywhere, thick, hand carved luxurious rounds of fatty meat that is absolutely decadent and incredible. There’s fantastic chopped liver (served with chopped egg and onion), killer matzo ball and kreplach soups, and squares of splendid lokshen pudding. The mustard is all hot, as in fiery Dijon type spice, and when you slather it on as I do, you’re in for a wasabi style sinus clearing.
Now, I could go on about the deli men I met, or the differences in the evolution of the deli in London. I could rip into the rye bread, which is beyond terrible, and lacks any rye qualities whatsoever, but I won’t. It’s Sunday, I’ve been working for the whole afternoon, and I have a movie to catch. So I’ll just present this little film below and leave you all to hit play. Check out the photos of the foods, see the addresses below, and buy a cheap ticket over the pond to visit Ole Blighty. There’s some quality deli waiting for you.
Cheerio!
The delis
(International calls are +44)
Britain’s First and Best Beigel Shop
155 Brick Lane, Spitalfields
London, E1 6SB
020 7729 0826
Brick Lane Beigel Bake
159 Brick Lane, Tower Hamlets
London, E1 6SB
020 7729 0616
*Both of these are 24 hr places in the old Jewish section of town, now a mix between Bangledeshi gangland and hipster heaven. Not kosher, or even remotely kosher style, but you can get a salt beef sandwich or on a beigel for cheaper than a pint…after a few pints. So go on, get mashed up like Amy Winehouse and soak it up with some meat.
B & K Salt Beef Bar Map
11 Hanson House Whitchurch Lane
London, HA8 6NL
020 8952 8204
*John Georgiou is the meanest, leanest deli man in London. He’s the son of a great deli man, and now raises younger deli men. He carves like a surgeon, and his salt beef is absolutely the most gorgeous stuff you can pay for.
Bloom’s Restaurant
130 Golders Green Road
London NW11 8HB
020 8455 1338
New! 313 Hale Lane,
Edgware, Middx HA8 7AX
020 8958 2229
*For years, Bloom’s was the top kosher deli in the old East End. The original closed a decade back, but the second location, in the heavily Jewish Golder’s Green, is still kicking and tastes even better after a recent renovation.
The Brass Rail Salt Beef Bar
400 Oxford Street
London, W1A 1AB, UK
+44 800 123400
*The Brass Rail is an institution, located in the food hall of Selfridge’s, the second ritziest department store in London. You can have a lovely salt beef or tongue, then go off and buy a $500 truffle or a $12,000 Gucci bag. Only for discerning tastes.
Reuben’s
79 Baker Street, W1U 6RG
Marylebone
020 7486 0035
*Once upon a time, Reuben’s was part of the Reuben’s chain from Montreal and Toronto, but it has been kosher, and wonderfully run by the Hassan family for many years now. The son, Tam Hassan is a fantastic chef, and has elevated kosher deli to new heights. The chicken soup is so yellow and schmaltzy, you could be eating butter.
Harry Morgan
29-31 St Johns Wood High Street
London NW8
Tel: 020 7722 1869
Plus several other locations
*Harry Morgan’s, or “Harry’s”, is the deli where high end London and working Jewish London meet. On a given Saturday, when the lunch line can erupt into fistfights, you could find old pensioners sitting next to George Michael or Roman Abramovich. Everything is top quality and made fresh, including stellar tongue, fantastic chicken soup, and even p’tcha, the calf’s food jelly I’ve only seen in France. Plus, you can buy the cool dishes with the words of Jewish food written on them.
Also, those wishing to see Jewish London’s past should book a tour with Clive Bettington, of the Jewish East End Celebration Society.
Check them out at www.jeecs.org.uk
Krakow’s edible revival
Thursday, November 8th, 2007
Dzien Dobry!
That’s hello in Polish for those of you who don’t know, like me, until sometime this afternoon.
I’ve been in Krakow since yesterday, and suffice to say that it is quite the experience for anyone remotely interested in Jewish identity and culture. Once a thriving community of 65,000 Jews, 90% were killed in the early years of the Holocaust, with only a few hundred remaining in the city today. Communism drove the community underground, with many Krakow Jews losing their identity through intermarriage or simply a self-imposed denial. Food, once the bedrock of the Jewish world here in the land known as Galicia, dissapeared from the Jewish plate, as communism’s restrictions and the lack of kosher supplies rendered the dishes of eight centuries a mystery.
Such has been the story all over Eastern Europe: Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, in the lands where the shtetl was once vibrant, and the Ashkenazi cuisine formed the bedrock of what we eat each time we visit the delicatessen. In these places, all that remains of Jewish identity are the skeletons of synagogues and cemetaries. But Krakow was different. As the intellectual hub of Poland, the tail end of communism sparked an interest in Jewish culture and history…from gentile Poles. Since the Holocaust the Jewish past was buried, and they decided to bring it alive, celebrating the Jewish contribution to Polish history and culture as an expression of their own individuality.
What started as a small film festival in 1988, blossomed into a Jewish cultural festival, with concerts, lectures, and art exhibitions. Art galleries and small restaurants emerged, serving the foods that the Jewish community once ate (the recipes were provided by the few surviving members and old cookbooks). When Steven Spielburg filmed Schindler’s List here in 1993, it set off a tourist bonanza, that has brought millions to the Jewish quarter here, known as Kazimierz. Money from the visits, and international donations have funded the cultural festival, the restoration of several synagogues, and museums.
But this is a blog about food, so I’ll jump to that. When the area was rebuilt, preserving and expanding on the Jewish heritage, several restaurants emerged that served Jewish food. Most were owned and operated by Christian Poles (as are most of the Jewish museums and institutions here), with foods that were typical of Galician Jewish cooking. What’s amazing is that these are foods that provided the basis for the Jewish American Delicatessen, yet would never be found in any deli on that continent. It is historic cooking, and short of picking up a cookbook, the best way to experience deli’s roots.
The first place I visited was called Ariel, though it must be said that all of these restaurants have similar menus. This was the first of the Jewish restaurants, but it is also the most tourist oriented and extremely tacky…to the point of being offensive. There’s live klezmer every night (as in all these restaurants), but Ariel also sells Jewish trinkets, including little figures of Hassic Jews holding bags of money. Supposedly Poles find them to be good luck. It’s straight out of Borat.
At Ariel I had two things:
Berdytchov soup: This is a local soup from a nearby town, which is basically a honey and cinnamon beef based borscht, minus the beets. Imagine sweet and sour cabbage soup, with cubed potatoes and carrots, little bits of brisket (very little), and a taste that mixes tomatoes and baked apples. Sweet is an understatement, although the Polish Jewish taste always had a proclivity toward sweet.
Stuffed pipkes: Once upon a time, goose and duck were the protein of the Jewish diet. Chicken was leaner, and less desired, and beef was very rare in the shtetl. But oh, the joys of a fatty goose. Pipkes are a classic dish, which involve stuffing the skin of a goose neck with a mixture of chopped chicken liver and little tiny bits of dough. The neck is then closed, and the whole thing is fried, emerging as a crisp, golden, shell of fat with warm, oozing chopped liver on the inside. Light it ain’t. I never imagined something that could make chopped liver seem like diet food, but this is so rich in fat, it’s like the poutine of Jewish food. Still, when fried perfectly (one was overdone and gamey), it is a blessing…imagine crisp chicken skin wrapping sumptuous, creamy chopped liver with little buds of dough. It reminded me of fried haggis…but that’s not a comparison many of you will know.
Today I had a whirlwind of eats.
Started off by bumping into a baigel vendor on the street. No, it’s not spelled wrong. They call them baigels here. Your morning nosh was invented in Krakow, possibly 400 years ago, by Jewish bakers. And though Jews don’t bake them, the round bread has found its way into Polish cuisine, so that it’s sold on every street corner by little women in carts. They’re more like pretzels here, thinner, and with a bigger hole, but as one Jewish survivor told me, the Jewish versions were actually even more thin. How did it taste? Like a bagel. The crust was super crisp, and it was twisted (like those of Montreal), but the inside was light, sweet, and dense, like those in New York. Best of all, you could get salt, poppy seed, or sesame seed flavored.
In fact, there’s a New York bagel place here called Bagelmama, which was opened by an American a few years back. His bagels are more the shape one finds back home (smaller hole, more surface, less crunch), and he does them up with cream cheese and all the trimmings. I have to say, his are better than most of the bagels I’ve had in LA, or Chicago, or other areas of the hinterlands.
For lunch I hit up Alef, which recently moved from the Jewish area, close by to a new hotel. Rather than play up the whole shtetl kitch angle, the new dining room is surprisingly refined and tasteful. So too is the food.
The kreplach soup I had was possibly the best ever. The chicken broth was dark and heavily flavored with onion, while the meat inside the perfecly pinched little pockets of dough, was garlicky and extremely tender.
What really won me over at Alef was the pate of goose liver, which was basically a terrine of cooked goose liver (not fattened like foie gras), that reminded me of a gamier meat loaf. It was surprisingly light and soft, and it came with the most amazing horseradish chrein sauce that was creamy, sweet, and fiery (in that succession). Rather than play up on the Jewish imagery, they focused on the food and elevated it to a higher place.
Belly bursting, I’ve now just arrived from dinner at Klezmer Hois, the largest of the Jewish themed restaurants here in Krakow. Housed in an old mikvah, it is definitely a nostalgic place, though the focus is on the music and creating that bohemian atmosphere. A very good band played classic Jewish and klezmer songs with mixed enthusiasm.
I tried two absolute classic Galician dishes:
-Carp Jewish Style: this is cold, cooked carp buried in a thick, sweet jelly with slivered almonds. It is actually eaten by Poles every Christmas and very typical to the area. All I can say is…interesting. Acquired taste for sure. More like fish jello. Probably a good reason so few delicatessens carry this.
-Cholent: the traditional sabbath stew that slow cooks overnight. A mixture of meat, beans, vegetables and potatoes. It’s meant to be eaten and then slept upon, to fully enjoy the sabbath rest. Imagine the thickest beef stew you’ve ever encountered, then add in tons of starch and protein and cook until it’s a paste. The flavor is mild, and rather appealing, but it now lives in my gut for a good few years.
Anyway, the cholent is begging me to sleep, and I have a big day tomorrow…Auschwitz and then off to London. So I’ll leave it here. But I will say the following…
Most Jews think of Poland as the place where Jews died. But for 800 years it was a place where they lived, loved, worked, thought, studied, prayed, and ate. The foods we love at the deli came from here, with much influence from Polish life. Don’t judge Poland on what the Nazis did. Yes, there exists some anti-Semitism, but the renaissance of Jewish culture here, brought to life by non-Jews, is astounding and must be seen to be believed. Open your heart as they opened theirs.
Links:
Montreal: May the Schwartz be With You (guest appearance by Alan Dershowitz)
Friday, June 22nd, 2007
In the past year, as you can all see, I’ve visited hundreds of Jewish delis. I’ve been to massive places in suburban Detroit, classic diners in Beverly Hills, family favorites in Florida, and kosher classics in New York. I’ve eaten at Katz’s, Carnegie, Stage and Langer’s, Zingerman’s, Manny’s, Canter’s, and the Rascal House. I have had amazing sandwiches and been awed by the atmosphere, but I can not and will not compare these places to Schwartz’s.
It would simply be unfair.
