Caplansky’s opening lunch
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
The sky was grey outside, but inside the dank confines of Toronto’s legendary Monarch Tavern, a new day dawned on Jewish deli in this native city of mine. As I’ve mentioned before, today was the day when Zane Caplansky’s long awaited delicatessen…the eponymous Caplansky’s…would open. (more…)
Jon Orren’s Wheelhouse Pickles
Friday, May 23rd, 2008I want to talk about pickles…
The question is, am I a half sour or a full sour? Well, to tell you the truth, in all the confusion, I kinda forgot. So you gotta ask yourself, “Do I feel hungry?”. Well do ya, punk?
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to meet a softspoken Brooklynite named Jon Orren, who, when my big fat mouth finally gave him a chance to speak, told me about his pickle company. You see, Jon was always a pickle lover, and he ate so many as a kid that his mom refused to buy him jar after jar of pickles. She said that if he wanted to eat pickles, Jon could get some cucumbers from the garden and soak them in the leftover brine. Needless to say that a passion was born, and though Jon spent years in some of New York’s most fabled kitchens as a chef, his love for pickles remained strong. (more…)
Langer’s Square Unveiled
Friday, January 25th, 2008
Photo Credit: viewfromaloft/edfuentes
Back in June I wrote about the 60th anniversary of one of America’s best delicatessens, Langer’s, in Los Angeles. At the time, Al Langer sat and received citations from the city, along with his son Norm. As a special honor to the 94 year old Al Langer, the city announced that they would name the intersection of 7th and Alvarado “Langer’s Square”. Unfortunately, Al Langer passed away weeks later, though his legacy is assured.
And so, yesterday city officials and the Langer’s braved dark skies along to officially unveil Langer’s Square. Now the temple of hot pastrami will be enshrined on the streets of LA for generations to come. Read more about it here.
(more…)
Barrie’s Pastrami King: Marty Marks
Monday, January 14th, 2008
Welcome back! After a year and a half of research, eating, and writing, I’m now done with the first draft of the Save the Deli book, which got handed in last Friday. Phew. My fingers ache.
So now that I’m back into a more normal cycle, I can post a little more often. Thus, welcome to my first post-book-submission posting.
As the book neared completion, a lot of great posts I had in the works got delayed. Delis opened and I wrote nothing, so I’ll do my best to catch up over the next few months, plus put out the rest of my tales from the cross-America journey last winter.
But first to just north of home. Last summer I was contacted by a man named Marty Marks, who was opening up a Jewish deli in the city of Barrie, an hour outside of Toronto. Barrie is a very goyish place, sort of the gateway to the north of Ontario, though a hell of a lot of Jews have cottages (or mansions on lakes) there, and many more drive through Barrie to get to their ski chalets and other second homes. Marty claimed to have perfected a unique pastrami recipe, and in the late fall I finally had a chance to swing by and check out the goods at Pastrami King.
When I got there, Marty took me into the back and showed me his pastramis curing in the refrigerator. Well, I should be truthful, I’m not sure if I can call these pastramis. What Marty Marks does is start with a cured Montreal Smoked meat (from Montreal’s venerable Lester’s), steams them to open up the meat’s pores, rubs them in his special spices, then bakes them and then puts them back into the fridge for a number of days to impart the flavor. So no, it’s not really pastrami…it’s something much more intricate, involved, and inventive. It’s a cross between smoked meat, pastrami, and Marty’s own imagination…which we’ll call Smoked Martystrami for argument’s sake.
Anyway, once those briskets have been steamed and sliced, what emerges on the Bagel World rye is a wonder for the tongue. Soft, supple, and spiced with an almost honeyed aftertaste, it is unlike any other smoked/cured deli product I’ve tried.
He also makes a spread he calls “spek”, which is basically the leftover scraps of pastrami, mixed with Marty’s stellar homemade barbecue sauces. It’s spicy, sweet, and altogether a shot of edible heroin on top of his sandwiches.
It’s most definitely worth checking out, so if you are from Toronto and heading up north, stop off the highway 400 and check out the Pastrami King.
Pastrami King
4 Cedar Pointe Dr, Barrie, ON, Canada - Barrie, Dunlop & Cedar Pointe
View Larger Map
705-719-2463
cottagechef.com/cbeefking/index.html
Mon-Thu 11am-4pm; Fri-Sat 11am-6pm
Jeremy Lebewohl: Birth of a Deli Man
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
Jeremy Lebewohl, in his deli.
Back in Toronto now, after a wonderful few days in New York. As you’ve read in previous posts, the occasion was the reopening of the 2nd Ave Deli, which was truly fantastic. The reason behind this was one young man: Jeremy Lebewohl, and I want to take you through his day yesterday.
Say it with meat
First, a primer. Jeremy is young. Just 25. He’s educated, handsome, and a veteran of the Israeli military. Before this he was in the bagel business with his friend David Teyf, but over the past year he’s worked tirelessly to bring back the 2nd Ave Deli, a delicatessen started by his late uncle Abe, and run by his father Jack. Though he grew up in the original, he has no real counter experience, or experience running or working in a deli. In this sense, Jeremy Lebewohl is a very green deli man…but friends, I have tremendous faith in him, and yesterday I saw a nascent deli man start to take shape.
Firm, sweet, and a little slippery, the legendary kasha varnishkas were lovely.
After a Saturday off and a Sunday of finalizing details, Jeremy Lebewohl awoke at 3 am yesterday, kissed his sleeping wife, and headed off to his new deli. The morning shows were coming to film spots for television, and a huge media campaign would consume the whole morning…all the while, Jeremy and the delis staff had to start cooking, steaming, and cutting food for the first customers who’d arrive at 7 am, when the doors first opened. Over the next several hours, as dedicated regulars trickled in and ate soup and sandwiches for breakfast, Lebewohl walked around, put out fires (equipment and computer problems mostly), and gave what looked like dozens of interviews to everyone from Channel 6 to the New York Times.
Media Circus
He was cool, courteous and professional the whole time. So much so, that his father Jack (who is helping him open, but has the official role of “Proprietor’s Father” sat with me and had breakfast).
Jack Lebewohl, eating a breakfast of chopped egg, onion, and mushrooms (with plenty of schmaltz)
Jack was so happy, he went for a second breakfast of onions, mushrooms, and scrambled eggs. Gorgeously golden, they were by far the finest scrambled eggs I’ve ever eaten.
At 11, a phalanx of cameras assembled outside as Jeremy, his father, and the deli’s managers cut a string of nickel-a-shtickl salamis to officially open the deli. Mazel tovs went up in the air….and then, as they say, shit went crazy.
Within half an hour the lineup was out the door and halfway down the block to Lexington. Diehards and curious locals stood in the cold, with diminishing patience, as Jeremy walked, greeted, and handed out chopped liver with grevenes (which went with alarming speed).
Feeding the masses, freezing his asses.
Inside, problems with computers were jamming up the small area between the cash and the deli counter. Old countermen and waiters couldn’t figure out the new system. Orders were taking too long…old Jewish women started doing what they do best…kvetching.
Through it all, Jeremy kept his cool. He ran up and down the stairs, dealt with technicians, nervous new waiters, and customers, both grateful and complaining. He treated everyone with care, attention, and respect, and the frowns melted away. Jeremy has a natural feel for the job. His greatest strength, besides a taste for this food, is his love of people: of his staff, of his customers, and of his family. Soon, his cousin Sharon (Abe’s daughter), and Jack were there, praising him.
Sharon and Jack Lebewohl.
This was the scene, from noon until I left around 8pm. The lineup never died down. The problems would ebb and flow, but the entire time Jeremy never once lost his cool…never once gave an inch on quality. The food was incredible and everyone went away satisfied. Here’s yesterday’s highlights.
Mushroom Barley Soup: The original deli was known for its porcini version…the new one has shitake and is smokey, somewhat sweet, and simply perfect after a wait in the cold.
Cabbage Roll: Sweet, sour, wonderfully tender, yet firm meat, with just a hint of cinnamon and other spices. Gorgeous.
Rolled Beef sandwich: this is a meat that only two delis carry in all of America. It is difficult to make and expensive, but oh my good Hebrew lord it tastes wonderful. Like incredibly creamy roast beef, super duper trooper tender, with just enough pepper to give it a kick.
At 7pm, after fourteen hours straight, he sat down for five minutes and we shared a beer in the basement. Then he went and worked until 1 am, feeding the hungry crowd who wanted nothing more than for his delicatessen to succeed.
A rare moment of silence, rest, and sweet Israeli beer.
And here’s what I saw. I saw a deli pulling through an incredible first day with bravado. I saw crowds of young and old, rich and poor, local and foreign, Jewish and not, all of whom were more than willing to wait for New York’s most revered family run Jewish delicatessen.
Me and Fuyvush Finkel: a true deli fan and legend of the stage and screen.
I saw in Jeremy Lebewohl a great deli man in the making, soon to be mentioned with the type of reverence associated with the late Max Asnas, Leo Steiner, Shmulke Berstein, and his uncle, the legendary Abe Lebewohl.
Mazel Tov Jeremy. You’ve earned this success.
Go. Eat. Give him a fat hug.
The 2nd Ave Deli
162 E. 33rd St., New York, NY 10016
212-677-0606
open 24/7
More deli stories from yesterday.
The Regulars Return for the Usual, No Longer on Second Avenue
by Jennifer 8. Lee
New York Times
I sat and talked with Jennifer yesterday and we are indeed kindred spirits. I’m writing a book about deli, she’s writing one on Chinese food and its relation with Americans. She’s hilarious and an excellent writer, and any deli/chinese food lover must check out her blog www.fortunecookiechronicles.com
Susan Watts is a staff photographer with the New York Daily News. Her gallery of pics from opening day are stellar.
www.nydailynews.com
New York Magazine’s fearless foodie, Josh Ozersky, at the deli
New York Newsday
Go to the photo pop up and check out me, handing out chopped liver in the first frame.
An Empire in Brooklyn: Empire National Meats
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007
Few people know this, but smack dab in the middle of hipster haven Williamsburg, Brooklyn is one of New York’s finest makers of Kosher delicatessen products. Empire National is a family operation, run by Eddie Weinberg and his wife Karen, and in a city that is increasingly manufacturing its deli further and further afield, Empire National is a blessed relic…just over the river from Manhattan, blocks from the L train, right in the midst of the city’s most exciting neighborhood. For those of you New Yorkers that love Kosher deli, it is nothing short of a blessing.
Eddie’s grandfather Hugo Weinberg moved to New York from Germany shortly before the war, and used his skills as a butcher to open his own kosher butcher and saussage making operation in the Bronx. For three decades it served the vast Jewish communities there, until a fire eventually destroyed the place and forced Empire National to move to the then desolate and industrial Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
Now, the Bronx is the downtrodden area while Williamsburg has become one of the hottest hoods in New York…one with a huge population of Jews, ranging from younger photographers and artists to some of the largest Hassidic communities in the world. Amidst this…the vintage stores and tiny synagogues, Eddie and Karen and their employees turn out incredible barrel cured pastrami, gorgeous corned beef, and some of the finest tongue anywhere. They supply deli meats to some of the finest delicatessens in New York, including Liebman’s in the Bronx, the former 2nd Ave Deli (and likely the new incarnation as well), and Ben’s Best in Queens. They also make great hot dogs, which you may have eaten from a pushcart somewhere in the steaming city. In a nation where delis have been forced to choose between ultra-orthodox and ultra-expensive glatt kosher meat (which many find inferior), and non-kosher meat, the niche that an old fashioned kosher producer like Empire National has is crucial.
Best of all, you can buy direct from the factory . So if you’re out reading VICE magazine while listening to the Bloc Party, be sure to swing on over to the corner of Grand and Berry and pick up some Empire National hot dogs, tongue or salami from Eddie or Karen…seriously, what could be more ironic than that?
123 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 384-7400
1-800-339-6566
www.empirenational.com
Al Langer 1913-2007 Pastrami Perfectionist
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007
I write with great sadness this morning as I have just received news of the death of a true deli legend. Al Langer, the founder of Langer’s Delicatessen in Los Angeles, passed away this Sunday. He was 94 years old. His loss will be felt accross the entire Los Angeles delicatessen community, around the country, and the world. For Al Langer was a pastrami perfectionist and anyone who tasted the fruits of his labors will forever be in his debt.
The Los Angeles Times published a great obituary of Mr. Langer today.
“In his later years, Al Langer continued to spend part of the day at the deli, reading his newspaper, greeting customers, watching the cycles of his customers’ lives.
“It’s fascinating,” he said in a 1986 Times article. “They come in as children, they get married and they bring in their children. And the older people that used to come in, they disappear. Little by little, they’re gone….”
The constant at Langer’s Delicatessen is good food. The expansive menu includes fried kippers, corned beef, New York steak, and livers and onion. But the deli’s hot pastrami sandwich sent critics searching for superlatives. Part of the secret, Langer said, was that the pastrami is steamed tender for hours and hand-sliced. Hot rye bread is the other key.”
Read the rest of the LA Times obituary here.
Though his death will be mourned by deli fans everywhere, his life’s work and legacy will shine forever in three ways:
-Langer’s name will continue to hang over the delicatessen he founded sixty years ago. Just two weeks ago he lived to celebrate this momentous anniversary, where it was decreed by the city that the intersection of 7th and Alvarado will be named Langer’s Square in his honor.
-He is survived by his son Norm Langer, who has been running the delicatessen for several years, and posesses all the great qualities that made Al Langer one of the world’s finest deli men, and a true mensch. With Norm at the helm, the Langer’s legacy will continue to shine bright.
-The pastrami sandwich he brought to Los Angeles and the world remains at the top of its game. Dark, spicy, and slightly sweet, the tender meat is hand sliced to perfection, assembled on thick slices of warm, double baked rye, and slathered with brown mustard. It is a work of art in the world of Jewish deli, and like all great masterpieces, it will outlive its creator for what we pray will be centuries.
Langer’s will close this Thursday, June 28th for the funeral, which is open to the public. Services will be held at 11 am at Eden Memorial Park 11500 Sepulveda Blvd, Mission Hills, California. You can post your wishes to the Langer family below.
Though no fund has been set up, Norm Langer requests that any donations be made to charities that target the needs of children, a cause that Al Langer championed his whole life.
Here are a few in the Los Angeles area.
Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles
The Aliance for Children’s Rights
Alav Hashalom
Rest in Peace
Montreal Jour 3: Smoked Meat Pete
Friday, June 8th, 2007One place in Montreal that I’ve heard much about and yet had never previously visited was Smoked Meat Pete’s. I’d heard the name, I’d heard it was far from the center of Montreal, I’d heard the food was supposedly outstanding. I’d even heard the tasty and tasteless motto: “You can’t beat Pete’s meat”
We’ll leave that up to Pete.
Anyway, yesterday night I tossed my buddy Ben Leszcz in the car and we headed off the western tip of the island of Montreal onto Ile Perrot, some 20 plus kilometers out of town. There, behind a vintage Dairy Queen, sat Smoked Meat Pete, the unlikliest place to encounter great deli.
Inside a blues band was plucking away, singing about heart attacks (from women and chopped liver) and heartbreak. The air hung thick with BBQ smoke, and the wagon wheels and worn wooden benches made it feel like a rib joint, which it partly is. After ordering and paying at the cash, we waited for the meat to come and listened to the tunes.
The place had serious promise, likely because Peter Varvaro Jr. is the son of Peter Varvaro, the owner of the Main Deli, directly accross from Schwartz’s on St. Laurent (aka the Main blvd). With decades in the smoked meat business, the younger Pete decided to set off on his own a decade ago, and the result has been tremendous.
The waitress brought out a trio of treats.
First to dissapear was the ultimate Quebec treat: Smoked Meat Poutine.
For those who don’t know, poutine is the ultimate heart attack food, a French Canadian concoction of golden french fries, cheese curds, and a thick beef gravy. It tastes of heaven and slows the body, but the idea of mixing in chopped smoked meat seemed risky and somewhat goyish. The result however was heaven, shrouded in layer upon layer of decadent sin. Salty, meaty, beefy, cheesy, starchy, and just plain old fat. When I get to death row, that’s what I’ll be eating before I go. Watch Ben go to town:
Next was a nice scoop of beef chopped liver, dark and sweet, pasty and flecked with bits of chopped egg. The kicker, and truly the best part was the little mound of crisp fried onion strips, almost hairlike in size, that were infused with gallons of delicious oil which made the perfect topping for the liver atop rye. Chopped liver without fried onions is like a night without stars.
And finally, the piece de resistance: Le smoked meat. Pete’s is dry cured like many of Montreal’s finest, which means that the briskets are rubbed with spices, left to marinate for a week or more, then smoked (usually baked) and finally steamed. There’s no preservatives, no pumping or injecting, just a natural slow cure, some cooking, and lots o’ love. Pete’s famous meat is rightly so; it crumbled nicely upon biting in, was tender, and extremely moist (to the point of being succulent). It came with a beautiful dark carmel crust, which lent a hint of sweetness to the peppery spice, a lot more pronounced than others in town.
Best of all, Smoked Meat Pete is right on the way into or out of Montreal if you’re coming from (or going to) Toronto. It’s about ten minutes from the airport, so really there’s no excuse not to go.
*also, Peter Sr. is having a bit of maintenance this coming week, so send your wishes and prayers to one of Montreal’s first families of smoked meat
Smoked Meat Pete
283 1 AV
ÎLE-PERROT,QC
(514) 425-6068
The Butcher of Marais: Michel Kalifa et Maison David
Thursday, May 24th, 2007Bienvenue mon ami. Vous etes avec faim? Pas de probleme…allez nous a Maison David!
photo by Christopher Farber
Pardon my bastardized grade 6 french, but when one talks about the culinary joys of Paris, one cannot pollute the sweet words with the bile of maudite Anglais.
I write today about one of the finest deli men I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Michel Kalifa runs a small butcher shop and charcuterie called Maison David, just off the fabled Rue des Rosiers in the Marais District of Paris. Le Marais is one of the oldest and most treasured Jewish neighborhoods in Europe, though that character is steadily dissapearing. I learnt about this from Kalifa, who is also President of the neighborhood preservation society. The city of Paris is increasingly pressuring the Jewish residents of the Rue des Rosiers, with their traditional bakeries, delicatessens, and stores, to clear out for boutiques, salons, and gay nightclubs. Last year, the legendary Jo Goldenberg’s Delicatessen closed, possibly the most famous deli in Europe.
“It’s artificial,” says Kalifa, of the gentrified area, “It’s a facade, a false street. People here don’t have the money to buy a dinner at these costs.”
Visit the site of Kalifa’s neighborhood commercial association (French only).
Until I ate at Maison David, I associated Jewish deli with cheap, plentiful, gut busting food. “Non Non Non” said Kalifa, laying various exsquisite treats upon his immaculate glass counter. There was mouth melting goose and duck pastrami, chopped liver the consistency of foie gras, mold crusted artesenal salamis with hazelnuts or peppercorns inside, and little karnatzels the size of a NIB candy. It was awe inspiring, showing that traditional kosher Yiddish cuisine (what Kalifa calls it), can be every bit as refined and delicious as the finest French, Italian, or Spanish charcuterie.
Don’t go looking for towering sandwiches and cheap knishes. This is old world food. Small, very powerful, rather expensive. It is meant to be savored and swirled…food for thought.
Take the pe’tcha for instance. This traditional shtetl dish of jellied calfs feet, a Romanian favorite, is one of the most intense gastronomic experiences in the Jewish diet. But Kalifa will place a slice on your tongue like Timothy Leary, and as it dissolves and warms, the garlicky aroma of veal and fat will fill your cheeks.
If you haven’t been to Paris, go now. And if you’ve been, but haven’t met Monsieur Kalifa, do so as well. With his Super Mario moustache and warm heart, you will emerge from his tiny shop full, satisfied, and a little bit more in love with the finest deli food imaginable. Bon Appetit!
Maison David
6, rue des Ecouffes, 75004
4e Arrondisement -le Marais
Paris, France
(014) 278-1576
MAP
Yuval Dekel and Liebman’s: Tongue in the Bronx with a side of Heavy Metal
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007
Though the Bronx was once a hotbed of delicatessens, today there is but a small slice left of its illustrious past. Sadly, there are only two delis that remain, in the upscale enclave of Riverdale, just north of Manhattan on the Harlem river.
One of these is Leibman’s, a half century old joint on West 235th Street, where elderly Jewish clientelle shlepp in and out laden down with huge bags of takeout. Though the Liebman family is long gone, the quality here is almost unsurpassed in the five boroughs, thanks to the watchful eye of young owner Yuval Dekel.
The Israeli born Dekel is a bit different from your standard New York deli owner.
First off, he’s young…not yet thirty, though to be fair, I’m not either.
Second of all, his real passion is drumming and writing music, which he does in the New York heavy metal band IRATE. It’s a far cry from knishes to death rock, but the proof is in the kishke, and Liebman’s is probably the best kosher spot in New York.
When I visited last November I was surprised by the quiet, soothing atmosphere. It wasn’t a gritty New York place, competing to be the loudest or rudest. Young staff (many of whom were Yuval’s relatives from Israel and his wife’s from Georgia) served dedicated old customers classic dishes. There was incredible sweet and sour cabbage rolls, the matzo ball soup is packed with chickeny flavor, and because Dekel was a baker before his father passed away and left him the store, the bread is outstanding…moist…dense…crisp…the perfect palate for the corned beef and pastrami that is cured IN THE STORE. The chopped liver is creamy and splendid, while the tongue is cut so thin and cooked so perfectly it melts like foie gras.
One of the best things Liebman’s makes is a hush puppy…tiny knishes stuffed with hot dogs. Liebman’s dogs alone are outstanding, not salty, extremely juicy, but the hush puppy treatment just raises the woof into another league. This is the type of place where you could just sit and eat for days and never get tired. Top tier, though entirely local because it’s far from Manhattan’s centre.
Well worth the visit. And there’s good news…Dekel says he plans to write a crazy death metal song about kvetching deli clients. Should be a classic.
Liebman’s
Kosher Restaurant and Catering
552 West 235 Street - Bronx (Riverdale) New York
www.liebmansdeli.com
