A Tribute to Eiran Harris
Monday, January 19th, 2009
My occasional tributes on this site are to deli men, those who make, cook, and serve delicatessen foods because of a love for the tradition, the flavor, and the people who inhabit that world. Today I’d like to make a tribute to a fellow deli lover and researcher such as myself. I’d like to pay tribute to Eiran Harris.
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Mill Basin Kosher Deli
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
Well over two years ago, I was touring around Brooklyn with official borough historian Ron Schweiger, a real mensch of a guy. We were trying to cover the history of Brooklyn’s delicatessen scene, which, considering it once held more Jews than Tel Aviv, is saying something. Brooklyn’s a massive place, yet Ron, myself, and my friend Chris Farber managed to touch many of its corners, while Schweiger regaled us with tales of deli greatness, including the long lost Grabstein’s.
We stopped in at several delis that day, ate at a few, but one we didn’t was the Mill Basin Kosher Delicatessen. I swore I’d go back, and thankfully yesterday the chance presented itself. (more…)
First Taste of Lansky’s
Monday, November 17th, 2008
With so few delis opening up in New York, those that do are often greatly anticipated. They carry on their shoulders the burden of a city that loves deli but has few outlets for that love. And in Jewish neighborhoods like the Upper West Side, that love, and the few delis to receive it, makes the opening of a new deli there very significant. (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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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.
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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
