The Economy and Delis
Monday, January 5th, 2009Welcome back everyone. I’ve been enjoying the vacation by doing sweet nothing, and that includes Save the Deli updates, though I’ve been eating plenty, including copious amounts of chicken soup because it’s flu season. So stock up.
What does 2009 have in store for delis? Probably a tough year. People are spending less, and that weekly trip for corned beef might just be one of the luxuries many of us cut back on. But delis have weathered many downturns before, and while these undoubtedly hurt some delis, it was also a boon to others. Because delis are places filled with copious amounts of comfort food, where people feel warm, and embraced, and happy, they tend to do better in tough times than fine dining restaurants. During the great depression, many delis sold cheap cuts of meat, scraps, and ends of salami (nickle a shitkls), to keep their poorest customers fed. Some even lent the money banks. Delis face challenges in the near future, but I think they’re well positioned to ride it out. (more…)
Grand Central New York Deli opens in Ottawa
Friday, December 19th, 2008
It seems not too long ago that I wrote about the death of deli in Ottawa, Canada’s under the radar capital city. The city’s last reigning deli, Nate’s, had been slated to close, and that seemed like that for the ‘Twa. A shame too, because with it’s location between corned beef Toronto and smoked meat Montreal, a city literally on the border between English and French Canada, Ottawa had great deli potential.
Which is why it gives me great pleasure to tell you all about a newly opened deli in that city. (more…)
The Bagel: A Cultural History
Monday, November 24th, 2008
While I don’t normally go into the subject of bagels (bagels aren’t deli!), I feel like I need to pay the tasty round bread its due.
I’ve always loved bagels. More than any other Jewish food they are a no-brainer. Whether you prefer the massive New York style, the dense/chewy variety from Montrealer, the Toronto twisters, or even the goyish supermarket/cinnamon raisin variety, bagels are win win. They fill, they hold, they sustain, and they comfort. They’re good toasted or plain, with butter or cream cheese or stacked with all sorts of smoked fish, onions, tomato, capers, etc…
My personal favorite is a fresh sesame seed bagel hot from the wood fired oven at Montreal’s St. Viateur bakery. Others have their owns, but what’s important is that bagels are now a ubiquitous global bread, eaten around the world in a way that’s almost disconnected from other Jewish foods.
So it is of no small significance that the definitive cultural history of the bagel was recently published. The Bagel: A Cultural History is the work of British historian and journalist Maria Balinska, and it seeks to dispel many myths about bagel origins in the world.
(more…)
Obama’s Manny’s Surprise
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
I ask all of you, especially the guy who spammed me how Obama was going to destroy Israel, how you cannot be exited to have this man leading America?
Do I say this because of his eloquence or good looks?
Because of his calm manner, or his plans to think things through?
No.
Have I succumbed to Obamania because of the peer pressure?
Am I excited because everything George Bush touches turns to shit, and the less he can touch, the less shitty things may be? (ok, a bit on this one)
But principally I’m psyched to live in the United States of Obama because of this:
Caplansky’s gets the Kates nod
Monday, November 17th, 2008One of the things I miss most being here in New York is Caplansky’s, its smoked meat, and Zane, that crazy SOB at the helm who you just can’t help but love.
So it gives me great pleasure to pass along good news from there, which I am thankfully doing often.
On Saturday, the Globe and Mail’s top food critic, Joanne Kates, gave Caplansky’s an overwhelmingly amazing review.
(more…)
Chicago’s Kaufman’s Stimulus Package
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Pity poor Hank Paulson.
He let Lehman collapse, took shit for that, then screamed that the U.S. needed massive bailout of AIG, the banks, and the financial sector or else all hell was going to break loose. No oversight, no controls, just give him the money!
They did…shit still broke loose, banks went under, the market tanked, and AIG still found ways to lose billions and pay for junkets.
But now that Obama’s en route to the White House, perhaps the next round of salvation is around the corner. One that affects Main Street, not Wall Street…mom and pop, not the fat cats. And if a solution is coming from the people, than you’d better know it’s coming from the people in Obama’s hometown.
What the hell am I talking about?
Well, I got a great email from my friend Bette Dworkin, owner of her family’s Kaufman’s Bakery and Deli in Skokie, IL. And guess what she’s doing in these tough times? Yep, she’s rolling back prices…a bit of homegrown deli stimulus.
Read on:
CHICAGO’S KAUFMAN BAGEL & DELICATESSEN “ROLLS” BACK PRICES ON ALL FRESHLY BAKED BREAD and BAGEL PRODUCTS (more…)
Agriprocessors Inc. Files for Bankruptcy
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
The May raid at Agriprocessors, the country’s largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse, has been grabbing headlines for months now. It’s caused many Jews, both observant and non, to confront the ethics of kosher, and whether a standard should address work conditions, as well as the way meat is handled. Agriprocessors has been a blight on the Orthodox community for years, exacerbating negative stereotypes with heinous, selfish, greedy actions. Needless to say it’s caused a lot of turmoil in the Jewish food world, and the deli world (a meaty place) has been no exception.
So now the New York Times is reporting that Agriprocessors Inc., the Iowa slaughterhouse that’s owned and operated by the Rubashkin family, has filed for bankruptcy. I’ll let the pros take it from here:
Large Iowa Meatpacker in Illegal Immigrant Raid Files for Bankruptcy
By JULIA PRESTON
Published: November 5, 2008
The kosher meatpacking company in Iowa that has been struggling with criminal charges and huge fines for labor violations, a dwindling work force and declining demand among Jewish consumers since an immigration raid at its main plant, has filed for bankruptcy. (more…)
Who Wants to Buy Pancer’s?
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Friends,
It’s time I finally discuss the worst kept secret in Toronto’s delicatessen business. For months now Moe Pancer’s delicatessen, the beloved institution of North York, has quietly been for sale. Normally I’d keep you abreast of all these developments, but Lorne Pancer is a dear friend and this site, the book, hell…this whole deli community, wouldn’t exist without his support over the years. So I kept my mouth shut as Lorne looked around for a buyer. (more…)
Barrie’s Pastrami King is no more
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008I really hate writing these.
Each time I hear that a deli closes, something inside me dies. Most of the time they are delis that I’ve never heard of, like Katz’s in Phoenix, until they close. Some of the time they are delis that I’d been to and once loved, like Rascal House, distant that they were. But this one is especially hard and hits very close to home. (more…)
Bye Bye Ben’s
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
PHIL CARPENTER GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Even though Montreal’s Ben’s Delicatessen closed almost two years back, the fight to preserve the classic art deco structure has continued with ferocity. But alas, sometimes the death of a deli is inevitable, and so it comes with another note of sadness that the big ship of a deli on De Maisonneuve Blvd will be sold and torn down, as reports the Montreal Gazette. (more…)
