Heading west…with lots of press
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
Dateline Toronto:
After an amazing Canadian launch party duo at Caplansky’s last night, I’m now getting my first morning to sit and relax a bit, taking phone calls and working from my fiance’s couch. Zane Caplansky has a great report on the Toronto party on his blog, and he’ll have photos and vids posted soon, which I’ll write about here. But in a few hours I head out west to San Francisco, and hopefully sunny California. Sweet. There’s still tickets available for the Saul’s event tomorrow, and make sure to stop by Bookspassage on Monday night in the Ferry Marketplace.
So before I do, let’s round up some of the press that’s happening. (more…)
Gimme Some Love LA!
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
photo credit (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Today seems to be a big LA press day, with my visit there under a week away. I couldn’t be happier. For those of you who’ve read the book, you know it was a highlight to fress in the city of angels.
First off is a great story by Elina Shatkin at the Los Angeles Times:
The deli capital? It’s L.A.
That’s the conclusion of ‘Save the Deli’ author David Sax. He explains why the City of Angels beats out New York and other contenders.
It was in rural Kansas, near the geographical center of America, that David Sax hit rock bottom in his search for the perfect deli sandwich. It happened innocently enough, in an Arby’s. He had ordered a Reuben.
“What I got was this horrible abomination of plasticized cheese that tasted like it had come from a napalm plant,” he says. “Meat that had been pressed and pumped and vacuumed and torn apart to increase its yield in water but had no flavor. Bread that was just white bread painted a dark rye color. It was horrendous. And it was microwaved. I had two bites and that was it.”
But if Sax found the nadir of the Reuben, he also found its zenith. And — perhaps surprisingly — he didn’t find it in New York, the birthplace of the Jewish deli; he found it here in Los Angeles. (more…)
Save the Deli saves America
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
*I wasn’t allowed a camera, so this is courtesy of the folks at Blackberry
A few months ago I told you that the book had made it to the inner sanctum of American democracy. Today, Save the Deli, and by that I mean me, went to the White House.
You see, with jobs still being lost, wars being waged, and health care nowhere near passing, the White House needed a stimulus, and pastrami was just what was called for. (more…)
A Mad Launch at Ben’s (aka: Jelvis Has Left the Building)
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
photo courtesy of Jason Perlow
CLICK HERE TO SEE JASON PERLOW’S PHOTOS
CLICK HERE TO READ HIS GREAT POST AT OFF THE BROILER
Oh what a crazy night. First off, just a quick reminder that the Canadian edition of the book came out today. So go hit up your bookstores Canucks, and get your copies today.
Now back to Ben’s. It was billed as a celebration of deli culture, but we forgot to add the terms “stampeding crowds”, “raging mobs”, and “unreasonable amounts of linked meats”. What can I say, it was a glorious shitshow that was hailed by one party blogger (who I randomly met) as “The Best Book Party I’ve Ever Seen”. People arrived early, clamored for tables, and started eating and drinking. Hundreds arrived within a short period of time. The line for the buffet snaked all around the deli. Someone estimated over 400 people coming and going throughout the night.
(more…)
Exclusive Excerpt from “Save the Deli” in the National Post
Saturday, October 17th, 2009
Well deli lovers, here’s your first taste of “Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen”
Today the National Post published several pages from the Canadian chapters (14 and 15) on Toronto and Montreal. Enjoy:
Live and Let Rye
While Montreal’s delicatessen still inspires passion the world over, it’s a different story down the 401
David Sax, Weekend Post
Though I was born and raised in Toronto, my parents are both native Montrealers, leaving for Toronto in the late 1970s like so many of their contemporaries, fleeing the unstable politics of Quebec’s separatists. Though her childhood home was just steps from Snowdon Deli, one of Montreal’s finest, Mom rarely ate delicatessen. Her Canadianborn parents, Evelyn and Stanley Davis, were the furthest thing from Bubbe and Zaide.
Grandma cooked from a pantry stocked with cans and powders, often tossing together “concoctions” from leftovers. They ate every meal with a glass of milk. Though they were decidedly Jewish in religion and race, at the table they were basically goyish.
My deli genes came from my father’s side. Though both his parents came to Canada when they were children, they retained the flavour of Romania and Hungary. Long after “Poppa” Sam Sax died at the hands of that fatal sandwich, Daniel and I would visit the apartment of our “Granny” Ella Sax and head straight for her kitchen. On the stove, pots of sweet-and-sour meatballs bubbled. (more…)
More Jewcy, Rabbis rock, Michael Savage curbs our meaty liberty
Saturday, October 17th, 2009Another day of crazy love and press for Save the Deli. God bless you all.
First off, check out my latest exclusive Jewcy.com blog post “Where Deli is Community”
Once upon a time, the delicatessen was the third pole of Jewish American communal life. The other two were the synagogue, where people prayed twice daily, and the bathouse, shvitz, or mikveh, where the men and women gossiped, bathed, and bonded. Considering that the synagogue was separated by sex, as, naturally, was the bathhouse, the delicatessen was the one spot where community socialized as one. It was open to everyone from the pious to the sinners, the machers and pishers, criminals and politicians.
In communities like Boston’s Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods, delis like the G&G Delicatessen were de-facto community halls. It’s where people went to plead to those in power, where the humble and the exalted could meet equally over a bowl of soup. The Irish had their pubs and the Italians their cafes. We had our delis.
Somewhere in the past decades of post-war evolution and assimilation, the deli lost its place as a locus of the community where it was based. First, communities moved, and quickly. Some happened because of the housing opportunities in the suburbs. Others because of white flight, and the deterioration of American inner-cities. READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE AT JEWCY.COM
Next, the good folks at the Jew and the Carrot, the blog of Hazon, are giving away a copy of Save the Deli. All you have to do is go and comment on Jeffrey Yoskowitz’s article to enter the draw. Keep your eyes on Yosko. He’s one of the best up and coming food writers out there.
And now the best piece of news I received today, from my friend Amanda Blitz, via Facebook (check out the piece she did on Delis in the economy):
“DAVE, rabbi’s entire sermon today (Beth Tikvah) was about your book!!!! I was so excited. He tried to compare it to the parsha and the Garden of Eden. He discussed self-destruction and how your book points out that the demise of the Jewish del…i world is in part due to outsourcing and not making everything new themselves. He talked about how the delis that have survived are the ones that continue to make their own matzah ball soup and hand cut meat…. i.e. the ones that didn’t neglect the true and quintessential part of being a deli: being homegrown. He compared that to how we should not neglect our spiritual self or else we too will self-destruct. It was a stretch, but I was just so happy to hear him talk about you and your book. Mazel tov!”
I’m not sure if this was Rabbi Allen or Rabbi Grover, but thank you so much. This is really an honor. Save the Deli was always more than just where to find a great sandwich. It is a story about a slice of the Jewish community, and if we don’t take ownership over the fate of our own culture, it will vanish. It’s up to us.
Which is why I find it rather sad and pathetic to hear that I was attacked on-air last night by conservative radio host Michael Savage (who I initially confused with sex columnist Dan Savage). In addition to fighting against Gay rights, health insurance reforms, and the vast liberal conspiracy, the Jewish born Mr. Savage (nee Michael Alan Weiner in da Bronx) had time to rail against my quest to save the deli. You see, Mr. Savage is a bit of a health nut, and apparently his great quest to preserve the flame of American liberty doesn’t extend to the liberty of what Americans eat and enjoy. If someone decides to help pay for a doctor visit that’s basically Stalinism, but god forbid people should enjoy a kishke and matzo ball. He’s pretty much Susan Power on this issue.
What can I say, it’s a compliment to be bashed by a shmendrick like Mr. Savage. A bi gezunte Weiner! Here’s to burning the bridge of your roots.
Brian Lehrer, Chicago Sun Times, San Jose Mercury News, and Zucky’s Deli
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009Hey everyone. Hope you listened to the NPR piece last night. We’re back to #1 in meats on Amazon. Top of the food chain baby!
Another big day today. The highlight is an appearance on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer show, which I listen to every day. I’ll be on from 11:40 onward, and you can call in.
A couple of good articles out today:
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SUN TIMES DELI SLIDESHOW
The disappearing deli Chicago Sun Times
Author bemoans demise of Jewish noshing spot, explores future of this cultural icon
by Mike Thomas
All over the country, delis are dying. That’s what author and deli expert David Sax contends. That’s what he writes about on his blog, savethedeli.com, and in his new book, Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of the Jewish Delicatessen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $24). Chicago is no exception, the lifelong deli devotee says. Its once thriving deli scene is now barely surviving.
“Where each Jewish neighborhood once boasted a dozen delis in its roster,” Sax writes, “now the whole of Chicago and its suburbs barely listed that many.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE
A la Carte: David Sax and his mission to ‘Save the Deli’
By Jackie Burrell
Contra Costa Times
David Sax is out to save an endangered species.
We’re speaking, of course, of Jewish delicatessens, home to the perfect pastrami sandwich. Mmm, savory slices piled atop double-baked rye bread. With a cream soda on the side. And a kishke or two.
Sax spent months researching the decline of the deli, eating knishes from coast to coast. The result — the intriguing and irreverent “Save the Deli: In Search of the Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye and the Heart of the Jewish Delicatessen” (Houghton Mifflin, 318 pages, $24) — hits store shelves next week.
Among the Bay Area mentions: Berkeley’s Saul’s Delicatessen, and San Francisco’s Moishe’s Pippic, Miller’s East Coast and David Apfelbaum’s legendary, eponymous deli. At one point, there were an astounding 16 David’s Delicatessens in San Francisco alone. Now there’s just the original one on Geary.
“He has a menu like no other menu you’ve ever seen,” says Sax. “He writes these incredible dishes. Everything is a story, the history of Jewish food, crazy inside jokes.”
Want to meet Sax? Nosh a little, dish a little on the state of Jewish delis? Tell him which delis he missed? Join Sax for a book signing and some pastrami sampling at 4 p.m. Oct. 24 at Saul’s, 1475 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, www.saulsdeli.com. Sax also will sign books at Book Passage at 6 p.m. Oct. 26 at the San Francisco Ferry Building.
And finally, LA Filmmaker Leron Kornreich, who runs Timeless Legacy Video, has uploaded and embedded his mini-documentary about the departed yet beloved Zucky’s delicatessen, in LA.
Crazy Day Roundup
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009Ok, the book is now six days away from launch, with the Deli-Licious NYC party at Ben’s happening on the 19th, the DC Sixth and I talk with Evan Klein on the 21st, and the Toronto launch party at Caplansky’s on the 22nd.
The Ben’s party has been getting particularly good attention. Today we got shoutouts in the listings of the New Yorker (for all you highbrow uptowners) and the Village Voice (for all you rocking downtowners).
Tonight, on NPR’s All Things Considered, listen as I sit down with host Robert Siegel at Ben’s Best Kosher Delicatessen, in Queens, NY, for an interview about Save the Deli. The show airs nationally from 4pm-6pm, though longer in some areas. After 7pm EST, the interview will be available online for you to listen to. Also, don’t forget that All Things Considered wants your deli stories and photos. Email stories to deli@npr.org and upload any pictures you have to Flickr with the tag “nprdeli”.
Lots more to come this week. Today I’m especially excited to do a taping for Bronx Flavor, by far the most amazing food internet TV show ever. Hell, it’s the best food TV show period. The Baron and I will be feasting on schmaltzy treats in the Bronx, whose succulent powers one can only imagine. If you haven’t seen the show, you must. It’s the Wayne’s World of this generation. Only real. (more…)
Share your deli stories with NPR
Friday, October 9th, 2009
NPR’s All Things Considered, which is going to air a story about me and the book on Tuesday, are deli crazy.
After a stellar lunch at Ben’s Best yesterday with host Robert Siegel, producer Julia Redpath Buckley, and photographer Greg Miller, they just aired a sweet promo on air.
But they’re going one step further. They want you to send in your deli stories, and post your deli photos. See below. And here.
This week in New York, Robert Siegel spoke with David Sax, author of Save the Deli, for an interview slated to air on All Things Considered next week.
For his book that will be published Oct. 19, Sax traveled around the country looking for authentic Jewish delicatessens, which are not easy to find these days.
Sax’s love for deli food has been passed down to him from his late grandfather, who ignored doctor’s orders and went straight to his favorite Jewish deli after a hospital visit.
Because Sax can’t be the only one with an interesting deli story to share, we want to hear yours. Write to us at deli@npr.org — or leave them in the comments section below.
And, if you don’t like writing, upload photos of your favorite deli, deli worker, deli item, or site where your favorite deli once stood to Flickr.
Step 1: If you’re not a member yet, join Flickr. It doesn’t cost anything, though if you want to use it to share a lot of photos — i.e., hundreds or thousands — you may want to purchase a Pro account.
Step 2: Upload the pics you’d like to share and tag them nprdeli. (If you’re having trouble uploading, consult Flickr’s help guide.)
And that’s it; you’re done.
Toronto Star “Birthing pains last a month at Caplansky’s”
Thursday, October 8th, 2009Corey Mintz spent a month eating at Caplansky’s to write his admittedly biased review of the place in today’s Toronto Star. But it shows. There’s love, but there’s also tough words. And I’m proud to say I get a mention and a shot of me stuffing my fat face. The video is particularly great. I find the line, “If I were Chinese and there were only 4 Chinese restaurants in Toronto, I would be incredibly excited for a single new Chinese restaurant…and that’s what’s happening here,” to be one of the most poignant things anyone has written about the appeal of delis in this day and age.
Birthing pains last a month at Caplansky’s
by Corey Mintz. October 8th, 2009 thestar.com
As a critic, I should not be at Caplansky’s on opening day. No restaurant should be judged on its performance that soon.
But this is a unique situation. These people are practically family. I met owner Zane Caplansky when he catered my grandmother’s shiva. Giulia Mandel, one of the managers, is the younger sister of my closest friend Max. Years ago, I dated Vishanti Moosai, the other manager. No fake moustache is going to afford me anonymity in this place.
Also, this is my last review and it’s my pleasure to go out on a personal note, so I’m here on opening day, Sept. 5, and almost every day thereafter, to bring Star readers an intimate view at the bumps in this – or any new restaurant’s – road.
On top of all that, since Zane closed his original location inside the Monarch Tavern, I am hungry for smoked meat.
So are many others, as evidenced by the hundreds who show up the first day. (Toronto food writers and fans – yours truly included – seem to have conspired to build opening-day excitement to a fever pitch.)
A legion of inexperienced servers tries desperately to placate the hordes. With the computers broken and a staff that barely knows each other’s names, a fire breaks out in the kitchen.
(more…)
