Prepping for Passover

After reading the January issue of Travel and Leisure magazine, which I picked up for my cross-country journey back to South Carolina, it has me daydreaming of New York City.  As you can tell I’m a little behind on my magazine reading as usual, but that’s a whole other story.  In the issue it covered such topics as the 500 best hotels in the world—a dreamy list that included small little waterside bungalows in Bali to all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic.  The issue also covered a good article on the growing problem of the rapid decline and bankrupting of English countryside estates, interesting for those of us who are fanatical about Downton Abbey.  But, what caught my attention was the article “For the Love of Latkes,”where the author discussed the culinary delights of the Jewish-American community in New York City.

For such a long time I have been slightly (and when I say slightly I really mean extremely) obsessed with New York and all of the culinary treasures the city has to offer.  One of these culinary treasures is the iconic New York deli. The city certainly isn’t without its fair share of delis, almost one on every corner it seems.  The famous ones such as Carnegie Deli and Katz’s Delicatessen are only two out of many that most tourists know.  Carnegie Deli in Midtown is loud and crowded and has some of the largest sandwiches you may ever put in your mouth.  Katz’s on Houston Street has been a Lower East Side staple for nearly 100 years, which became even more famous after the movie scene where Meg Ryan gave Billy Crystal an unforgettable performance in When Harry Met Sally.  If you want to sit at the same table where the scene occurred, there’s a sign that points you to there. In “For the Love of Latkes” the author goes on to describe some of the dishes at lesser known Jewish delis and restaurants in the city. Most of these restaurants mentioned are offering a different spin on traditional fare ranging from what we know as Jewish-American cuisine like matzo ball soup (Jewish penicillin) and the renowned Reuben sandwich, which was adapted from the food of German and Eastern European immigrants.  Matzo ball soup is traditional for the Passover table; during this time no breads or cakes are consumed with leavening agents.  Eating unleavened bread during this time represents the hasty exit of enslaved Israelites freed from Egypt during the Exodus.  There was no time to let their bread rise and had to be eaten flat.  Jewish cuisine also has influences from the cuisines from the Mediterranean, Middle East and Northern Africa, or anywhere large populations of Jews have lived at one time or another.  Adaptations on all of the original recipes were all built out of necessity and strict dietary laws. 

Pastrami on Rye and Half-Sour Pickles at Katz's Delicatessen

I haven’t had the pleasure of dining at any of the restaurants mentioned in the article such as Balaboosta (which means perfect housewife in Yiddish), Mile End Delicatessen in Brooklyn, Kutsher’s in TriBeCa, or Russ and Daughters on the Lower East Side.  The last one on the this list I have actually walked into, twice actually—staring at all of the different types of smoked fish and caviars behind the counter, too paralyzed to order anything for fear of making a fool of myself in front of people far more familiar with how and what to order.  Both times I have walked in and then walked out with nothing, but each time found the flurry of activity in this small little shop very exciting.   

Russ and Daughters on The Lower East Side

Growing up I wasn’t exposed to this type of food and didn’t have any have any experience eating food like this, with the only exception being an occasional pastrami sandwich or bagel.  I have been interested in exploring deeper into a small piece of my family heritage, since my great-great-great grandfather Carl Goldberg emigrated to the United States, leaving Prussian Germany in the 1800’s seeking both social and economic opportunities, leaving his roots behind.  My first real experience with Jewish cuisine was on a trip to New York City a few years ago right before Passover.  We took a food tour through the “Enthusiastic Gourmet,” a company that offers food tours on the Lower East Side through Chinatown, Little Italy and “noshes” of traditional Jewish fare.  We chose the tour called the “Melting Pot,” where you get to sample food from all three cultures in one tour.  The tour took about four hours and started on the Lower East Side in the Essex Street Market.  At first I was a little nervous because our first stop was at a stall that made birthday cakes, and had recently ventured into the world of making red velvet cupcakes.  We tasted them and neither of us said anything.  Both us clearly didn’t like the cupcake.  Growing up in the South, you come to know red velvet cake very well and this cupcake wasn’t cutting it.  I was worried we had made a mistake by going on the tour, but thankfully our next stop made up for the first disaster.  Next stop was Saxelby Cheesemongers, a little stand that specializes in American farmstead cheeses.  Let me just say, that I don’t think I’ve ever met a cheese I didn’t like.  Things were looking up.  On the way out we passed Shopsin’s, a place I had only read about in Saveur magazine just before our trip.  Owned by the curmudgeon Kenny Shopsin, the menu offers around 900 or so items and if you don’t know what you want when you get up to the counter he yells obscenities at you.  Our tour guide even commented that she had tried to set him up as a stop on her tour, but he wasn’t even remotely interested to put it nicely.  I don’t know this to be true from my own experience and it doesn’t deter me from wanting to still eat there.

Next on the tour were kosher pickles from the Pickle Guys.  Three different pickles in varying stages from new, half sour, to full sour.  All considered to be a revelation in my book, but this is also coming from a girl who packed a Mt. Olive pickle in her lunch everyday for three years in high school.  Because of the time of year we were visiting, the Pickle Guys were grating fresh horseradish for people to use at family dinners during Passover.  I learned that horseradish is used as a part of Passover Seder plates to remind Jews of the bitterness of slavery.  I couldn’t resist purchasing a jar since I’d only had the store bought stuff.

New, Half-Sour, and Full-Sour Pickles at The Pickle Guys

Kossar’s Bialys across the street was our next stop where we had our first bialy.  Bialys are similar to bagels, but for those of you who haven’t had a bialy, the differences between the two are that bialys aren’t boiled before they are baked and instead of a hole there’s a medium-sized indentation in the middle.  We then made our way through Chinatown where we sampled pork buns and ogled the fresh and unusual produce and seafood placed in terraced bins out on the sidewalk.  Then made our way through Little Italy sampling on Sopressata and Piave cheese (a cow’s milk cheese similar to Parmigiano Reggiano), finally ending at an Italian bakery where we stuffed our full bellies with mini cannolis.  To this day it was one of the coolest things we’ve done when visiting the city and in my opinion, a very fine way to spend an afternoon learning and eating my way through one of my favorite places on earth.  

Chinese Cabbages on the Street in Chinatown

A Shop in Little Italy Prepares for Easter

In theory, I like to get up to New York City a couple of times a year but that doesn’t always happen.  So, since I won’t be getting up to New York City any time soon, and since Passover starts next week, I will start by making Ruth Reichl’s Matzo Brei recipe as well as a Passover feast on Sunday.  I can also head over to Greenfield’s Bagel and Deli to get lox and bagels, a liver or tongue sandwich to satisfy my kosher cravings, and most of all fixate on what I would order at Russ and Daughters.

Sopressata and Other Salami in a Shop in Little Italy