Comments on: Bacon & Lox: Jewish Deli Virgin Gets Deflowered

By: Jesse Beller

Jesse Beller — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:25:00 +0000

I’m gonna take another swing at the pickle question, cause I don’t think Ellen’s post quite covers it.

There are basically two kinds of pickles: vinegar pickles and fermented pickles. Vinegar pickles are much more common at supermarkets and the like, but they’re essentially boiled in vinegar. The kind served at any deli worth its salt are fermented, that is, let to sit in a brine solution of salt water with garlic, dill and whatever else until they develop that delicious tang. Ellen is right, though; in most commercial canning processes the jars are heated till steam escapes in order to create a seal, and heating the fermented brine would kill the active culture. This is another reason most commercial pickles are of the vinegar variety; its just friendlier to industrial production. Fermented pickling techniques are traditional preservation methods in the absence of refrigeration, very much akin to salting, smoking or corning meats.

By: Funny Papa

Funny Papa — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:39:10 +0000

What’s fun here is not whether one deli is better than the other deli but the introduction and reaction of such an important part of our heritage to a non-Jew. And what I found interesting was the similarities that Stephanie discovered between their two cultures. It seems to me that the next article should focus on Jason’s visit with Stephanie either to an Irish Pub or ethnic food from Stephanie’s heritage. I’d love to read my Jewish son’s (Jason’s my second born and let me tell you his baubbie – my mother – made a potato knish and a cheese blintz to die for) reaction to lefse, a typical Scandinavian food made with lye. Good luck, Moo, with that one.

By: Ellen Weinstock

Ellen Weinstock — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:44:54 +0000

Why are the pickles different? 1) They have a lot more cloves of garlic with them than standard ones in a jar; and 2) They’re not cooked. When you buy pickles in a jar in the supermarket, they’ve been boiled as part of the canning process. The exceptions are the ones that have to be kept refrigerated, such as Bubbie’s or Ba-Tampte. Cold pickling them gives you that tangy fizz when you bite into them that goes away in the cooking process. I realized this when I delightedly canned pickles one year and then discovered I had created the same old crap you can buy in any supermarket! What I should have done is ferment them in a stone crock in the basement, as my bubbe would have.

By: Jason Kapel

Jason Kapel — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:34:48 +0000

Growing up in St. Louis Park, the Lincoln Dell on Lake Street/Minnetonka Blvd was an important part of my upbringing. It’s where I learned what a Jewish Deli was. And Pastrami Jacks was near my work, so I enjoyed taking my non-Jewish co-workers over there for the experience (and seeing there faces when there was always at least one other person there I knew). I believe I went to the Stage Deli in New York (is that the one in the north part of Times Square right on Broadway?). I enjoyed it, but I may have ordered wrong. Being a big sauce guy (probably why I’m a fan of the Mort’s Reuben), the pastrami sandwich I ordered was a bit dry. But it was worth it for the experience (definitely the tallest sandwich I ever ordered).

By: davidi

davidi — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:55:45 +0000

agreed on the Lincoln Dell. Pastrami Jacks was the bomb, crossroads is decent. nothing quite compares to the Stage Deli (in New york, or vegas)