Rant #1,489: Kosher Deli

And now, we come to kosher deli.

Of all the ethnic foods that I eat, this is probably the one that is the most scorned--and misunderstood--of all the ethnic varieties, at least of the ones that I enjoy.

Kosher pastrami and corned beef, kugel, matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish and any other number of kosher dishes are not the staples of a Jewish diet as they used to be.

When my parents were growing up, this was probably the only ethnic food that they would go out to eat, because it was basically part of their DNA.

I know for my Orthodox grandparents, the only time we took them out to eat was at a glatt kosher restaurant, meaning a restaurant that was all kosher, under strict rabbinical supervision.

There were a variety of delis like this around New York during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and you really had what to choose from.

I know that we frequented the Host Deli in Flushing, and that deli was probably the first kosher deli I ever ate in.

Later, we had a kosher deli in my own neighborhood, Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, Queens. It was in the second mall--we had two malls, one indoors and one fresh air--and it was perfectly placed, for me, to go there when I went to Hebrew School.

My friends and I would walk there, get a fat, juicy kosher pickle with a Cel-Ray--a celery based carbonated beverage that is probably unknown to kids today, but was popular back then--and then walk to the synagogue where I went to Hebrew School.

If I didn't finish my pickle, it was immediately confiscated by one of the women who worked there.

I would not finish on purpose--leave maybe a nub--because I liked the woman's daughter, so I guess it made me feel that I was becoming known to her mom (funny the way kids think).

Anyway, I mentioned earlier that kosher deli is the most scorned--and misunderstood--of all the ethnic foods I eat, and let me discuss that point now.

Jews used to live in certain areas specifically--like the Lower East Side of Manhattan--and thus, their preferences for authentic Jewish food out of the house led to the rise of kosher delis in their neighborhoods.

As Jews branched out from these neighborhoods, they took their food preferences with them, and thus, kosher delis followed them elsewhere, including to the suburbs.

But remember in the previous columns about food I talked about straying?

Well, succeeding generations of Jews strayed, ate Chinese food and other traif foods, and the importance of the kosher deli was minimized.

Mix this with the belief that kosher food is heavy, full of calories, and not for those watching their weight or what they eat, and is expensive, and you have a major problem.

Another problem is that unlike the other ethnic foods, kosher delis basically catered to a Jewish clientele only. Kosher deli, in general, did not bring in the masses like, let's say, Mexican food did. although I am not going to say that non-Jews don't like kosher food.

Many Muslims will only eat kosher food because it is felt to be "safe" by their own religious edible standards.

But generally, kosher food is not the mass marketing food that Chinese and Mexican have become.

And that is where the problem lies.

Starting in the 1990s, many kosher delis closed, because they simply weren't drawing the clientele that they had been, whether Jew or non-Jew.

The food was thought to be old fashioned, old world, and nothing that a modern, food conscious population is interested in.

And again, it was expensive, especially compared to other foods.

I would say that in the past 25 years or so, just about every kosher deli around where I live has closed.

Kosher deli still thrives in highly Jewish areas, like in certain parts of New York City and certainly the Five Towns area on Long Island, but in other areas, these restaurants are done.

Several years ago, two new kosher restaurant concepts were born, one which still exists today, and the other which tried, and failed, to attract a steady audience.

Let me talk about the latter, first.

Why not make kosher deli into a fast food? Have kosher hot dogs on the go, have various other ethnic foods ready for those looking for decent food in a hurry?

This was the concept of Kosher King, a short-lived restaurant chain that tried, and failed, to attract such an audience.

There was one within driving distance of me here on Long Island, but it just wasn't meant to be, and went out of business within six months of opening--to be replaced by an Italian restaurant.

The other concept was a chain of kosher restaurants.

Ben's opened its first chain restaurant probably about 30 years ago, but even though the chain is still around today, its Jekyll and Hyde environment doomed it for me, as well as the problem I have with its food.

Initially, some of its restaurants were glatt kosher, and some of its restaurants were kosher style, and there is a tremendous difference. Glatt kosher means that everything that is available in the restaurant is 100 percent kosher, prepared in tune with rabbinical standards.

Orthodox Jews would be happy to eat there.

However, some of Ben's restaurants were kosher style, meaning that they had all the usual kosher fare, but they also offered food like shrimp, which is strictly forbidden by rabbinical standards.

And they often did not have any signs telling you which restaurant was which. You seemingly had to know which restaurant was all kosher and which restaurant wasn't.

One day, we took my grandparents out to a Ben's, and everything was hunky dory until we saw a waiter carting out an order of fried shrimp to another table.

My grandfather--out of respect for him we wore yarmulkes when we ate kosher deli--almost had a personal cataclysm, but we somehow made it out of there pretty much unscathed, other than him telling us, "Don't take me here anymore" upon leaving.

Now, Ben's is all glatt kosher as far as I know, so there isn't those problems on that end anymore, but personally, I don't care for their food. I find it bland and tasteless, and quite pricey to boot.

And that is another problem with kosher deli--it is quite pricey.

To adhere to certain standards, kosher food--even those items you would buy in a kosher butcher--is highly priced compared to non-kosher food, and thus, that is another problem with kosher delis.

The food is priced too high, and people watching their pocketbooks won't spend the extra money to eat at a kosher deli.

But you know what? I crave a good pastrami sandwich on club all the time.

It is still in my DNA, and I still like kosher deli food.

I personally have not written it off as others have, and new ways of cooking that are always coming about show that it doesn't have to be heavy if the eater doesn't want it to be.

So, kosher deli is not dead, it is pretty much in something of a holding pattern now, and it is ripe for a comeback.

Whether it will ever reach the pinnacle like it did in previous decades is doubtful, but it will always be around for people who like authentic, ethnic food that will fill you up and carry you through the day.

I like kosher deli, and I still can taste, in my mind, those kosher pickles that I used to eat before Hebrew School as a kid.

And boy, were they good!