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Cutting against the grain Sep 3, 2009 (8 of 9 found this helpful)
New Yorkers are going to hate this book. Not only does it name the two best cities for deli as Los Angeles (all true New Yorkers can't stand LA, especially transplants who have to live or work there) and Montréal (CANADA? Huh??), it was written by a guy from Toronto. How can NYC not be the undisputed Deli Capital of the World? And what does a Canadian know from deli, anyway?
The answer is this: David Sax is on a mission. It's right there--it's the title of the book! Sax has traveled the world in search of the best of Jewish delicatessen culture and food. Believe me, Sax knows just about all there is to know about the deli classics everybody is familiar with, like pastrami, bagels, and knishes, as well as about hardcore Jewish soul food, such as p'tcha, kishke, and cholent. He's eaten more deli than you can possibly imagine. He knows what he's talking about.
Sax keeps the tone light and entertaining for the most part, even though Save the Deli serves up generous helpings of history, food criticism, and travel writing. The only (minor) flaw in the text is that Sax hasn't woven the chapters into a flowing and coherent whole very well. Some sections end abruptly, while others feel somewhat disconnected from the material that follows. This may stem from his background as a magazine writer. Nonetheless, the book is enjoyable and fun to read overall.
Bottom line: Save the Deli is a combination travelogue, tribute, and polemic. While Sax's aim is serious, he leavens his writing with a great deal of humor and sensitivity. Anybody who loves corned beef on rye with lots of mustard, always stops for fresh rugelach, or is just a dedicated fresser will dig this book. Maybe New Yorkers will too, when all is said and done. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for daring to buck the conventional wisdom about NYC delis.
[a personal note: for those who think Canada can't possibly have good deli, I have four words for you. Smoked meat. Montréal bagels. `Nuff said.]
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Two books in a similar vein to this one:
Eat This!: 1,001 Things to Eat Before You Diet-eat your way across the United States
The Man Who Ate Everything-pompous and pretentious, yet utterly compelling
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Mouthwatering Memoir of Jewish Delis Oct 3, 2009 (3 of 3 found this helpful)
David Sax has produced a book that induced hunger pangs every time I sat down to read a chapter. His primary mission is to identify the surviving (and hopefully thriving) Jewish deli today, both in the epicenter of the Deli Universe - New York - but also in select cities around the US, and even some in Europe. However, Sax also sets the historical context, describing the rise of Deli culture to the peek of the golden age in the 40s and 50s and then the inevitable decline. Alternately, Sax is mourning the disappearance of the Jewish deli and celebrating islands of thriving deli culture that he finds in both expected (Los Angeles) and unexpected (Boulder) cities. There is much description of the different pickling processes to produce pastrami and corned beef, comparisons of matzoh ball soup, and the Pavlovian descriptions of the less well-known, but more arterial clogging speck (pickled brisket fat), kishke (schmaltz-stuffed intestine) and grine (chicken skin cracklings). To help out, Sax includes both a glossary, and a listing of all the delis he visited. Although there is much to mourn in the passing of so many delis, there is reason to snap on your bib and head out to find the still-surviving and newly inaugurated delis that are true to the time-tested techniques of food preparation that produce sandwiches to die for.
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Pastrami Heaven Sep 1, 2009 (3 of 3 found this helpful)
If you have a love of delis you really need this book. I defy you not to get hungry and have cravings for deli food as you read this.
David Sax gives a history of how the delicatessen originated and the ruler of deli to my thinking, the history of pastrami. He explores delis all over the world, rightfully devoting 75+ of 269 pages to New York delis. You can laugh at descriptions, even of a NY Chinese restaurant serving pastrami fried rice after developing a taste for it in NY delis.
Delis are visited all over the United States, Canada and in London, Belgium. Poland and Paris. Visits are described and never fear addresses are given in a section in the back of the book. He never shirks his opinions - the lack of deli atmosphere in Chicago, the surprising hope for delis in Las Vegas, but then their mostly disappointing quality, proving his point that you need family owned delis like those in Los Angeles and the appalling thought of deli chains.
If you have ever been stationed/living outside of the US you can nod in remembrance of his descriptions of having eaten at less than wonderful foreign delis and still being transported back to your home deli - so strong is the love of delis. Oh where was that huge list of London delis when I was stationed in England and had to hunt down the hidden dreams of real deli food
Sadly the overwhelming opinion throughout the book, both from owners, customers and David Sax himself is that in 10 or 15 years the deli will die. I comfort myself with the remembrance of my NY grandparents lamenting the certain death of NY cheesecake. He does apologize for leaving out some well known delis like Attmans in Baltimore (only an hour from his wanderings in DC). I'm sure there are more but with some as well known as they are I would have really liked his time spent in some of them rather than so many poor representatives in other places. Still it is a book to be treasured by those of us that cherish those pastrami or corned beef sandwiches and all of the other wonderful foods we love in those marvelous places.
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What a wonderful book for deli lovers Sep 30, 2009 (2 of 2 found this helpful)
If you are a fan of real New York style delis you will like this book. It has a history of New York delis, how they developed from pushcarts that sold foods, information on the foods sold and where they are originally from. I enjoyed his discussion about New York delis the most and especially his discussion of my favorite NY deli - Katz, and my wife's - Stage Deli.
More seriously he also talks about the demise of the New York deli, how high rents, health concerns (eating low fat) and changing tastes are leading to the demise of the NY deli. Even the current popularity of BBQ meats has affected delis - brisket is far more expensive than it once was.
That is sad but be also talks about another deli that closed and has since re-opened (2nd Ave Deli).
He travels around some parts of the US, Canada and Europe to sample delis in those areas. Not all of the US is included, unfortunately. I was sad to see there are no delis reviewed in New England. I think the book would have been better if he could have taken the time to travel all of the US but the author seemed to have time constraints that precluded this.
The information on Europe was quite interesting, especially his discussion of delis in Paris and Poland. Parisian deli meats are very carefully done and excellent, as one would expect in France.
The discussion of delis in Poland was very sad. In the absence of Jews delis seemed more like a museum or theme park where people tried to show what delis were like but it was disconnected from reality. For example the gift shop at the deli sold stereotypical jewish character figurines with gold coins and also had a band that played traditional songs but none of it was real or personal to the players. (The lack of Jews in Poland is a result of the Holocaust and prejudice driving most of the survivors away) (I am a gentile and I apologize if I have given offense. It is unintentional.)
If you enjoy delis you will find this book very interesting. If you are traveling to New York city you will get tips on delis to try. I know I'll be trying 2nd Ave Deli next time I am in the city.
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Fun read - road trip and history lessons rolled into one Sep 20, 2009 (2 of 2 found this helpful)
When I selected this title I was expecting it to be somewhat like a cookbook based on a big road trip. It is not quite what I thought it would be but it is still a very enjoyable read.
The author describes throughout this title the various aspects of different forms of Jewish delis, including a description of the different types of "kosher" - I didn't know there were distinctions between kosher forms. He explains quite a bit about the history of the deli, its rise and fall in relation to history and the direction in which delis are headed these days. He connects the dots with different trends and makes the whole topic much more interesting.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the book for me was in the beginning pages where he describes working in a deli for a day as part of his research. I got sucked into the scene and thoroughly enjoyed his descriptions of interactions not only with customers but also with other people working in the deli that day.
The author put a tremendous amount of time and research into this book.
Save the Deli is not a cookbook, but rather it is more of a lighthearted history book filled with unusual nuggets of knowledge about a topic most people take for granted. If you enjoy books about food topics and like lighter reading, you will very likely find this book to be a pleasure to read.