Jewish Food: History & Judgement
Yesterday we were talking about the things you can learn from attending a casual tasting. Well, the learnings get kicked up a notch when you’re actually judging a culinary contest.
Granted, Sunday’s contest was relatively small. It was part of the Jewish Food Festival at Congregation Gates of Heaven. Yes, I know it sounds a bit like a cult. That’s why I like to just call it Gates. And it’s full of people who care deeply about food.
The latke dinner at Chanukah is the best latke dinner I’ve been to in the area. So many latkes. It’s like fried potato heaven. And then there are the monthly potlucks, which feature not just delicious dishes from congregants, but also the reliably ultra-tender and well-seasoned baked chicken from the in-house kitchen.
But the annual Jewish Food Festival is the crown jewel. Del cures salmon. Randy chops liver. Harvey mixes up egg creams. And countless congregants pitch in to bake rugelach, braise brisket, and stuff knishes.
Oh right, the judging. I was on a panel of judges which included the rabbi and Jewish cookbook author Tina Wasserman. When you get three Jews to judge something, it feels kinda like a beit din. It’s a heavy task. And we were tasked with judging dessert.
Things I Learned at Savoy Taproom
Never stop learning. The world is bigger than it has ever been. There is too much for any person to ever experience everything, and more to know than one could ever possibly learn. Yes, you can read books, but I think some of the most powerful learning is experiential.
Today part of my job is to work with local business to plan Official Yelp Events. One thing that I try to do is make these fun, educational experiences for the community. And while I can’t speak for everyone who attends these soirees, I know for sure that I learn something at every event.
I mention this because Saturday’s OYE at the Savoy Taproom filled the restaurant’s dining room with 48 people for a tasting from the bar and kitchen. And like always, I walked out a bit smarter than I walked in. Here were my four big takeaways.
Photo Friday: What Diet?
March is almost over, which means I’ve been on my new and improved healthful eating regimen for weeks. How’s it going? Well, it could be better.
It turns out that without the explicit threat of a lifetime of medication, I may find myself a bit more lax in my ways. However, last time around the doctor said I didn’t have to be so strict. So maybe we’re finding a happy medium here.
This is a crazy week, and last night instead of writing, I spent some time with a friend who recently had a baby. So today that means instead of words, you get pictures.
Some people like pictures more. And if any of these require posts of their own, just let me know in the comments, and I’ll take it under consideration.
Food Fights: Hot Dogs v. Hamburgers
Is there important stuff worth fighting over in the world today? You betcha. But instead of debating the serious issues of the moment, today I’m picking another stupid food fight.
Here’s the thing. As banal as these arguments are on their face, I do hope that they accomplish something meaningful. I’m concerned that we as a culture have lost our appetite for civil debate and discourse.
Winning an argument doesn’t have to be a scorched earth affair. The other side doesn’t have to be annihilated for you to win. Making concessions can actually improve your persuasive power. And sometimes it’s even okay to take a position you don’t believe in, for the purposes of advancing discourse. So let’s try this today with something that people care about, but is far from a matter of life and death.
Which is better, hot dogs or hamburgers? Today, once again, I’m going to take what I expect to be the minority opinion, and argue the case for hot dogs.
Drinking Cookies
Remember what I said about the antidote to sugar being fat? Well, it’s true. And the people who attended last night’s Cookies & Cocktails in support of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, proved it.
In addition to the official judges picks, there were also people’s choice awards given for best cocktail and best dish.
Everything at the event either had Girl Scout cookies in it, on it, or with it. You might be surprised how well Brown’s Vienna Lager pairs with Do-si-dos. So with all of these sweets, it makes total sense that the dish from Old Daley Catering featuring a giant hunk of tender, fatty, pork belly was the crowd favorite for food.
The judges top picks were a bit different from the people’s choice awards for a perfectly reasonable list of reasons. We picked Ama Cocina’s street corn topped with crumbled lemony Savannah Smiles, because we got to evaluate it when it was still hot and awesome. Plus I wonder if being upstairs might have had an impact in the popular vote.
Regardless, there was one thing from the event that truly knocked my socks off. Mostly, I suspect, because by all measures I should have hated it. But it was brilliant. And that’s a word that I don’t use lightly.
The Other Corned Beef
Surely there is someone who cares enough about corned beef to be able to explain the subtle differences between Irish and Jewish versions of the dish. All I know is that we were both poor immigrants to this country roughly around the same time. And now, as far as I can tell, we’re both widely considered to be white.
Which is kind of a miracle in itself, you know, since we were both so foreign and reviled at the time.
Last Friday was Saint Patrick’s Day, and that was the holiday when many people make a point to eat corned beef and cabbage. But this upcoming Sunday is the Jewish Food Festival, and we’ve got something even better.
Cookie Heaven
Not to give away any secrets, but when recently asked in an interview if I prefered cake, pie, or cookies, I chose cookies. That was a hard question, and one I struggled with for longer than I should have. And I was only able to provide a qualified answer.
We’ll save those details for later.
This past weekend I ended up at the mall. Oddly, it was Young Master Fussy that suggested the trip. After a filling lunch at Hong Kong Bakery & Bistro, we agreed to walk it off indoors and maybe grab a little dessert. He also wanted to check out a few things at the Apple Store.
Dessert for the boy took the form of a Cinnabon minibon, which is really all the Cinnabon anyone ever needs. It’s unconscionable that the chain sells a full size bun that’s at least three times the size for only a dollar more. But that’s beside the point. Because at the mall, there were Girl Scouts selling boxes and boxes and boxes of cookies.
Yes, it’s Girl Scout Cookie season. And drafting off of this annual rite, the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York are hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday for adults where chefs and bartenders from around the Capital Region will present some incredible dishes and drinks built around these classic cookies.
What does that even mean? Well, I’m glad you asked.
Green For Saint Patrick’s Day
Maybe somebody can help me out here, because while I understand my own culture fairly well, others are still a bit of a mystery to me.
So now we are in Lent, which to me means that it’s wise to avoid our local fish fry places on Fridays. And I suppose that’s not such a big deal these days. With my new stupid diet, I’m supposed to avoid fried food anyhow. But the idea here is that Catholics aren’t supposed to eat meat on Fridays. Am I right so far?
Except now I hear that the meatless Friday provision was called off for today. You know, because it’s Saint Patrick’s Day. And I know I’m mixing metaphors here, but it doesn’t seem kosher.
Not that I’m throwing stones. I get grief every year when I put pulled pork on matzoh. You know, sometimes real life religious practice doesn’t quite line up with the dogma. And I think that’s okay. I like to look step back and look at the world’s religions from afar. Because for the most part, they are about treating other people the way you want to be treated.
When we start bickering about whose god said to build what structure on any specific plot of land, we lose track of the big picture to everyone’s detriment. For what it’s worth, I don’t blame religion, I blame orthodoxy. In all of its forms. For pretty much everything.
Where was I?
Oh, Saint Patrick’s Day, which is all about green. Except here in Albany we’re still under a thick layer of snow. So you’ll just have to imagine the green rolling hillsides of Ireland. But as you are picturing that lush sea of green, hold that thought in your mind, and let’s talk about spring.
Food Fights: Coffee v. Decaf
Looking back, it seems I did a series of “Food Fights” posts back in 2012. Really, I wanted to call today’s post “Stupid Food Fights” but for the sake of consistency, I went with the shorter headline.
And actually, the stupid food fight that I had intended to stoke was hamburgers v. hot dogs. However, on my very own personal Facebook page a stupid food fight broke out all on its own regarding coffee v. decaf. It all started innocently enough, as these things often do, after I posted my Yelp review for kru coffee in Saratoga Springs.
My hope is that we can pick up some of that energy today, and fight on the internet about some crap that matters very little to the world around us. You know, instead of larger issues like should the Department of State have its budget slashed in a misguided effort to make our country more secure.
So forget I said anything about the budget. Instead, I’m going to argue the minority opinion, just because I think that will be more fun.
American Food & Culture
There’s never a day that I wake up and say to myself, ”Man, I can’t wait to fight about politics.”
That said, there is some awful stuff going on in America these days. And I’m not even talking about politics. I’m talking about hate crimes and violence towards people of South Asian descent, largely resulting from idiots who think a person with brown skin must be a Middle Eastern terrorist.
It might be laughable if it weren’t so contemptible. And deadly. Yes, there have been hate crimes in the past, but I do not recall this level of anti-immigrant sentiment ever being so loudly, proudly, and publicly proclaimed from politicians in office. Presumably, you’ve already heard about what Iowa representative Steve King recently said about the impossibility of restoring our civilization with somebody else’s babies.
I’m going to call that false on its face. Largely because I define a civilization based on its food culture, which surely isn’t shocking to anyone. And the food culture of America, and other great food cultures around the world, were indeed made great by the presence of foreign cultures.
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