Food and Think

Saturday, November 1, 2025

In the 21st century, since leaving law school, I have not had to typically hand write more than my name and address. In fact, decades ago, I abandoned any attempt to write cursive and resorted to printing, a legacy of being the only lefty in a right-handed family. Today, the computer even fills in basic identifying information, so that anything that emerges from my hand usually looks like a random collection of lines and arcs. There is also the squiggly line that passes for your signature on electronic devices. Autograph collecting whether for fun or profit effectively ended 15 ears ago.

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Until recently, the international bridge over the Niagara River between Canada and the United States was named the Peace Bridge. President Trump just announced that it’s now the War Bridge.

In fact, one ancillary reason that I was rooting for the Toronto Blue Jays to win the World Series was the prospect of a Canadian team being invited to the White House for the traditional victory celebration. Would they have been invited, would they go, what derision might they have encountered? Maybe next year.

Sunday, November 2, 2025

Today is the New York City Marathon, a gathering of 55,000 runners from 150 countries. I participated, as usual, and came away exhausted. Palazzo di Gotthelf is very close to the finish line and when I went out into the street I saw so many runners, distinguished by the tangerine-colored capes given at the end, that I had to hustle to say “Congratulations” and “Good job” to as many of them as possible. 

The entire afternoon was not solely occupied by greeting the marathoners. I did take time out to go to brunch with the charming Elaine C., Caring Ken Klein and my young bride at Amélie, 566 Amsterdam Avenue, a friendly French bistro, related to four other Amélies around this country. It occupies a long and narrow space, with about a dozen two-tops, decorated in an underfunded “Moderne” style.

I had steak and eggs, hanger steak actually served rare as ordered, with two fried eggs and French fries ($28). The other folks all had the Autumn Scramble, eggs with wild mushrooms, squash, goat cheese, French fries and country bread. While the food was a B, our table had an A+ time.

Monday, November 3, 2025

Once upon a time, big city politicians built loyalty by handing out turkeys at Thanksgiving to the needy. Now, the administration is trying to win friends and influence people by taking food off the table of millions of Americans.

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Jeffrey Heller, human rights crusader, shares my concern about the state of our nation. And, he has not merely sat around yapping about it; in the last several years he has ridden his bicycle around the country calling attention to the plight of refugees and asylum seekers. Now, he serves as a docent at Ellis Island, offering visitors information about immigration at an earlier time in our history, you know when we took the huddled masses yearning to be free like my grandparents.

We had lunch at Simply Noodles, 267 Amsterdam Avenue, a small joint with reliably good pan-Asian food. We shared a scallion pancake ($8); vegetarian buns, spongy bao style ($10); angel hair noodles mixed with scallion oil and mushrooms, well prepared but lacking oomph ($15). I also had dumplings in spicy oil, meat filled and covered with ground peanuts ($10 for five). 

Another reason that Jeffrey has stopped roving for a while is his six grandchildren, all in the low single digits, living a subway ride away.

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

It’s Election Day and we face three flawed candidates for mayor, Sliwa, a clown; Cuomo, a predator; Momdani, a neophyte. What message does “the greatest city in the world” (lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda), “so nice that they named it twice” (lyric by Jon Hendricks) want to send?

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Ittai and Linda, another Upper West Side Power Couple, just spent a week in London, Ittai informed me when we met in Fairway Market, 2131 Broadway, the crossroads of the Jewish colonial settlement in Manhattan. 

He described the wonderful meal that they had in a Michelin-starred Nigerian restaurant and later forwarded the menu. The name is Chishuru, a Hausa word meaning “the silence that descends on the table when food arrives.” That’s religion to me.

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

I’ve reached an age where it’s prudent to do “advance planning,” a polite euphemism for looking into the dark tunnel. One central issue is the DNR, the directive to medical personnel Do Not Resuscitate, often encircling Grannie’s frail wrist. I have introduced an additional instruction for my waning days — DNTMTS, Do Not Tell Me The Score. It has a seasonal character. In the Fall, Winter and Spring, spare me bad news about the Rangers; in the Spring and Summer, keep my hopes about the Mets alive.

Friday, November 7, 2025

I’ve had days recently when I’ve had two medical appointments, but today was a first — two funerals. On the whole, I prefer the doctors, even without my clothes on.

Looking Back

October 25, 2025

Accompanied by our older grandson, we went to Iceland in 2022. We had never been. Now, mosquitoes have followed us. They had never been either.

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/22/nx-s1-5582748/iceland-mosquitoes-first-time

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That’s some nerve of Ronald Reagan interfering with our foreign trade policy. 

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2674234187/

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We went to the theater tonight to see “Punch,” a British import. It is close to the real events surrounding the death of a young man by one punch from a barely mature working class “thug”. The first act is a tour de force for the actor portraying the perpetrator. The second act tails off into an exercise in restorative justice instigated by the victim’s parents. An interesting work, on the whole.

Sunday, October 26, 2025

Zuromin is a town 120 kilometers northwest of Warsaw, Poland. Itta Latter, my paternal grandmother, was born there in 1876. My father was born there or nearby in 1903. In 1900, about 1/3 of its 6,000 residents were Jewish. Today, Jews remain only in the cemetery.

Cousin Jerry Latter and I were among the 40 or so people attending the Fall meeting of the Zuromin Society, held in a private room at Noah’s Ark, 493 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, New Jersey. While one or two people were born there, the rest of us were children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of people from Zuromin. Jerry’s paternal grandfather was my grandmother’s brother.

Noah’s Ark is a large Kosher delicatessen, located in a very Jewish shopping district. Lunch was a prerogative of society membership. I started with matzoh ball soup, a decent matzoh ball in colored hot water. On the table were very sour pickles, coleslaw and a nice Caesarish salad. I chose a pastrami sandwich on rye bread and took a handful of good French fries from a large bowl on the table. There were also small carafes of regular and Diet Coke, which were constantly being refilled. This cut the waste, but was labor intensive.

Monday, October 27, 2025

There is good news. Häagen-Dazs has released a new flavor that has my name all over it — Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel. It’s delicious. I remember digging pretzel rods into cartons of chocolate ice cream, my own form of immunotherapy.

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We were watching an episode of “Top Chef,” improbably filmed at the Adolph Rupp Arena of the University of Kentucky. Rupp was the school’s successful basketball coach in the mid-20th century. I like to remember how he was out-foxed by Nat Holman, coach of the historic 1950 CCNY basketball team. 

Kentucky was segregated, a sign of American greatness that many yearn to restore. Its basketball team was necessarily all white, while Holman had to draw upon the flotsam and jetsam of New York City playgrounds. When the teams met, on March 14, 1950, at the National Invitational Tournament in Madison Square Garden, Holman started an all-Black team, which shocked and defeated the favored Kentucky team 89-50. Unfairly, Rupp looms larger in sports history today than Holman.

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

I stayed up last night to watch the World Series game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. I faded, though, around 1 AM after the 12th inning, which spared me six more innings until the Dodgers won in the 18th almost two hours later. Normally, only a game involving the New York Mets would interest me as much, but I’ve adopted Toronto as a sort of theoretical refuge and, of course, I retain residual resentment against the Dodgers for abandoning Brooklyn.

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I had lunch at Boongs Chicken, 1075 First Avenue, a Korean chicken joint, new to me. It’s small, but bright and airy, with six two-tops in front of a faux brick wall. Opposite is a colorful wall of hundreds of ramen packages.

I had a spicy snow (dry spices) chicken sandwich, which came with good crispy French fries and a can of Coke Zero for $15. I skipped garnishes, so the spiciness stood out. While the portion of chicken was modest, the flavor was big.

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

It's probably better that Annabel Goldsmith was dead so that she could not read this in her obituary. "It didn’t help that her husband was a serial adulterer, and she was unfaithful, too." 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/world/europe/annabel-goldsmith-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Thursday, October 30, 2025

I’ve moved up in the world. I’ve been seeing a variety of doctors to address my growing list of maladies, but today I went beyond the ordinary specialist and saw a hyphenated specialist, a neuro-ophthalmologist. I hope that I live up to the attention.

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Tonight, we listened to Professor Mel Scult interview Professor Sharon Musher, a great granddaughter of Mordecai Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. She has just published “Promised Lands: Hadassah Kaplan and the Legacy of American Jewish Women in Early Twentieth-Century Palestine,” focused on her grandmother, one of Kaplan’s four daughters.

While concerning a relatively narrow subject, the conversation was very informative and engaging, reflecting the knowledge and personality of the participants.

Friday, October 31, 2025

I met Terrific Tom for lunch at Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine, 369 Lexington Avenue, one of 12 outlets of this local chain. It operates cafeteria style, the server puts together your dish behind the counter at your direction. You then plop down at one of the dozen two-tops along the wall. By the way, we were both costumed as grumpy old men.

I had oxtail stew, small size, with yellow rice and French fries (barely fried) ($16.99). The small was too small, four pieces of tail, so to speak, with some meat clinging to them. The sauce was very good, on the other hand. Dinner cannot come soon enough.

Welcome Back, George

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Commuting George Santos’s prison sentence solidifies Trump’s role as the Law and Order President. Additionally, George is back on the streets in time for volleyball season.

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This squib from the New York Times should delight at least 21 people on my contact list. “In the interview, Mr. Mamdani [the Democratic Party’s candidate for New York Mayor] was quick to acknowledge the main reason he chose Bronx Science: ‘I couldn’t get into Stuyvesant.’”

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Over time, real estate has been the best investment for many Americans. “Since 2014, Idaho and Florida have witnessed the most significant growth, with median home prices increasing by 155.5% and 132.2%, respectively. Other top states include Washington (+129.1%), Utah (+127.5%), Georgia (+126.0%), Nevada (+125.7%), Arizona (+123.0%), and Tennessee (+122.6%).”

https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-with-the-largest-home-price-growth-last-decade

The survey below tells another story: “In some cities, home prices haven't budged in more than a century.” Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh are the leading examples. The purchasing power of your proceeds from selling a home there today “wouldn’t really differ from the purchasing power of the money you spent on it 135 years earlier.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/10/20/cities-where-home-prices-have-changed-most-least-over-past-130-years/

Meanwhile, a home in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego or Boston will have appreciated 400% or more in purchasing power.

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Gift certificate in hand, we went to dinner at Miriam’s, 300 Amsterdam Avenue; its “cuisine is uniquely, distinctly Israeli.” That was sufficient  to make it a target for vandalism in the recent past. Tonight, the 30 or so two-tops inside and out were mostly occupied, making the joint noisy, but peaceful.

Madam had a tomato & nectarine salad with goat cheese and braised figs ($19) followed by spanakopita, Greek spinach pie with Swiss chard, feta, cherry tomato confit and harissa ($16). I had chicken schnitzel with creamy mashed potatoes, cured lemon sauce and beet ketchup (surprisingly tasty), a small dish of chopped salad on the side ($26). It was a very generous portion with a very crunchy crust.

Monday, October 20, 2025

It was another Daily Double, two doctor appointments today. I might start my own medical school, train them and send them over to work on me.

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Is rugelach singular or plural?

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Eater.com is the Michelin Guide for the rest of us, honest appraisals of food we can afford. This is confirmed by “Best Iconic New York City Foods.”

https://ny.eater.com/maps/new-york-city-iconic-foods-best-dishes

I am familiar with many of the choices and they would be mine too. So, you might print out the list and keep it in your wallet with the $2 bill that you got from Paul Hecht.

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Donald Trump commuted George Santos’s prison sentence, because “Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” Before this he commuted the sentence or pardoned eight other former Republican members of Congress.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/opinion/george-santos-trump-pardon.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

It seems that being a Republican member of Congress carries the risk of being deported to El Salvador under a future president.

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While Eater.com guides you to quintessential New York dishes, the New York Times directs you to 25 best local pastry items.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t-magazine/best-pastry-nyc.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

It’s an interesting collection, although I wouldn’t label a knish or a baguette as pastry. On the other hand, the maple cruller at Daily Provisions, several locations, and the chocolate babka at Breads Bakery, several locations, deserve the recognition and your attention.

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Its appearance on the Eater.com list drew me back to Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, 144 West 72nd Street. I had been disappointed on my only other visit (May 29, 2023), because of the woefully small serving size. No, I will not say paltry poultry portion. Since that was back in 5783, I thought to give it another chance.

I ordered the Classic Combo, two pieces of chicken, I chose thighs, mashed potatoes with gravy, a side from a group of 10, and cornbread, a bit dry without butter, honey or jam ($10.99). The chicken and potatoes were good, the chicken not as crackling as deep-fried versions, such as Popyeyes, still my favorite. The only drinks are house-made sweet iced tea, strawberry punch and limeade, all $3. If I return, I might sneak in a Diet Coke. There are only four stools at a counter to the left of the front door, a disincentive to lingering. However, if you want to eat and run, it's not a bad choice as long as you grab a handful of wipe & drys before you touch any article of clothing, yours or anyone else’s.

 

Friday, October 24, 2025

Is this a great country or what? You can buy a piece of the White House and you can hire the United States Army. And soon, Republican Senators will be available to hand out hors d'oeuvres at your next soirée. 

 

Whoops!

Saturday, October 11, 2025 

White House communications director Steven Cheung offered this modest appraisal: “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.” https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5548992-cheung-trump-nobel-peace-prize-snub/

 

Displaying his own modesty, President Trump said Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado accepted the award for him. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/white-house-says-nobel-committee-places-politics-over-peace-2025-10-10/

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I went to services at Temple Israel Natick this morning and you might recall that I went to JCC Harlem for the High Holy Days. I’ve stopped going to my old shul after 20 years, but I found that there is one thing that I miss especially. After establishing myself as a regular, I became the Undesignated Old Man, you know, the guy who wanders around the rear of the shul. He might answer a question, “What page are we on?” or “Where’s the bathroom?”; he grunts at strangers and familiar faces; he carries a prayer book, which he occasionally slaps to curb enthusiasm. Undesignated Old Man was almost a perfect fit.

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Going out for a quart of milk in Florida just became more exciting. Publix Super Markets, Florida's largest grocery chain, announced that customers will be allowed to openly carry firearms in its stores. 

https://www.aol.com/news/publix-allow-open-carry-firearms-182733387.html

 

Sunday, October 12, 2025

At midday, we went to the playing fields at Natick High School to see the battle between the Natick 7th and 8th graders and their rivals from Arlington, Massachusetts, incidentally the home of Andrea and Margo, Charlotte and John’s daughters, but that’s another story. The weather and the result were both gloomy, although we accumulated substantial grandparents’ points by attending.

 

I chose to offset the agony of defeat by having lunch at Legal Sea Foods, 50 Worcester Road, Framingham, a joint I seek out whenever in the vicinity. I started with a bowl of New England clam chowder, probably the only instance when Manhattan is second ($11). Then, I had an oyster bánh mi ($21), the Vietnamese national sandwich, excellent if it only were Grandpa Alan-sized instead of the petite version. Of course, that left plenty of room for dinner.

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Speaking of sports, forget doctors, lawyers. Mama, let your babies grow up to be college football coaches.

https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/football/coach

 

Only one of the top 10 highest paid college football coaches is paid under $10 million a year. Note, note, note that only one of the  top 10 most profligate educational institutions is private, University of Southern California, the rest are public, you know taxpayers and all that.

Monday, October 13, 2025

In the excitement surrounding the release of 20 live Israeli hostages today, I want to remember the forgotten man, Joe Biden. During his presidency, 153 live Israeli hostages were returned, 135 by negotiations with Hamas, 5 by Hamas voluntarily and 13 rescued by the IDF.

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The Orthodox Union is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. It supports synagogues, educational centers, and a variety of community organizations here and abroad, as well as being the leading certifier of Kosher food. A recent issue of Jewish Action, its quarterly magazine, featured cantorial music, illustrated by a page of untitled sheet music on the cover. Someone who could at least read music whether or not they could read Hebrew spotted the song as “We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

https://x.com/Jewish_Action/status/1971659639889834019

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Two out of three ain’t bad. 1) I had the pleasure of the company of former Navy officer Sam Fuchs at Madison Square Garden tonight. 2) We had free food and beverages at the Chase Lounge; mozzarella sticks, coconut shrimp, “Original & Chicken Pigs in a Blanket”, “Jarcuterie” (cheese, salami and grapes), washed down with Diet Pepsi. 3) The Rangers lost.

Thursday, October 16, 2025

We limousine liberals rarely went to NASCAR races or South Eastern Conference football games, so we probably didn’t hear chants often of “Let’s go, Brandon.” I heard it once from the guy sitting next to me at Madison Square Garden and understood it was a substitute for “F*** Joe Biden.” I was reminded of that listening to Rabbi Amie Hirsch, typically sober and reasonable, discussing Zohran Mamdani. 

https://vimeo.com/1127656022

Mamdani, the leading candidate for New York Mayor, refuses to acknowledge the underlying meaning of two slogans popular with his supporters, “From the River to the Sea” and “Globalize the Intifada.” Just as Joe Biden understood the meaning of chants, we Jews understand these. They are not simple calls for justice. Jews, get out, get lost, get gone. While they will prove ultimately futile, they are insulting and are obstacles to meaningful discussions. 

Friday, October 17, 2025

I must be the healthiest kid on the block. I’ve seen four doctors this week, two today. This morning, Dr. Brucker put Botox where you would not normally expect to put it. Then, this afternoon, I saw Dr. Yoo, a neurologist, who aimed much higher. She specializes in motion disorders and my motions have been ruled out of order under Robert’s Rules of Order. She set me straight.

Pronunciation Lesson

Saturday, October 4, 2025

It may be coincidence, but so many current administration policies that depart from established norms threaten our health, safety and security. The firing of military leaders, infectious disease researchers, federal prosecutors, climate scientists, Voice of America staff, among others demonstrate a pattern of either disregard for our nation’s future or a conscious effort to weaken us. It seems no different than capitulation to our enemies.

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Kristi Noem, the well-coiffed Secretary of Homeland Security said that people should not attend the Super Bowl unless they are “law-abiding Americans who love this country.” Of course, they will probably also have very deep pockets, because, as of this morning, four months in advance of the event, three and a half months before the teams are picked, the cheapest seats I could find on Seat Geek were $7,592 and $8,102 on StubHub. I think that the pickings for ICE will be pretty slim under these circumstances. And, I wonder who will be paying for the agents whom she promises will “be all over” Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, next February for the NFL game.

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We went to a matinee performance of “Ragtime” in preview at Lincoln Center. It’s a revival of the 1998 musical, set in the early years of the 20th century. The main focus is a successful Black musician whose hopes for the future are destroyed by confrontations with racism. A secondary plot is the upward mobility of a Latvian Jewish immigrant. Together, it’s the story of America. The music is very good, the performances generally excellent.

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At the curtain, we rushed off to make a six o’clock reservation at Kebab Aur Sharab, 247 West 72nd Street, a thriving Indian restaurant. Regular readers will have noted that dinner with my young bride is frequently Indian while lunch with the boychiks is likely Chinese.

KAS is a large joint with an attractive South Asian decor. We ate up front in an atrium facing the street. Madam had Kerala fish curry ($36), branzino in a coconut-based curry sauce. I had Famous Butter Chicken ($30), eight or so small pieces of boneless chicken in a rich, creamy sauce. Plus naan ($7) and basmati rice ($7) added up to a pricey, but very good meal. It also left us just over a couple of blocks from home.

Monday, October 6, 2025

When I was a little Jewish kid in Brooklyn (never really little, actually), I went to Hebrew school one hour a day in the afternoon five days a week from age eight to 13. The purpose was very simple, learn to read Hebrew so I could chant the prayers and Haftorah (readings related to the Torah) associated with my Bar Mitzvah on or around my 13th birthday. 

What I learned back then, among other things, was that Saturday was Shabbos, a prayer shawl was a tallis, a circumcision ceremony was a bris and the Fall harvest festival was Succos. Today, the language has changed, sounding more formal, and it’s Shabbat, tallit, brit and Sukkot. As a broad-minded guy, I am trying to go along, although I lapse occasionally.

Which brings me to tonight, when we celebrated Sukkot at a dinner famously prepared by Aunt Judi. She served a mushroom and chestnut soup: barbecued beef ribs; marinated chicken thigh meat on skewers; boneless chicken breasts, dipped  in honey mustard horseradish sauce and coated with diced fried onions; faro with onions; roasted cauliflower; leek pie; coleslaw and fudgy chocolate brownies, all deliciously made in house. I also had a small piece of blueberry buckle, a blueberry filled coffee cake with a streusel topping, baked by Helen Z., another guest. I then took a large piece home. 

There was a variety of beverages, including an excellent Kosher wine, Baron Edmond de Rothschild Rimapere Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. Although I was the driver tonight, I took a few sips, enough to recommend highly.

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Today is another day that will live in infamy. When FDR originally spoke those words almost 84 years ago, I imagine that they stirred many folks shaken by the events at Pearl Harbor. Now, in difficult times, we hear a word salad that may encourage some folks, but confounds many others.

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There is a strong element of superstition in Chinese culture. Eight is considered a very lucky number. Accordingly, the Beijing Olympics began at 8 PM on the eighth of August, the eight month, 2008. 

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition_in_China

I’m not sure if there’s a connection, but eight seems important to Jews too. The Sukkot, Hanukkah and Passover holidays are all eight days long. While commands from on high supposedly set these rules, we don’t know if the Almighty did so with fingers crossed.

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"Harvard may be partly to blame for encouraging student absences, with a policy that allows students to enroll in two classes that meet at the same time.” Ya think?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/us/harvard-students-absenteeism.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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Some happy news -- the hockey season starts tonight.

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Profile in courage

Republican Congressman Wesley Hunt announced his candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat, saying “You cannot author gun control legislation in Texas.”

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Mr. & Mrs. Stony Brook Steve are leaving for a European trip this weekend, while my young bride and I are headed merely to the Boston area. This was sufficient cause for him and me to have lunch together. We went to the Fairway of 74th Street Cafe, 2121 Broadway, a simple choice for us simple guys. I had their daily special, a $5 Burger, $10 with French fries. a very good deal.

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I can't help but cite Andy Borowitz who says "Indicting People Who Lied to Congress Would Overcrowd Prisons." Accompanying the article are photographs of Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Clarence Thomas. 

Friday, October 10, 2025

The Upper West Side's Power Couple hit the road to visit the second and third generations in Eastern Massachusetts. Our new car is less than six months old and has less than 2,000 miles on it. So, a trip like this still feels like a new adventure. An exciting part is being able to get in and out of the car unassisted.