Saturday, September 24, 2022

5782 Fading Fast

Saturday, September 17, 2022 
As much as I massaged Google, I could not find out how many churches there are in Florida.  Several sites offer city by city listings, but none have a statewide total.  I was wondering how many of the indeterminate large number of Christian services Sunday morning would consider the Sermon on the Mount, at least in part.  You know, where JC teaches:
  • Feed the hungry.
  • Give water to the thirsty.
  • Clothe the naked.
  • Shelter the homeless.
May we ask Governor Ron DeSantis to take some time off from exporting refugees to read the Good Book? 

Sunday, September 18, 2022
Maureen Dowd has an interesting interview with Tom Stoppard, the noted British playwright.   

It coincides with the Broadway opening of his latest play, "Leopoldstadt," a semi-autobiographical work about an assimilated Jewish family dealing with the  Nazi terror.  Until his mid-50s, Stoppard reputedly had only the vaguest knowledge of his family's Jewish character.  Through relatives, he learned for the first time that all of his grandparents and his mother's three sisters were Jewish victims of the Nazis. He claims that he "was totally poleaxed," having been raised as a proper British schoolboy after the early death of his Czechoslovakian Jewish father.     

Coincidentally, we heard Stoppard speak to a sold-out audience at the 92nd Street Y this afternoon and we have tickets to “Leopoldstadt” on October 1st.
. . .

For many of us, sports takes us away from the often ugly realities of daily life.  See, for instance, the war on consumer protection (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/19/johnson-johnson-and-a-new-war-on-consumer-protection) or
 
Today offers a good distraction.  For the first time since September 27, 2009, just shy of 13 years, all four of the major New York City-denominated teams, the Mets, the Yankees, the Giants, the Jets, won their games.  
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/new-yorks-mlb-nfl-teams-end-near-13-year-skid-wins-sunday

By the very nature of fandom, however, that news does not bring equal delight.  Even if your guys won, satisfaction comes when others also lose.  

Monday, September 19, 2022
Most of my dining forays are no more than a subway ride from Palazzo di Gotthelf.  The New York Times goes much further afield in designating the 50 best restaurants in America.  

Right now, my score is 0-50, giving me something to live for. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Pastrami Queen, 1125 Lexington Avenue, does not hit the top 50, but it was my destination today on a charitable mission.  The adorable Michael Ratner had hip replacement surgery on Friday and is still confined to the boundaries of his apartment.  So, I volunteered to hasten his recuperation with food from Pastrami Queen.  

Fortunately, I was on time for their Tuesday Special, two sliders, corned beef and pastrami, French fries, pickles and coleslaw for $16.95.  Such a deal.  Even with my own aching hip, I crossed the intervening half mile rapidly in order to offer Michael therapeutic relief, a sort of Kosher Florence Nightingale. 

Thursday, September 22, 2022
Many of us have been watching the three-part, six-hour documentary “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” which confronts the anti-Semitism that kept countless European Jews from reaching safety here.  Opposition in Congress and key government agencies limited official rescue efforts to near insignificance.

It was a bleak picture, but some people in and out of government struggled to do the right thing.  One of them was Dean Alfange, father of our dear friend Dean Alfange, Jr.  Born to a Greek Orthodox family in Constantinople, he eventually led the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe and later the Committee to Arm the Jewish State.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Alfange  
 
May his memory be for a blessing.

Friday, September 23, 2022
What better way to see out the old year than by visiting a new Chinese restaurant?  Dunhuang Grand Central, 320 Lexington Avenue, is an airy joint with one long wall covered with wood paneling and sconces seemingly borrowed from an English pub.

The menu is noodle-centric, five different shapes and widths, all hand pulled in-house.  I had Dunhuang Hand Pulled Fried Noodle, thick lo mein-like noodles pan fried with lamb, scallion, carrots and cabbage in a brown sauce ($13.50).  The portion was large, the amount of lamb generous and the taste first-rate.  I enjoyed it sufficiently that I excused the spatter on my baby blue sweatshirt.

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Saturday, September 17, 2022

Peanuts and Crackerjacks

Sunday, September 11, 2022  
Will there always be an England?
 

The hearse carrying Queen Elizabeth’s coffin through Scotland is a Mercedes-Benz.
. . . 

Jeanne Friedman, in Berkeley, was the first to reach me with this story about a synagogue eliminating lox from the Kiddush, the meal after Sabbath services, the real reason many of us go to shul on Saturday.

I assured her that it was another Upper West Side synagogue that had taken this rash action, although West End Synagogue, 190 Amsterdam Avenue, my home base, is rarely outdone in the touchy-feely department.  The rationale offered was to “reduce the environmental impact of pollution and overfishing.”  

A critical tenet of Judaism is tikkun olam, action to repair the world, and I regard it as a bedrock of our faith.  However, unlike Rabbi Shuli Passow, the director of community engagement at B’nai Jeshurun, I think that we can stay on dry land to begin the restorative process.  Leave my lox alone.

Monday, September 12, 2002
I've praised Dagon, 2454 Broadway, an imaginative Israeli/Arab/Mediterranean restaurant, with a generous amount of seating indoors and out, before.  Tonight, Art and Shelly Spar joined us at dinner there, a first time for them.  I feel secure voicing their delight with the choice.  We shared six mezze, Middle Eastern hors d'oeuvres, $45; Japanese (OK, an exception) Eggplant Confit, roasted garlic, tomato jam, buttermilk, shabazi (spice blend containing green chiles, parsley and coriander) bread crumbs; Sasso (Sélection Avicole de la Sarthe et du Sud Ouest) Chicken Liver Mousse, date syrup; Marinated Beets, horseradish yogurt, crispy chickpeas, cubes of beef tongue; Muhamarra, spicy roasted pepper & almond dip; Tahini, sesame paste  with lemon and garlic.  They came with a small loaf of bread, seasoned with olive oil and za'atar (dried herbs).  We also had Kubaneh, a pull-apart Yemenite bread, freshly-baked, served with labneh (strained yogurt cheese) ($18).  

With the bottle of prosecco that we finished, we all felt full enough to get up and walk 12 blocks to Amorino Gelato, 414 Amsterdam Avenue, for a nightcap, in a manner of speaking.  I kept it simple, two scoops in a small cup, nocciola (hazelnut) and Chocolate Amorino (a touch of rum, I believe).  We continued walking home, no doubt working off all the calories that we consumed.

Tuesday, September 13, 2022
B'nai Jeshurun folded.  After causing a 24-hour media storm, they restored lox to their Kiddush (after-services) menu, acknowledging that "we inaccurately stated that consuming lox contributes to the overfishing of salmon.  Most lox is, in fact, made from farmed Atlantic salmon.  We thank those who brought this error to our attention, giving us the opportunity to correct our mistake."  Feel better now?
. . .

It's good to be the prince.  "As the U.K. embraced austerity, Charles expanded his riches."   https://nyti.ms/3L6jwqV

In the good old USA, we are more democratic about our grafting.  "A New York Times analysis found that 97 lawmakers or their family members bought or sold financial assets over a three-year span in industries that could be affected by their legislative committee work."   https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/13/us/politics/congress-stock-trading-investigation.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
. . .

Hoping to repeat the magic of the last time Terrific Tom and I went to a Mets game, we ate first at Tim Ho Wan, 610 Ninth Avenue, superior dim summary.  We shared, of course, steamed dumplings with shrimp and chives ($6.80 for three pieces); har gow (shrimp dumplings) ($6.80 for four pieces); pan fried chicken dumplings with ginger essence ($6.80 for four pieces); baked BBQ pork buns (2 orders, $7.50 for three pieces); pan fried noodles, angel hair pasta, sautéed just to the point of crackley ($7.50).

Later, excellent baseball was played, just not where we were sitting.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Footnote to the historic long reign of Elizabeth II.  Barring dramatic and unforeseeable events, the United Kingdom will probably not have a female monarch until at least the 22nd Century.  Charles will be succeeded by his son William who will be succeeded by his son George, now nine years old.  Or am I the last to realize this?

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Over years, 911 got thousands of calls about crimes, mayhem and emergencies at 312 Riverside Drive, a nice but not fancy address.  When responders rushed to investigate, they found two things, or maybe they did not find two things.  There is no 312 Riverside Drive and there was no disruption of any sort anywhere nearby.  Eventually, one forlorn man, sitting in one room with his mobile phone, was identified as the source of all the calls.  He has a criminal record and has been in prison.  When he was arrested in 2018 for selling crack cocaine, he was sentenced to an alternative-to-incarceration program, in which defendants can attend regular meetings with counselors and meet other requirements to avoid jail time.

However, in spite of the seemingly sincere efforts of lawyers, doctors, judges, social workers, cops and psychologists, he continues making those telephone calls.  We don't have preventive detention; we don't medicate non-violent people against their will.  Meanwhile, vital public services are diverted and diluted by thousands of false reports.  What do we do?    
. . .

Give Art Spar credit.  He not only had dinner with me on Monday night, he went out with me tonight, first for dinner and then on to the Mets game.  Absent wives, Sticky’s Finger Joint, 598 Ninth Avenue, all chicken all the time, was a proper venue for us.  White meat, dark meat, fried, grilled, French fries.  What more do you want?

I had the Large Crunchy Fingers Basket, 5 hefty, fried, white meat chicken fingers with classic fries and three sauces, salsa verde, chipotle aioli and Thai sweet chili ($15.65).  It was a very good prelude to the 7-1 Mets victory.
 
Friday, September 16, 2022 
Taking a lesson learned from the Vietnam War, "Yeshiva University abruptly announced on Friday that it had placed all undergraduate club activities on hold, the latest maneuver in the legal battle by the Modern Orthodox Jewish institution to keep from recognizing an L.G.B.T.Q. student group."   https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/nyregion/yeshiva-university-lgbt-student-clubs.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=highlightShare

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Saturday, September 10, 2022

God Is Love, Kind Of

Saturday, September 3, 2022 
This survey looks for the best place to live if you happen to be Gen Z, someone approximately 20 to 30 years old. 

It looked at factors such as affordability, unemployment rate, educated population, recreational facilities and Internet speed.  If, by some misfortune, I regressed far down the alphabet to Gen Z, I would find the largest percentage of confreres in Tucson, Arizona, 11% of the local population.  I would also find, this coming week, predicted temperatures of:
  • Sunday 101°
  • Monday 104°
  • Tuesday 104°
  • Wednesday 101°
  • Thursday 97°
  • Friday 90°
Is there a bus leaving?
 
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Religion Freedom vs. Real Freedom?
Yeshiva University has undergraduate men’s and women’s colleges, combining Jewish studies with secular subjects.  Additionally, it has more than half a dozen professional and graduate schools operating on a secular basis.  

I graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, YU’s law school, where Judaism is only discernible in the holiday calendar, the absence of non-Kosher food in the cafeteria and the mezuzahs on door posts.  Cardozo also has OUTLaw, an LGBTQ+ student organization. However, the application for Pride Alliance, a similar group, to take a place among undergraduate clubs has been denied by YU as contrary to Jewish values.

YU defends this seeming inconsistency, because "undergraduate experience at Yeshiva is intentionally designed to be an intensely religious one during the formative years of our students’ lives."  https://5townscentral.com/2022/09/01/r-dr-ari-berman-addresses-questions-regarding-yeshiva-university-the-supreme-court/

A judge ruled that rejecting Pride Alliance violated New York City's public accommodation law, barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.  YU is appealing, hoping to get to the United States Supreme Court, asking to be allowed to preserve its religious character, as it sees it.  The current Court has proved receptive to the primacy of religious practices over general, non-discriminatory policies.  A baker may refuse to bake a cake for homosexual customers; a business may exclude contraceptive coverage from its employees' health insurance; a public high school coach may kneel and pray on the school field after a game.  It's reasonable to guess that YU will prevail in this atmosphere.  

Monday, September 5, 2022
We went on vacation today to New York City.  We rode the gondola across the East River to Roosevelt Island, a free transfer on the Metrocard from bus or subway.  Then, we took the NYC Ferry from Roosevelt Island to Wall Street - Pier 11, $2.75 fare, a breezy ride on the East River.  We walked the few blocks to the South Street Seaport and ate at The Greens, on the rooftop of Pier 17 at 89 South Street.

While the elevation and the views added substantially to the prices, the simple midday menu had some good choices.  I had an excellent chicken salad sandwich on pita ($17), the best that I’ve had in a long time.  I loved drinking a Summer Crush, frozen rosé, vodka, and watermelon juice, missing only a paper umbrella ($19).
. . .

Issues of identity seem to be gathering more and more of our attention and rarely without controversy.  From mid-20th century, we Americans started giving serious attention to race.  In the last quarter of the century, the role of gender rose in importance.  This century has brought the very meaning of gender to the fore.

I admit that the concept of gender fluidity sometimes confuses me.  However, a current controversy in Britain offers a good lesson.  A new play portrays Joan of Arc as non-binary, annoying the hell out of some people now even as it did back then.  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/theater/joan-of-arc-nonbinary-globe.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Upon consideration, I think that Joan presents an ideal example of gender fluidity.  Born female, guided by visions from the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine to help save France from English domination, Joan dressed in male clothing and led French forces in several significant battles.  Whether gender dysmorphic or simply hallucinatory, Joan was successful, at least for a time, in the adopted identity, maintaining it until death.  

Tuesday, September 6, 2022
File this under the heading Gift Horse, Open Wide.  

Some German Jews are complaining about native Germans converting to Judaism.  Of course, the father of the clergy member who started the fuss is a convert.  As far as I am concerned, the more the merrier.  Except for the ultra-Orthodox, we Jews are not going forth and multiplying.  

Come on in, your motives are irrelevant. Delightful Donna told me a story years ago when she went to Cuba.  Her group visited a (the?) synagogue in Havana and found a big crowd at Friday night services.  Piety?  Spirituality?  No.  Chicken.  They served chicken for dinner after services, a rare treat for children of the revolution.

Wednesday, September 7, 2022
The Boyz Club gathered at Uncle Lou, 73 Mulberry Street, a new restaurant that intentionally looks back at traditional Chinatown cooking.  As the New York Times reviewer wrote, "Uncle Lou is meant as a kind of love letter to its neighborhood." 

It's pricier than Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, our all-time favorite, but the food was almost consistently excellent.  The five of us ate Fried Salt & Pepper Fish Filet ($24.95), Crispy Orange Beef ($21.95), Chicken Chow Fun ($14.95), Crispy Garlic Chicken ($18.95) and Ginger Fried Rice ($14.95).  The garlic chicken was superb; the fried rice was clearly overpriced.  If you want to eat Chinatown Chinese food without walking downstairs, this is the place. 
 
Thursday, September 8, 2022
The Jews aren't the only ones feeling challenged by LBGQT+ activities on campus.  Brigham Young University, a devotedly Mormon institution, is also trying to get things straight, in a manner of speaking.  
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/07/us/byu-lgbtq-students-tensions-reaj/index.html
 
In the case of BYU, opposition to the off-campus group RaYnbow Collective, created to support LBGQT+students, comes not only from the administration, but local "conservatives" as well, "[s]ome openly carried handguns and others were carrying 'God hates gays' signs and yelling, 'There are no gays in heaven.'"  At Yeshiva University, by comparison, only some Aramaic mutterings have been heard. 
 
 
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Saturday, September 3, 2022

Name Dropping

Saturday, August 27, 2022 
It was no surprise that Jitterbug Jon, Brooklyn-born and bred, jumped on my subway question last week, whether, in or around 1961, the D train stopped on Chambers Street.  He asserted, along with Irene L., birthplace unknown, and Irwin P., son of the Bronx, that the D train stopped on Chambers Street, at Church Street, where the A train stopped.  However, this map, dating from 1948, shows the D train branching off at West 4th Street, heading to the Lower East Side and Brooklyn.  https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?/img/maps/system_1948.gif

Although my father had a car, I became familiar with the subway at a young age, led by the hand to go to “the City,” riding the A train, although very far from Duke Ellington’s section.  When we moved to Queens, I took two trains to get to high school and a bus and three trains to get to college.  I know my subways.
. . .

We met Rob and Denise for dinner at aRoqa, 206 Ninth Avenue.  It was a special pleasure, because Covid-19 kept them home in Connecticut most of the time, away from their Manhattan apartment.  aRoqa is an Indian restaurant, named for the gathering of Indian mekhutanim, that delighted us with some previously unfamiliar dishes.  We shared everything.  Corn Paddu, corn & rice fritters, coconut, kaffir lime chutney ($16); Kataifi Mushrooms, wild mushroom croquettes served with smoke yogurt (?) & pickled onion ($17); Bhatti Murgh Chops, tandoor grilled chicken chops, rum flambé, gram flour (ground chickpeas) chutney ($21); Palak Paneer, jalapeno and Indian cheese croquettes on a bed of smoked spinach purée ($21); Chicken Tikka Masala, tandoor grilled chicken in rich creamy sauce ($26); Butternut Squash ke Kofte, served in sweet corn malai (clotted cream) sauce, broccoli garnish ($23).  Très formidable, as they say in Mumbai.  
. . .

As Mae West said, "Enough is never enough."  After finishing our meal, we strolled down to Ample Hills Creamery, 141 Eighth Avenue, for the best ice cream in town.  This time, I found out where the name came from.  "I too lived -- Brooklyn, of ample hills, was mine."  Walt Whitman, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry."  Feeling poetic, I had two scoops, Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, vanilla ice cream with cream cheese and St. Louis-style ooey gooey butter cake (https://parkavenuecoffee.com/pages/gooey-butter-cake?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7cC3s6zq-QIVxJ-zCh0ulAFYEAAYAiAAEgLO5fD_BwE), and PB Takes a Dip, milk chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups and peanut butter swirl ($6.95).  Thank you, Walt.

Sunday, August 28, 2022
This young woman sought the best chocolate chip cookies in the Holy Land, a laudable venture.  https://youtu.be/l-nq9pkNeJ8

Our tastes don’t coincide, however.  She likes bulbous, gooey cookies, not long removed from the oven.  That’s why Jacques Torres does not make her list, while he stands atop mine, with his broad, flat cookies that freeze beautifully.

Monday, August 29, 2022
The ever inquisitive scientist in my household asked about a possible criminal trial of Donald Trump.  I replied that he could choose a jury trial or just a judge.  Of course, might a jury of his peers require Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter excused because of age?  What of finding jurors with no opinion about the case or the defendant?  Could the panel consist of 12 tree stumps?

Wednesday, August 31, 2022
A group of letters to the editor in today’s New York Times is headed “What Do I Want to Do With My Life?”  My reaction was “What Does My Life Want to Do With Me?”
. . .

Like son, like father.  Three weeks ago, I spent an afternoon with William Franklin Harrison, first fueling at AweSum Dim Sum, 612 Eighth Avenue, then a Mets game.  Tonight, Peter Harrison, father of the future president, joined me for an early dinner at Tim Ho Wan, 610 Ninth Avenue, and on to the critical Mets/Dodgers game, the Dodgers the only team in baseball with a better record than the Mets.

Although Pop’s ingestion lagged his son’s, it wasn’t by much, 5 dishes vs. 6 dishes.  We had har gow (shrimp dumplings) ($6.80 for 4 pieces); blanched Chinese broccoli with fried garlic ($8.50); baked BBQ pork buns ($7.50 for 3 pieces); sui mai (vertical shrimp and chive dumplings) ($6.80 for 4 pieces); pan-fried chicken dumplings ($6.80 for 4 pieces).  While the meal was very good, the baseball game was great.  The Mets won 2-1 before a full house, with this brilliant defensive play rocking the stadium.   

Thursday, September 1, 2022
Crossing the moat in front of Palazzo di Gotthelf gets me right to DiDi Dumpling, 201 Amsterdam Avenue, so I gave it a second try.  It doesn’t take much to explore DiDi’s full menu: four dumplings, steamed or pan fried; two noodles; three soups.

This time, I had cold sesame noodles ($5.95) and chicken potstickers (pan-fried dumplings) ($10 for 10 pieces).  I came away full, but not satisfied.  I liked and disliked the noodles with each succeeding bite.  The potstickers were generously sized and not particularly greasy.  However, unlike so many food items that taste like chicken, the ground filling didn’t.
 
Friday, September 2, 2022
Pamela Ricard, who teaches math at Fort Riley, Kansas Middle School, had been suspended for violating the Geary County Schools' Diversity and Inclusion Policy that requires educators to refer to students by their preferred names and pronouns.  She sued claiming that "Any policy that requires Ms. Ricard to refer to a student by a gendered, non-binary, or plural pronoun (e.g., he/him, she/her, they/them, zhe/zher, etc.) or salutation (Mr., Miss, Ms.) or other gendered language that is different from the student's biological sex actively violates Ms. Ricard's religious beliefs."  https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/01/us/kansas-teacher-suspend-settle/index.html 
 
Ms. Ricard is a Devout Idiot.



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