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.
. . .
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
This is a strange, sad and challenging story. https://www.nytimes.com/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/
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