Operation Noam

Saturday, December 24, 2022 

An obituary of a distinguished mathematician led me to what may have been his most important research project.  In 1976, Albert Madansky, a professor at the University of Chicago, and Martin Shubik, an economist from Yale University, published a comparative study of the pastrami and corned beef at four leading New York City delicatessens, the Carnegie, Deli-East, Gaiety East and the Stage. 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-the-best-deli-new-york 

In a blind tasting of eight sandwiches, they rated Deli-East first and the Stage fourth.  The winning sandwich was also the least expensive at $1.10.  This study may have been inconsequential, but the authors’ stature got it published in The University of Chicago Magazine with attendant hoopla.  It is important to note that none of the establishments were Kosher and all are now out of business.  One thing that they got right, however, was the choice of an appropriate beverage, Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Tonic.

Sunday, December 25, 2022

We return to how nearly impossible it is to afford decent housing in urban America  This survey calculates the annual salary needed to afford the median-priced home in our largest cities.

https://www.hsh.com/finance/mortgage/salary-home-buying-25-cities.html

They range from the sublime, $55,006 in Pittsburgh, to the ridiculous, $359,127 in San Jose.  While the Rust Belt contains many of the least expensive cities, California  takes the four most expensive slots.

. . .

The Upper West Side’s Power Couple drove up to Eastern Massachusetts to visit briefly the second and third generations and to fetch grandson Noam for a holiday with his grandparents.  The trip up was quick and uneventful.  Having once before found every eating establishment on the route through Connecticut closed on Christmas day, we purchased sandwiches in our own less pious neighborhood and ate them along the way.

. . .

For dinner, the seven of us went to Bawarchi Biryanis, 700 Worcester Road, Framingham, joining a crowd of South Asians who also didn’t want to be limited to Chinese food.  We had tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, Kadai Paneer (cheese and bell peppers cooked in a spicy tomato sauce), Lamb Khorma (marinated lamb cooked in yogurt and spices), Bhagara Bhaigan (eggplant curry), butter naan, garlic naan, rice and, inevitably, heartburn, which should not be a deterrent.

Monday, December 26, 2022

In overly dramatic contrast to yesterday when it took just over four hours to drive 180 miles, eat lunch and fill the gas tank, today the same trip took seven-and-a-half hours.  It seems that everyone on the road got a collision for Christmas.

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

“No matter where they live in the world, no matter what their cultural or family influences: In general, women are better at empathizing with other people than men, according to a study published Monday in the journal PNAS.”

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/26/health/empathy-women-men/index.html

Baloney!

. . .

We began Project Noam, an attempt to present his grandparents to a 12-year old as tolerable human beings, at &pizza, 840 Broadway.  This is a special pizza joint.  They cook your individual pizza, roughly 4” x 11”, in minutes, with any combination of ingredients that you can imagine.  While Noam kept it simple, tomato sauce, mozzarella and black olives, I loaded up, tomato sauce, mozzarella, salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage, basil pesto and parmesan-romano ($13.29).  Multi bene. 

. . .

We had some time to show Noam the Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway, a major landmark, before going to a matinee of the Blue Man Group.  This was the third time that I have seen this weird group over several decades.  Maybe that’s why my name appeared somewhat mockingly on an illuminated strip above the stage, which particularly amused my co-grandparent.

. . .

Dinner was a sort of disappointment.  I didn’t realize that a kid growing up in a respectable suburb could lead a pastrami-free existence.  Given that it’s Tuesday, my young bride and I both eagerly ordered the Tuesday special at Pastrami Queen, 138 West 72nd Street, pastrami on a dinner roll and corned beef on a dinner roll and French fries, coleslaw and pickles ($19.95).  Noam, however, could not be convinced to dive into Kosher delicatessen and stuck to a bowl of chicken noodle soup. 

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

We cut back on the program today, because Noam felt a bit schwa likely due to his foregoing pastrami and corned beef at dinner last night.  He felt well enough, however, to go to the Big Apple Circus, held on the grounds of Lincoln Center, just blocks away.

I don’t know if he enjoyed it more than his grandparents did.  While the Big Apple Circus substituted poodles for lions and tigers and had only one very overworked clown, it otherwise compared favorably with my memory of a 1992 Barnum & Bailey performance.

. . .

A variety of randomly distributed head cold symptoms kept us home for dinner, lovingly prepared by #1 Bubby.

. . .

F. Scott Fitzgerald is supposed to have said once to Ernest Hemingway, “You know, the rich are different from you and me.”  So, are Holy Landers different when naming their children?

https://home3.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2022/health-department-announces-top-baby-names-in-nyc.page

Not really.  Except for swapping Joseph for James and Aiden for Henry, and replacing Harper (!) with Luna, we pretty much line up with the rest of the good old USA.  https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ 

 

Thursday, December 29, 2022

We visited the Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Ave, Astoria, a must-see.  Admission was free today for some reason, but the large crowd was probably as unaware as were were when entering. 

There is a permanent Jim Henson exhibition, showing his amazing creativity before, during and after Sesame Street.  The current exhibit is "Living with The Walking Dead," focusing on zombies or Republicans.  

Friday, December 30,2022

Operation Noam ended today, when we returned him to the sheltering arms of his nuclear family.  For mutual convenience, the reunion was held at Hudson Taco, 27 South Water Street, Newburgh, New York, a former train station sitting right alongside the Hudson River.  It was more than the scenic view that attracted a full house at lunch time. 

I had a Baja fish taco ($2.75), two General Tso's chicken tacos ($2.75), and a Korean BBQ short rib taco ($3.75).  In all, we ate 27 tacos of five varieties, to general delight.  

. . .

 

Summing up Operation Noam, all the organized entertainment rated A+.  Meals at home and outside, however, were less well received.  A mild cold/flu was a limiting factor, as well as the refrain "That's not the way my mother makes it."     

What's Taking You So Long?

Saturday, December 17, 2022

What the L?

Maybe it was too much eggnog, but I misfired in sending out the blog to many of you today.  While the correct link was https://alanatlunch.blogspot.com/2022/12/rememberance.html, I used https://alanatlunch.blogspot.com/2022/12/rememberance.htm, a non-existent location.  Thus, the snafu.  Sorry about that.

. . .

Unpublished letter to The New Yorker:

It’s clear that Eustace Tilley has never been suspected of being rooted in the Old Testament.  However, as a nearly century-old New Yorker, you might imagine that he has learned to distinguish some basic local ethnic folkways.  In particular, I cite his comment in the December 19, 2022 issue about “Katz’s, believed to be the oldest continuously operating deli in the country . . . [and] it’s competitor, Russ & Daughters.”  

These two formidable institutions do not compete.  Aside from an occasional pickle, there are no common food items, in accord with my tribe’s adherence, more or less, to the biblical injunction against mixing dairy and meat products.  Russ & Daughters, an appetizing store in our Americanized lingo, deals in the former, while Katz’s focuses extravagantly on the latter.

For further clarification, I suggest that you consult with your brilliant contributor, Calvin Trillin.

Sunday, December 18, 2022

This website attempts to answer the question: Is homeownership affordable or possible for the average American family?

https://www.realtyhop.com/blog/realtyhop-housing-affordability-index-december-2022/

The answer appears resoundingly to be No.  “[H]omeowners in 75 cities [of the 100 largest] across the country spend more than 30% of their income on the cost of owning a home."  Some of the numbers are staggering.  In Miami, 85.67% of income reputedly goes to homeownership; Los Angeles, 83.06%; New York, 78.97%.  This has to pressure the rental market and/or encourage relocation, unhealthy factors for maintaining a vibrant city.

. . .

As most of the world knows, the World Cup was decided today in a match between Argentina and France.  I leaned toward Argentina because of family ties, but I would have chosen France at the dining table.  My lasting memory of the game was its very opening.  It was scheduled for 10 A.M. EST and it began exactly on time, to the second.  Remember, this was Argentina and France, not Germany and Switzerland.  Style and flair, yes; precision, no.

. . .

Paul Hecht, Thespian Emeritus, sends this wonderful holiday greeting, best appreciated by straphangers near and far.

Monday, December 19, 2022

On January 11th at 6:30, the New-York Historical Society is presenting a program on “Social Media and Dangerous Speech.”  The speakers will be Nadine Strossen, former president of the ACLU, and Olivier Sylvain, professor of law at Fordham University, also associated with the ACLU. 

I heard Strossen speak about free speech a few years ago.  Her view, the classical liberal view that is usually my default position, opposes censorship.  The more speech, the better.  The answer to bad speech is good speech, the intellectual equivalent of the National Rifle Association's position that the way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.  Of course, the NRA is mostly dead wrong in this regard and I'm afraid that the ACLU is also proving wrong in the face of the omnipresence and increasing omnipotence of social media.  That makes me wrong, too, but I haven't found another answer yet.  Any ideas?

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

To send off the old year in style, whether it deserved it or not, the Boyz Club turned out en masse in Chinatown.  That meant specifically Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, the Dalai Lama of Chinatown Chinese restaurants.  

Eight of us ate well for $23 each:

Soup - 6 hot and sour, 2 egg drop

Crispy fried noodles

Egg rolls 

Honey crispy chicken 

Moo shu chicken with pancakes

Duck chow fun

Beef lo mein

Orange beef

Mushroom fried rice 

Shrimp fried rice

Wo Hop's portions are so big that we had trouble making all gone, another of its virtues.

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

As Eric Adams approaches his first year as mayor of the Holy Land, the New York Times reports “Some New Yorkers have questioned whether the mayor has moved quickly enough to solve the city’s most intractable problems, like homelessness and a lack of affordable housing."  Intractable does not mean eternal, but it sure comes close in this case.  And, let’s fault the mayor for letting 11 months go by without solving the city’s most intractable problems.  

 

Friday, December 23, 2022

It almost feels good to be old-fashioned sick again.  For two days, I've had a big head cold, making my nose and throat playing fields of discomfort.  Yet, I've tested negative for Covid-19 as recently as this morning.  So, I'm just plain sick, a sort of success these days. 

Rememberance

Saturday, December 10, 2022 

The stars must have been in alignment.  When the New York Theatre Workshop announced that it was reviving "Merrily We Roll Along," Stephen Sondheim's most notorious flop and my favorite work of his regardless, I marked the day tickets went on sale.  But, when the day came, all the tickets were gobbled up within minutes. 

Then, fate intervened.  Lyn Dobrin told me that her grandson Ryan was the assistant director of the show.  This allowed us to get on a special waiting list and, sure enough, four tickets for this Saturday matinee were offered to us.  We went and were thrilled and delighted.  The opening is a day or two away, but it is sure to be a hit and a likely candidate to move to Broadway after this limited run.

After the show, Ryan joined his grandparents and us for dinner at Marufuku Ramen, 92 Second Avenue, a formal setting for this most informal dish.  Walking in you only see a long counter with stools facing the food preparation area.  When you imagine that you are being led out the back door, a large dining room opens up, decorated in a dark/neutral color scheme.  We settled in a large booth and bothered Ryan with questions about aspects of the show and its performers, which he handled with aplomb, although he must have welcomed the distraction caused by the arrival of the food.   

I had "Chicken Paitan DX," consisting of a milky white broth (paitan broth) made from chicken bones and chicken feet, with chicken breast, soft boiled egg, green onions, kikurage (wood ear) mushrooms and bean sprouts, accompanied by a lacquered grilled chicken leg ($21.50).  It was delicious, but, for some reason, limited to 15 servings per day, maybe to spare the chicken population.  Highly recommended, if you get there on time.

Sunday, December 11, 2022

I came across this ranking by cost of four-year public institutions and private, not-for-profit institutions in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia.  https://brokescholar.com/most-expensive-college-in-every-state 

The top-line numbers are shockingly high; in many cases, financial aid brings the figures down merely to exorbitant from extortionate.  "The most expensive college in the U.S. that has undergraduates and awards bachelor’s degrees in the academic year 2021-2022 is Columbia University in New York City.  Its undergraduate tuition and fees cost $69,986, for both in-state and out-of-state students."

A bigger surprise was the second-most expensive college in the United States: Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, with undergraduate tuition and fees at $66,064.  While Columbia graduates often go on to substantially lucrative professional, financial or industrial careers, JTS's output of rabbis and cantors rarely have a need to shelter income.

Monday, December 12, 2022

A shopping trip to New Jersey led Madam and I to Noah’s Ark, 79 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, for a late lunch.  This Kosher delicatessen in a very Jewish neighborhood was empty at 2 P.M.  We decided to share a corned beef and chopped liver combo ($29.95), expecting that half would hold me until dinner.  While the quality was good, the portion was paltry and only my fabled self-control sustained me for the next few hours.  

When I met Gentleman Jerry for dinner at Ben's Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant, 209 West 38th Street, before going to the Rangers game at Madison Square Garden, I avoided making a direct comparison with Noah’s Ark.  However, the size of my Original Brisket panini, served with caramelized onions and fresh horseradish sauce on a brioche roll, French fries included ($21.99), clearly gave the advantage to Ben’s.  

Coleslaw and sour pickles were first-rate at both joints and the Rangers scored a fabulous victory.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

I fumbled my brother’s birthday gift today, so keep after me until I get it right.

. . . 

Censorship is alive and well, especially in those parts of the country where the reddest-blooded Americans boast loudly of their freedom and bravery.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/books/book-bans-libraries.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=highlightShare

“This is not about banning books, it’s about protecting the innocence of our children," says one vigilant vigilante.  How fragile that innocence must be.  He blathers on about “letting the parents decide what the child gets rather than having government schools indoctrinate our kids.”  May we soon expect parental controls on trigonometry?

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Thirty years ago today, at a small New England liberal arts college, a student shot and killed a professor and a fellow student, and wounded three other students and a staff member.  The killer was a loner, unhappy about no one knows what.  While the state where the tragedy occurred would ordinarily bar him from the purchase of the murder weapon, the leniency of his home state overrode this constraint.  But, while the legal path was left open to the killer, a major lapse of common sense enabled the horror.

He first made a mail order purchase of ammunition before even buying a semi-automatic rifle locally.  When a box of bullets arrived at the college’s mail room, the administration was notified.  However, he was given the package out of a supposed concern for his privacy, which he then lied about and hid when his room was searched.  The next day, he murdered.  As it happens, the professor was the brother of a friend.

Exactly 20 years later, a disgruntled 20-year old murdered 20 first grade students and six school personnel at Sandy Hook Elementary School after first killing his mother with one of several weapons that she had purchased for him.

Thursday, December 15, 2022

I’m trying to avoid replaying the myriad “Best of” lists that sprout at this time of year.  However, here is a headline that goes to the head of the class: “They Fought the Lawn.  And the Lawn Lost.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/climate/native-plants-lawns-homeowners.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

 

Friday, December 16, 2022

CNN hosted a folksy end-of-term conversation between Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.  https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/12/15/chuck-schumer-nancy-pelosi-jamie-gangel-sitdown-intv-ac360-vpx.cnn

While it displays their friendly interplay, I was most intrigued by the setting.  They were meeting and eating in a Chinese restaurant.  Schumer, showing his Brooklyn Jewish roots, is scoffing up everything, dumplings to Peking duck.  But, where were they?  In my never-ending devotion to public service, I uncovered that they were eating at Hunan Dynasty, 215 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington, D.C.  https://hunandynastycapitolhill.com/

 

I can't find any major league reviews of the restaurant, but who wants to argue with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer?

Reunion

Friday, December 2, 2022 

We arrived at LaGuardia Airport very, very early in the morning and were pleased with what we saw of the rebuilt airport.  The interiors were bright, spacious and attractively decorated.  There was an abundance of places to spend your money on food, drinks, electronics, T-shirts, books and sundries and lots of comfortable tables and chairs in addition to the usual rows of fiberglass benches.

Of course, they saw me coming and had us board at Gate 58, out of a possible 59, with very few moving sidewalks to hasten progress.  Also, my unopened tube of toothpaste, still in the box, was sacrificed on behalf of air safety.

First cousin Jae Price (née Joan Gotthelf) and her husband Robert picked us up at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, the first of many gestures of family friendship experienced in the next few days at the family reunion.  But, first, allow me to fill in a bit of the family tree.  Once upon a time in Poland, Marx Lato married Marian Laia Ryzowy and they had five children who reached adulthood, Samuel, Yetta, Harry, Fannie and Kajla, born between 1874 and ~1882.  Kajla remained in Poland, dying in 1926; my grandmother Yetta, married to Joseph Gotthelf, moved to New York.  The three other siblings settled in New Orleans, Samuel and Harry adopting the name Latter.     

This weekend, over 80 people, descendants of the original five Latos and their companions, met in New Orleans for the first family reunion ever.  It was an interesting and very heterogeneous crowd, that is not very Jewish.  I am on the far left, predictably.

 

We began with an informal cocktail party at Tujague's Restaurant, 429 Decatur Street, the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans.  It has been owned by a Latter family member since 1982.  In addition to America's Favorite Epidemiologist and my two grandnephews and one grandniece (the delegates from Argentina) in attendance, I barely knew a handful of the other relatives present.  For better or worse, my blogging preceded me in several people's awareness. 

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Many of the family met this morning for coffee and beignets, French doughnuts, at Café Du Monde, 56 Dreyfous Drive, the second location of a French Quarter institution, situated outdoors in an expansive municipal park.  Having met some people last night, it was easier to connect to others as we table hopped.  The only downside was the abundant powdered sugar covering the beignets, eventually covering my blue chino pants.  

Afterwards, Harold and Eileen Fisher (not the Eileen Fisher, however), she a great-granddaughter of both Samuel and Kajla, cousins married cousins, drove us downtown to the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, 818 Howard Avenue, open Saturdays, closed Tuesdays.  It has only been open a year and effectively tells the story of Jews who settled in Southern towns and villages, often arriving first as peddlers, many taking root, some gaining prominence. 

Black-Jewish relations were handled honestly, I thought.  Jews were known to be slave holders in the same proportion as the general population.  Of special interest was a poster recognizing the work for racial justice of Bea Gotthelf (1920-2022) of Jackson, Mississippi, probably not related. 

Another photograph revealed something new and disturbing to me.  I was well aware of the 20,000 or so German and Austrian Jews, stripped of their citizenship, who fled to Shanghai in the late 1930s, the only place in the world that allowed entry to stateless Jews.  My first wife was born there to a once-Austrian couple.  When the Communists took control in 1949, all Europeans were banished, my relatives-to-be going to Montreal.  What I learned today was how badly some others were treated.  

Consistent with the anti-Semitism and xenophobia that characterized US policy before, during and after WWII, 447 Jews who arrived in San Francisco by ship from Shanghai in February 1949 were placed in a sealed train - a sealed train - that carried them to Jersey City, where they were loaded on a ship to Haifa.  Somebody thought that it was a good idea to call the transport “Liberty Train.”   

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1949/02/23/84197853.html?pageNumber=11

. . .

We invited our young relatives Tomás, Benjamin and Emma to join us for dinner at Superior Grill, 3636 St. Charles Avenue, an enormous Mexican restaurant.  Even though most of the crowd had just watched LSU lose a championship football game, the noise level did not abate.  Fortunately, the waiter had no problem hearing me and quickly brought a large frozen strawberry margarita, which lubricated the rest of the evening.

Everyone enjoyed the food, also served in large portions.  I had the El Paso Plate, chicken enchilada, chile relleno, taco al carbon, tamale, cheese enchilada topped with chili con carne, rice and refried beans, a remarkable bargain that I couldn't even finish ($22).   

Sunday, December 4, 2022 

The key reunion event was held today at Ralph’s on the Park, 900 City Park Avenue.  The centerpiece was a 22-foot family tree created by Cousin Jerry Latter, an enormous task.  Jerry and Cousin Didier Opotowsky (we have Opotowskys and Opatowskys) gave slide talks about the origins and growth of the family.  We then sat down to a surprisingly good group luncheon of Louisiana blueberry salad with baby spinach, roasted pecans and goat cheese, followed by pecan-crusted trout (cooked just right for 80 people, wow, that's hard).  Dessert was heavenly, "Blackout Doberge," layered devil's food cake with chocolate pudding filling, chocolate ganache frosting sitting on crème anglaise.  It had my name on it.

After the program, we took a street car to the French Quarter and back, playing tourist for the afternoon.  Later, Madam and I joined Didier, his wife and two of his daughters for dinner at Gallier's Restaurant & Oyster Bar, 129 Carondelet Street.  Going with the flow, I started with four really good oysters.  For my main course, I had a large seafood platter, fried oysters, shrimp and fish with French fries and Caesar salad ($27).  Sorry you missed it.

Monday, December 5, 2022

I don't want to leave you with the impression that NOLA cuisine is flawless.  I had two po' boys for lunch, Friday after arrival and today at the airport before departure.  Po' is an appropriate description.  As soon as we got into Manhattan, I asked the taxicab driver to drop my young bride at Pastrami Queen, 136 West 72nd Street, to shop for our dinner.  The pastrami sandwich she brought home might appropriately be called a rich boy, by comparison.  Maybe New Orleans should stick to fried food.

 

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Meanwhile, back in the unfortunately real world.  In Florida, we learn of a father and son, not recognizing a neighbor dropping off a package delivered to him by mistake, run outside with .45 caliber handguns and shoot at a woman sitting in her car at the curb.  https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/us/florida-ring-doorbell-shooting/index.html

She survived, but I'm not sure that sanity did.

 

Thursday, December 8, 2022

I had oral surgery today, or so I am told.  I went to the Department of Dentistry of Montefiore Medical Center, sat in a chair while nurse Julia struggled to find a vein in my pudgy arm, then found some bloody drool on my chin and was told that I was finished and not to drink through a straw.  

Friday, December 9, 2022

I went to the Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway, still as important a landmark as the Statue of Liberty or Radio City Music Hall, although its discount policy has weakened considerably.  It does have miles of books, as advertised, and has added T-shirts, totes, mugs and the like.  There is also a coffee bar at the rear of the ground floor.  I easily found items to fill in my Hanukkah gift list.

For lunch, I went one block away to Cutlets Sandwich Co., 99 Third Avenue, where, fortunately, one of the three stools at the counter in the front window was available.  I ordered the Breakfast Burrito, two eggs over easy, hash browns, sharp white American cheese, pico de gallo and thick cut bacon, wrapped in a large tortilla ($10).  It was a gloopy mess, egg yolk running over my hands, just the way I like it.

 

 

Shorty

Saturday, November 26, 2022

With my jaded view of human behavior, I won't be mistaken for Little Mary Sunshine, but I must admit to a glimmer of optimism as I read these recent news reports.  

• Protests have erupted in far-flung cities, recruitment centers have been the target of arson, and thousands of military-age men have packed planes and vehicles to flee across Russia’s borders.

• By evening, demonstrations had spread across the country to many cities and university campuses, with large crowds in the streets clapping and defiantly chanting the mantras of the protests: “Women, Life, Freedom”  and “We will fight and take Iran back,” according to videos on social media.

• Now the episode in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, has unleashed the most defiant eruption of public anger against the ruling [Chinese] Communist Party in years.

Even as we struggle to maintain democratic values and institutions, I'd like to think that these are examples of a natural aversion to oppression that might transcend borders.

. . .

 

By lunchtime today, I had been directed twice to "the best pastrami in NYC," as anointed by the New York Post, Rupert Murdoch’s beacon of darkness.      

https://nypost.com/2022/11/25/the-best-new-pastrami-in-nyc-is-at-kwame-onwuachis-tatiana/

 

It could be found at Tatiana, a new restaurant within the walls of the rebuilt Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, featuring "an exotic array of flavors from around the world, lovingly blended in a melting pot of culinary tradition, heritage and culture."  It should not be confused with Tatiana Restaurant, 3152 Brighton 6th Street, Brooklyn, a Russian restaurant with a "Brighton Beach mystery of tradition."  

 

Tatiana is offering a chunk of beef on the bone that has been "brined for three days in a spice mix that includes mustard seed, juniper, garlic and bay leaves . . . next coated with a Nigerian-inspired suya blend, also known as yaji, lending notes of ginger, paprika and cayenne."  No mustard, no rye bread, yeah, but 70 bucks.  It is, therefore, highly unlikely that I will sample Tatiana's pastrami, although Geffen Hall is just downriver from Palazzo di Gotthelf.    

 

Sunday, November 27, 2022

I don’t understand all the fuss about the ex-president having dinner with two anti-Semites at Mar-a-Lago last week.  It wasn’t like four anti-Semites, after all.

. . .

 

"Adaptive Reuse Apartments Up 25% from Pre-Pandemic Numbers, Led by Record Office-to-Apartment Conversions"  

https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/adaptive-reuse-apartments/

 

With new paradigms of work emerging from the pandemic, this trend is continuing.  Cities that are leading the way are Washington, Philadelphia and Chicago.  I am surprised that the Holy Land only lands seventh in this category with its apparent huge amount of underutilized office space and crying need for more housing.  Of course, people sleeping at their desk is a well-established tradition.

 

Monday, November 28, 2022

My brother hipped me to a book by Kirsten Fermaglich with the exquisite title “A Rosenberg by Any Other Name: A History of Jewish Name Changing in America.”  After reading thousands of court documents, the author found that 65% of New York name change petitioners in the 1930s had Jewish sounding names, "far out of proportion to their numbers in the city."  Additionally, she reminds us that legal name changes could be accomplished without the cost and complexity of a legal proceeding by consistent use without a fraudulent purpose.  

 

Anti-Semitism is almost never explicitly mentioned in the court papers, according to the author.  Rather, the names being shed are described as foreign-sounding, too long, hard to pronounce, cumbersome.  WWII caused a large increase in formal requests for name changes by Jews, ironically to replace the German-sounding names borne by many.  Overwhelmingly, the name changer was the child or grandchild of immigrants, already settled in the New World, not the immigrant trying to fit in, a somewhat counterintuitive finding.

 

Another source on Jewish names is Jewish-names.org, which published a survey of the first names of 11,000 American Jewish people.  Not surprisingly, it found that the more "Jewish" parents were, education, affiliation, occupation, friends, the more likely that their children will have "Jewish" first names (e.g., Jonah, Rebecca), rather than American names (e.g., Robert, Ellen).  Less predictable was the finding that, "[o]ver the decades, American Jews became more and more likely to give their children names of Jewish origin (English or Hebrew Biblical, Modern Hebrew, etc.), with a major uptick after the 1960s."  

 

In contrast to Fermaglich's work on family names, "[w]hile some Jews have changed their first names for various reasons, hardly any have done so to make their names less Jewish.”

 

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

21 New York City Hospitals received $1.5 billion in tax breaks in 2019.  The Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, calculated “fair share spending” by U.S. hospitals by comparing spending on charity care and community investment to the value of their tax exemption.  The local results are eye-opening.  https://lowninstitute.org/projects/are-nyc-hospitals-earning-their-tax-breaks/

 

While a majority, 12 of 21, gave back more than their fair share, a total of $261.3 million, the amount held back by the other nine, $727 million, is almost triple.  That will buy a lot of aspirin.

 

Thursday, December 1, 2022

What do the Holy Land and Singapore have in common?  According to a new survey by The Economist, they are the most expensive cities in the world.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-most-expensive-cities-economist-2022/index.html

I would like to see a recalculation with housing costs omitted.  I don’t underestimate the leaden burden of the single biggest monthly expense, but, in my travels here and abroad, I’ve been impressed by the bargains found in New York on food, clothing, furniture, electronics and appliances as a result of competition. 

If you have anything left over after paying your rent, you’ll probably live better here than most anyplace else.  A big if, of course.

. . .

I am ending this week’s blog today, because the Upper West Side’s Power Couple leave early Friday morning for a family reunion in New Orleans over the weekend.  My report will follow.