MEN’S CLUB UPDATE
Where’s the (Corned) Beef?
Where have you gone Joe
DiMaggio and Isaac
Gellis?!? Last month,
Buddy’s Kosher Delicatessen in
Bayside closed its doors for the
last time. Earlier this year, Ben's
Best in Rego Park did the same.
The Ben’s Deli in the Bay Terrace
Shopping Center in Bayside is the
only remaining kosher deli left in
Queens. Other than the Mill Basin
Deli and Jay and Lloyd’s Kosher
Deli, I cannot think of any others
left in Brooklyn. Manhattan still
has the 2nd Ave Deli, but don't look
for it on 2nd Avenue; its’s been re-located
to 33rd between Lexington
and 3rd. Liebman’s in Riverdale is
the only deli still left in the Bronx,
and Staten Island comes up empty.
If anyone wishes to name any that
I might have overlooked, feel free
to contact me at jnhemacs10@aol.
com. Remember, “Glatt Kosher”
and "Kosher Style” do not count!
North Shore Towers’ deli of
choice has to be Ben’s in Bayside
for no reason other than "they are
the last one standing," as many
would say. And didn’t they do a
good job catering the Men’s Club
Super Bowl party last February?
Let's hope that they will be able
to do it again in 2021.
My introduction to the world of
kosher delis took place in 1946.
On Saturday mornings I can
remember being given a dollar,
which was to cover my lunch bill
and movie admission that day.
Lunch was always at Rubinstein’s
Deli on Pitkin Avenue in East New
York, and then we would go to the
Earl Theatre which was only a few
blocks away on Liberty Avenue.
The grilled franks that I ordered
always seemed to be on the grill
too long and always seemed to
end up burnt. The French fries,
however, were great. I think that
today when I order franks and
beans, the franks must be boiled.
Many of us must remember the
distinctive personalities of the deli
waiters, their main characteristic
being humor. “Waiter, there’s
a fly in my soup!” How many
remember the waiter’s response?
Many years later, during a 1987
European vacation to London, I
ordered a corned beef sandwich at
Bloom’s, a kosher deli in London’s
East End. Much to my conster-nation,
the waiter told me that
they did not serve sandwiches.
Apparently their delicatessen style
differs somewhat from ours. After
bringing me a plate with corned
beef and a few slices of bread, he
taught me how to make my own.
Our former club president, Arnie
Rabinowitz, remembers working
in the kitchen of a delicatessen
called Berman’s as a boy, which
was located on Livonia Avenue
in Brooklyn. In those days, the
only hot food that he can recall
being made in the kitchen were
specials such as "knockwurst"
and beans, salami and eggs with
French fried potatoes, hot open
sandwiches and sometimes skirt
steak (Jewish tenderloin). Al
Sprung recommended the Lido
Kosher Deli in Long Beach. Al
limits his visits there because of
something that delis have that
does not appear on their menus:
cholesterol! We are fighting the
good fight with you, Al!
After World War II, the kosher
delis began to fade away and
were replaced by "kosher style”
delicatessens. The meats were
no longer kosher, but the menus
were greatly expanded. Meat and
dairy now shared the same table!
One of the best kosher style delis
that I used to go to on a regular
basis was the Turnpike on Queens
Blvd. in Kew Gardens. It was
located a few blocks down from
Pastrami King. They were both
great, and sadly both are now
gone. Similarly, both the Stage
and Carnegie Delicatessens also
closed their doors in the past few
years.
One way or another, I have
faith that delicatessens will never
entirely disappear, at least not in
our lifetime.
Buddy’s Kosher Deli: 1950 - 2020
More mustard, please!
BY HOWARD ARKIN
Since the inception of the
COVID-19 earlier this year the
activities of the North Shore
Towers Men’s Club have been affect-ed.
The club’s governing board has
been aware of this situation and has
put into place some programs which
has helped keep us active.
In May, Steve Auerbach intro-duced
us to ZOOM, Zoom being
a form of communication in which
people can see and talk to one
another via their iPads, smart-phones
or laptops.
So far we have had about 20
members who have chosen to par-ticipate
in these sessions. I'm certain
that there would be many more if
they knew how to log on to Zoom.
Asking someone such as a friend or
possibly a grandchild might just do
the trick. No one has more exper-tise
in the world of cyber land than
grandchildren!
At about 10:25 every Thursday
morning, I get to my laptop, log on
via the Zoom app and wait for Gary
Darche to begin the session. His
topics range from social issues and
politics to economics and sports. It
goes without saying that everyone’s
favorite bête noire comes up quite
often. The North Shore Towers
Men’s Club, being non-political,
I'll divulge no names.
I've been very impressed by the
knowledge that the membership has
on the topics chosen, whether it’s
Ron Gold on economics, Harold
Hershman and John Rondinelli on
law and law enforcement, or Paul
Arden on almost anything. Another
voice, coming to us from sunny
Boca Raton, is Arnie Rabinowitz,
his expertise, of course, being
Brooklyn nostalgia.
Last summer Toby Horowitz sug-gested
a club get together under the
tree on the lawn between Buildings
2 and 3 which attracted as many
as 17 members. The last time that I
went down to the get together it was
just the tree and me. Nice try, Toby.
We seem to be having more success
with Toby’s newsletter, which can
be read on your email.
Last September the club sponsored
a presentation by Keith Crocker, who
had given us some great and infor-mative
lectures in the past. This one
was on the careers of Bud Abbott
and Lou Costello and was shown on
Channel 995. I'm certain that there
will be more to follow.
Things seem to be slowly getting
back to normal with New York City
restaurants now open for indoor
dining. How many more days to
Mizumi, Jack?
The Club Keeps Zoomin’ Along
30 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ October 2020
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