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Now Let Us Praise Pastrami

David Sax’s new book on delis has as many fans as pickles

by
Sara Ivry
October 16, 2009

This year’s heavy weight title for world’s biggest deli champion (Oh, you didn’t hear about that award? You’ve really got to get out more!) goes unquestionably to David Sax, whose book Save the Deli hits stores next week. It gets a boost in today’s Wall Street Journal from Dara Horn who posits that “the history of American food is really a history of immigration, and the nostalgia that comes with a cuisine’s decline is an indicator of an ethnic group’s confidence in its American identity.” Sax tells the Village Voice (which, incidentally, stole our picture of the author, but we’re not mad atcha!) that the crazy kids of today love to eat deli after they carouse at the formerly cool bar Max Fish on the Lower East Side (Max Fish is still in business but Ratner’s isn’t? Oy, the heartburn!). Elsewhere Joan Nathan goes on a deli tour of New Jersey with Sax. And Robert Siegel does what we did for our podcast with Sax—goes with him to Ben’s Best in Queens where he tries, as did we, rolled beef. It was good! Listen here, work up your own appetite, and hop on the subway out to Rego Park.

And if you want to see Sax talk about the deli in person, check him out next Wednesday in Washington as part of our Jewish Body Week.

Sara Ivry is the host of Vox Tablet, Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast. Follow her on Twitter@saraivry.