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SAVE THE DELI

Name: SAVE THE DELI
Author: David Sax
ISBN: 978-0-15-101384-5

IN SEARCH OF PERFECT PASTRAMI, CRUSTY RYE, AND THE HEART OF JEWISH DELICATESSEN

by David Sax ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 19, 2009

As warm and inviting as chicken soup, but not nearly as sustaining—another example of a book idea better suited for a...

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A deli enthusiast embarks on an international tour of his favorite food, looking for the last authentic deli establishments.

Growing up in Toronto, journalist Sax went with his family to a Jewish deli every Friday, where he alternated between corned-beef and salami sandwiches, always preceded by a bowl of matzoh ball soup. When he moved to New York after college, he was understandably excited about moving into deli mecca. However, concerned that delis were becoming merely bastions of tourism and franchising, the author decided to go on a quest—starting in New York, traversing the continent and then moving to Europe—to witness and record their history and future. His story starts out with promise, as he chronicles his one-night gig on the pastrami lines at the famed Katz’s Deli on the Lower East Side. The final legs of his journey, which took him to London, France and Poland—home to the roots of much Jewish-American comfort food—are packed with interesting cultural and historical detail. But the middle of the country stretches out bleakly, with each city telling nearly the same story. From Detroit to Chicago to California, there seems to be little variation on the same plight—vestiges of a vibrant deli culture, a few iconic holdouts, but mostly controlled by large companies who supply substandard meat and try to compensate for mediocre food with splashy décor. Sax is an entertaining writer, and the descriptions of the food are often mouthwatering. Unfortunately, there are only so many ways to discuss corned-beef, pastrami and rye bread.

As warm and inviting as chicken soup, but not nearly as sustaining—another example of a book idea better suited for a long-form magazine piece.

Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-15-101384-5

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FUTURE IS ANALOG
by David Sax

- BOOK REVIEW
THE REVENGE OF ANALOG
by David Sax

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TASTEMAKERS
by David Sax

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.