HUNGRY GERALD

HG lived in New York for some 30 years as an adult before moving with BSK to Montclair, NJ, in the 70’s. Wow, has Manhattan (and large sections of Brooklyn) changed. Seems to be inhabited by plutocrats (billionaires are a dime a dozen) and young, affluent financial services experts and equally young and affluent techies. Restaurants are shockingly expensive (Hey, even a hot dog costs five bucks). Living space? Four figures a month buys you a cramped, one room “studio”.  (There are still some affordable apartments in gritty areas of The Bronx and Staten Island–and there are bargain meals to be had–not many-in Chinatown, Flushing, Sunset Park). In HG’s day, there was good ethnic dining in Manhattan: German (Luchow’s and Blue Ribbon were the best); Czech (Roast duck on Second Avenue in Yorkville); Mexican and Spanish (Greenwich Village); Irish (Corned beef and cabbage in bars plus pot roast at Connolly’s on 3rd Ave.)- There were numerous good Italian restaurants in town. (Red sauce and fiery scungilli ruled). However, New York had a distinctly Jewish food flavor yesteryear. Savoury delicatessens featuring pastrami were omnivorous (Sadly, only Katz’s and 2nd Avenue Deli remain). Scores of “dairy” restaurants. (Ratner’s, Paramount, Rappaport’s–HG faves–are gone and only two decent dairy restaurants remain). The classic Jewish restaurant Moscowitz & Lupowitz is gone –Motto: “Where The Finer Jews Eat”– (Brains, chopped liver were treats). The cheap “Romanian Broilings” joints where HG’s beloved late Father took HG for garlic infused “karnatzlach” are no more (They were a favorite of Italian mobsters and their Jewish counterparts). Sammy’s Romanian (Bottle of ice enclosed vodka on each table), was a loud, crazy carnival of schmaltz, garlic and tenderloin steaks. HG, son Jeremy, friends (Including the much missed late Adam Schlesinger), business colleagues (Bruce Maguire, Donald Kitchen) went two (Or three) times a year More was life threatening. Suddenly, it closed. Happily, it’s reopening on the Lower East Side.  Cardiologists might picket.

HG is often asked: “What were your favorite restaurants when you lived in New York and New Jersey??” Okay. New Jersey faves: Vincent’s, Harrison NJ. (Best Italian restaurant ever–fried zucchini, steamed mussels, fabulous pastas); Belmont Tavern, Belleville, NJ. (Incomparable Stretch’s Chicken; cavatelli in cheese sauce, scungilli); Mama Lucia, Belleville, NJ. (Raucous, noisy, down home Italian–like having Sunday lunch with a big, voluble Neapolitan family). New York: Nom Wah, Doyers  Street, Chinatown. (Had dim sum there every weekend starting in the 1960’s when it was the only dim sum eatery in the city); Gitlitz Delicatessen, Upper West Side (The best Jewish treats–pastrami, corned beef, chopped liver, tongue, brisket, real rye bread. Better than Katz’s and 2nd  Avenue Deli); Christ Cella, E.44th St. (The ultimate steak house. HG meal:  Scotch sour, lobster cocktail; medium rare sirloin, pan fried potatoes, Guinness Stout, Cognac, coffee). Keen’s, East 30’s ( Wonderful mutton chop and roast beef hash); Gage & Tollner,  Downtown Brooklyn (It was affordable in the 1960’s and 1970’s before it closed and finally reopened in 2023 as a pricey venue. In the old days, HG ate succulent sauteed clam bellies, fried fish and a great springtime platter of shad, shad roe and a  rasher of bacon).

Yes, that’s what BSK did–and the result was delish. Thrifty and creative BSK noticed okra maturing in the refrigerator. BSK believes in old time advice: “Waste not. Want not.”  Before the okra spoiled it was time to use it in a stew. And, on this rainy, grey day at HG/BSK’s Prince Edward Island oceanfront home, BSK made a heart warming stew that challenged the weather. The ingredients: Okra, of course, plus chicken thighs– cut into bite size shapes–garbanzo beans, garlic, cilantro, mint, parsley, tomatoes, peppers and a bit of tomato paste plus some chicken stock–and a splash of olive oil when serving. Heat loving HG added Sambal Oelek to HG’s portion. So good–and HG was happy BSK made enough of the stew for two dinners. Abbondanza!!

Besides BSK, there has been a happy constant in HG’s long life–Pancakes. Yes, HG loves pancakes. The passion began when HG was eight years old. The hungry little guy would run home (2751 Claflin Avenue in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of The Bronx) from nearby PS 86 on Reservoir Avenue for noonday lunch. Most days, HG’s late beloved Mom, Ida Kopkind Freeman, would prepare buckwheat pancakes smothered in melted butter and Aunt Jemima syrup. (Whole milk, rich in butterfat, was the accompaniment).  Radio was tuned to the Yiddish language station, WEVD (The station’s politics were Socialist–the EVD stood for Eugene Victor Debs, the heroic Socialist leader and Presidential candidate). Sun lit up the dinette windows. Schoolboy HG experienced bliss. HG rarely eats pancakes for breakfast these days. However, BSK often makes savory pancakes for dinner (” Supper”  on Prince Edward Island where HG/BSK spend many months at their spectacular sea view oceanfront home). BSK made a lusty batter containing shredded cabbage, garlic scapes, parsley and juicy sea scallops from nearby Julio’s Seafood Shop. BSK sizzled spoonfuls of batter in sizzling olive oil making cakes with lacy edges and soft interiors. Topped with Bulldog Sauce, they were a tasty treat–HG ate many and drank Pinot Noir. Boyhood bliss was repeated. Brandade is a favorite HG dish–salt cod that is desalinated in many changes of water, garlic, potatoes, olive oil, bit of broth, splash of milk or cream–the mix is pureed and a warm mound is gilded with a bit more olive oil and crowned with chopped parsley. HG likes an emphatic amount of garlic in the brandade. If there are leftovers, BSK forms the brandade into small pancakes, fries them in olive oil and serves the good things as a dinner appetizer with PEI mustard pickle (BSK’s brandade fritters are similar to the codfish fritters hawked at Rome’s Campo De Fiori). Some years ago in Santa Fe, HG/BSK dined at a nearby neighbor’s beautiful home. Before HG went to the dining table, HG drank some glasses of icy vodka and watched a dazzling sunset (Yes, HG drank strong spirits in those days. No more. HG now drinks only wine–sparingly) . Dinner was a surprise–stacks of buttermilk pancakes drenched with melted butter and Canadian maple syrup—rashers of crisp, thick cut bacon and a baguette plus sweet butter.  It all went nicely with a French red Bordeaux. HG/BSK have to try this for dinner one night–but no vodka preface.

Three wonderful things are in season now on Prince Edward Island–Garlic scapes, baby zucchini and strawberries. BSK made splendid use of them for dinner last night. BSK constructed a fragrant, tasty pesto of garlic scapes, parsley, baby spinach, walnuts and olive oil. Whirled in the blender, the pesto was as good or better than conventional basil pesto. The small zucchini were sauteed with chopped garlic and sliced onion (Zucchini is splendid when very young–as the seasons progress, the vegetable grows,large and bloated–watery and tasteless). Instead of traditional pasta, BSK mixed the pesto and zucchini with tortellini. Heavenly. To complete the PEI culinary extravaganza, BSK topped salt caramel ice cream with an abundance of sliced strawberries. Yes, living good in HG/BSK’s PEI neighborhood.

A  classic of down home, savory comfort eating is Shrimp and Grits. Just typing those words sharpens HG’s appetite. BSK is an expert at making shrimp and grits. Simple cooking but each element must be cooked with masterly timing. BSK cooks the grits first and keeps them warm. They are lush and creamy because BSK adds a big chunk of cream cheese to the grits–a culinary trick learned from Gifted Daughter Lesley R. The sofrito (sauce) is composed of softened onion slices, chopped garlic, olive oil, tomato paste and a splash of Frank’s Hot Sauce. Must have some green for color and health so BSK steams some baby spinach and adds it to the creamy grits. Shrimp are tricky–even a slight overcooking makes them rubbery. BSK takes less than a minute to cook the shrimp into sweet, tender lushness. The shrimp nestle on a bed of spinach grits and doused with the tangy sauce–the joyous eating is enhanced by numerous glasses of red Argentine Malbec. Yes, much to HG’s pleasure, BSK makes dinner at HG/BSK’s Prince Edward Island oceanfront home, a culinary epic. (On PEI, the evening meal is called “supper” and lunch is “dinner”.)

A joyous, gourmand itinerary began 84 years ago–in 1939– when HG was 10 years old and living with his parents at 2751 Claflin Avenue in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx and continued until 1960 when HG was living in nearby Fordham Hill and Riverdale. HG would be off to the shopping and eating paradise of Kingsbridge Road. First stop was at an “appetizing store” for sliced Nova smoked salmon, sable, two slices of expensive sturgeon, pickled herring, sour pickles, sweet pickled peppers, black olives. Next stop was Zaro’s Bakery for bialys, onion rolls, “pletzels”, half a loaf of sliced “corn bread”; “kichel” (Sweet twists of dough for dipping in coffee.) Last stop was Daitch Dairy for its incomparable cream cheese and a slice of roquefort. In HG’s’ preteen days HG drank coffee. ( In later years HG drank beer with cognac chasers). This was the best breakfast/brunch ever and old HG would dearly love to repeat those daylight festivities.  Alas, HG can only remember the lusty taste and joy.

HG/BSK relished a wonderful dinner last night at Ocean Mist Farm, the verdant compound in Gaspereau on the south shore of Prince Edward Island, home of Noel M. (BSK’s sister) and her husband, Yossi M. (45 minute drive from HG/BSK’s St. Peter’s oceanfront home). Yossi and Noel outdid themselves. Noel made an enticing platter of hummus decorated with tomatoes and olives accompanied by Noel’s home baked, za’atar dusted pita— plus a big bowl of warm, perfectly cooked Israeli couscous. It all melded beautifully with Yossi’s barbecued ground lamb kebabs. A side of yogurt was the sauce.  Accompanied by numerous glasses of wine–white and red–this was a memorable feast. Sweet conclusion was bowls of Farmers vanilla ice cream.. (As always, Yossi was very thoughtful. He barbecued ground lamb instead of chunks of lamb–made it much easier for HG to swallow).

HG was musing (Musing is a favorite old age pastime) and thought about HG’s favorite female vocals, songs that keep dancing in HG’s head. Here they are in no particular order: Billie Holiday (“Strange Fruit”); Edith Piaf (“La Vie En Rose”); Nina Simone (“My baby just cares for me”); Bessie Smith (“Gimme A pigfoot”). And, Barbra Streisand’s comic masterpiece from “Funny Girl”: “Private Schwartz From Rockaway” with its delightful last line–“Is coming home General Schwartz”.

Julio is one of HG/BSK’s favorite people. His Julio’s Seafood Market and Oyster Bar on St. Peter’s Landing is close to HG/BSK’s Prince Edward Island oceanfront home. Julio supplies BSK with the freshest fish (the staple of BSK’s cuisine) and calls BSK when he has something special like line caught tuna. He did something wonderful for HG/BSK’s 61st anniversary dinner.  As BSK watched, Julio filled a flat bottomed, crushed ice lined wooden box/tray with a dozen perfectly shucked Colville Bay oysters. It was the highlight of the dinner–even though the main dish of spaghetti with gently sauteed Julio sea scallops was no anti-climax. Dessert was Canadian Butter Tarts topped with ice cream. A joyous celebration.