HUNGRY GERALD

SJ’s teenage Japanese nephew, Taku, whose home is in Tokyo, has been visiting with SJ and family. Taku wanted to see an American baseball game and so it was off to the Yankee Stadium. Things looked grim for the Yanks that day but in the later innings, Ichiro Suzuki, the Japanese star, made an appearance. Ichiro, in the ninth, got a hit. Harassed the opposing pitcher with threats of a stolen base and then scored the winning run for the Yanks. Taku was overjoyed. This pleasure was topped the following day when Taku went fishing in Long Island Sound off New Rochelle. Caught a lot of porgys. (An earlier PEI fishing expedition was disappointing — hefty currents kept the mackerel from biting and not one fish was pulled from the choppy waters). This all brought back memories to HG. One happy year (probably 1939 or 1940), HG went fishing off City Island (HG’s first fishing experience) and caught three fish. HG also went to Yankee Stadium that year to see the Detroit Tigers play the Yanks. HG’s hero, the Jewish home run hitter, Hank Greenberg, starred for Detroit. Hank hit a homer that day. Memorable. This was one of the few days in which HG was disloyal to the Yankees. As part of their community relations program, the Yanks took a Bronx elementary school to a game once a season. HG munched peanuts (free) and gloried in the heroics of the Yanks of that golden age (DiMaggio, Henrich, Gordon Crosetti, Rolfe, Ruffing, Gehrig etc.). In maturity, HG has lost pleasure in watching baseball and has transferred fandom to the NBA.

The master of light verse, Ogden Nash, summed up his feelings about HG’s home borough in a two word couplet: “The Bronx. No Thonx.”

Obviously, the poet had not sipped, supped and dined in The Bronx during its golden food days (which lasted into the early 60’s). Every east-west shopping street (Kingsbridge Road, Fordham Road, Mt. Eden Avenue, Burnside Avenue, etc.) was dotted with great Jewish delicatessens and bakeries, Italian fruit stands (very fresh produce from Long Island and New Jersey truck farmers); purveyors of superior smoked salmon and sturgeon (these were known as “appetizing stores”). Arthur Avenue in the Belmont section was the center of Italian cuisine. Tremont Avenue and Bathgate Avenue catered to Jewish tastes. The Irish population of The Bronx was not renowned for cuisine but ran many estimable taverns on Jerome Avenue. Well, times changed and by the 70s the Bronx became a symbol of urban decay and hopelessness.

But, don’t count the borough out. Tremont Avenue and Bathgate Avenue have changed or been obliterated. But, Arthur Avenue has expanded and retained its vitality (it is a must for every foodie visitor to New York). There are a lot of very good Puerto Rican restaurants in operation. Good African restaurants have opened on the Grand Concourse. SJ vouches for the Jamaican food on White Plains Avenue and Gun Hill Road. There’s both traditional Jewish delicatessen food in Riverdale and the world’s greatest carrot cake. Obviously, the ethnicities have changed but there’s still some sizzling tastes to sample in The Bronx. And, let’s hope the championship flags will be flying again soon at the new Yankee Stadium.