Congratulations to our good friend David Sax. His recently released best-seller, "Save The Deli" recently won the James Beard award in the category of Writing and Literature! And this came right after having won the 2010 Canadian Jewish Book Award for Memoir/Biography.
We were first introduced to the book, “Save The Deli”, by David Sax when it was published in late 2009. As a journalist and life-long deli obsessive, David Sax was understandably alarmed by the state of Jewish delicatessen. A cuisine that had once thrived as the very center of Jewish life had become endangered by assimilation, homogenization, and health food trends. He watched in dismay as one beloved deli after another--one institution after another--shuttered, only to be reopened as some bland chain-restaurant laying claim to the very culture it just paved over.
Over the course of the past few years he’s toured the world, interviewing deli owners and famous deli lovers (like Ed Koch, Ruth Reichel and Mel Brooks), tried his hand cutting sandwiches at Katz’s, and voyaged to the heart of deli country, whether New York, LA, Montreal, Paris, London, or Poland.
Was it still possible to Save the Deli? David’s book investigates everything deli-- its history, its diaspora, its next generation. He tells about the food itself--how it's made, who makes it best, and where to go for particular dishes.
So grab a pastrami on rye and sit down for a great read-- because Save the Deli is an energetic cultural history of Jewish food, a vibrant travelogue, and a rallying cry for a new generation of food lovers.
Please come in and let us know what you think.
Save the Deli - A Real Winner
