Jewish Foodie Ori Laizerouvich Visits Lower East Side and Coney Island Restaurants

In its latest effort to strengthen the bond between Israel and American Jewry, the Ruderman Family Foundation this month launched a 10-part original video series, “Jewish Foodie.” 

The series aims to encourage Israelis to deepen their knowledge about U.S. Jewish communities, and Jewish Americans to become better acquainted with their rich and diverse heritage and culture, all accomplished through a rich and fascinating culinary journey of Jewish food across the U.S.

As reported in The Jewish Link,

Hosted by the well-known Israeli actor and comedian Ori Laizerouvich, “Jewish Foodie” takes viewers on a journey of the broad diversity of American Jewry as a whole and its communities in particular through the innovative vehicle of food.

Focusing on the personal stories and cultural influences associated with Jewish food in four American regions, the series explores the Northeast, with its bagels and lox, knishes, delis, hot dogs, Chinese food and vegan fare; the Southeast, including barbecue, bourbon and baked goods; the Southwest, featuring tacos, Jewish-style burgers with latkes (“Jew Boy Burger”), huevos rancheros and rodeo food; and the Midwest, with pastrami sandwiches, bison burgers and Canukah gelt-making.

Viewers not only discover American Jewish communities’ food stories, but also the broader character of the communities themselves and their members, including communities whose Jewish presence may be surprising.

Actor and comedian Laizerouvich is a familiar face to fans of the Chai Flicks streaming series Shababnikim (The New Black) where he plays the role of Gedaliah, a very religious and very serious Yeshiva student.

In this second episode of the series, Laizerouvich visits Nathan's Famous in Coney Island, Buddha Bodai One in Chinatown, and the vegan Orchard Grocer on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

 (A note to our readers: While all of the food establishments visited by Laizerouvich specialize in Jewish food, only a few of them have kosher certification. In this New York video, only Buddha Bodai One is certified kosher.)

Be sure to subscribe to Jewish Humor Central. Just enter your email address in the box at the upper left of our home page for your automatic free subscription. Or enter www.jewishhumorcentral.com into your browser each day. We'll be sharing the next nine episodes of this series with you each Sunday. Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Jewish Greek Festival on New York's Lower East Side

In 70 C.E., when the Roman emperor Titus conquered Jerusalem and carried Jewish slaves with him to Rome, the ship holding them was driven by a storm onto the Albanian coast. 

Instead of throwing his captives into the sea, he allowed them to disembark, and they eventually made their way to the area in northwest Greece where the city of Janina was established. 

In 1927, descendents of the Jews of Janina built a Greek synagogue, Kehila Kedosha Janina, on New York's Lower East Side. It was declared a New York City landmark, and last month it was the focus of a Jewish Greek Festival.

Here is a video with scenes from the festival and a video describing the founding of the synagogue.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.




 

"Sturgeon Queens" Film Celebrates 100 Years of Russ and Daughters Appetizing Store

100 years. Four generations. 1,800,000 pounds of pickled herring.

One hundred years ago an appetizing store called Russ and Daughters opened on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Since 1914, four generations of the Russ family have worked behind the counter to help transform the fish store "from pushcart to posh."

Filmmaker Julie Cohen will soon premiere Sturgeon Queens, a long-in-the-works documentary about the store. The film chronicles the history of the shop through interviews with several generations of the Russ family, plus a mix of loyal regulars and celebrity customers like Mario Batali, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

The release is well-timed to coincide with the shop's 100th birthday this year, but also catches it at a moment of significant expansion. In discussing those plans for a Russ & Daughters Cafe, fourth generation owner Niki Russ Federman says, "Most restaurants don't even last past the first year. That can't even be an option for us." 

The film will be screened a few times at Jewish Film Festivals in the coming months, including on May 20 at the JCC CineMatters festival on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Until then, you can check out a preview below or catch it on PBS when it airs in the fall. 

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)