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grandmotherly deliciousness. I still love a coffee and a rugelach or two if there is a cannoli shortage.
I also know from growing up in this neighborhood the value of a good bagel, the kind which you simply cannot usually get outside the borders of any of the hive boroughs — until I found an authentic bagel store near my home on the western north shore of Long
Island. It was kosher. I know what kosher is by the way. I would go there for breakfast — a toasted bialy and a cup of coffee. Kosher by all accounts. One day I got a bagel sandwich hilled with chicken salad — also kosher, because this was advertised as a kosher bagel store, so I assumed that they would not sell non-kosher food items there. The sandwich was very good. No complaints. Then, a few weeks later I went in and asked for another chicken salad sandwich. The man behind the counter, who did not look up, make eye contact or address me politely said (and then I said in italics):
“This is a kosher bagel store, we do not serve chicken salad. Chicken salad has mayo on it. Mayo is not kosher.”
“Why is there an aisle of creamy stuff in jars in the super market that say ‘Hellman’s Kosher mayonnaise’ ? Plus I could have sworn I had a chicken salad sandwich here a few weeks ago.”
“We do not use that mayo here so that’s not possible. We are a kosher restaurant.”
Staying in Love: Secret Recipes For Making Love Last 92