For much of the 20th century, the deli was an iconic institution in both Jewish and American life, a kind of homeland for the soul—with pickles on the side. As a social space it rivaled, and in some ways surpassed, the synagogue as the primary gathering place for the Jewish community. Today, after a long period of being considered hopelessly old-fashioned, the Jewish deli is experiencing a nostalgic resurgence. In a multimedia talk, writer Ted Merwin discusses the past, present, and future of the deli in an age of ethnic nostalgia, sustainability, and artisanal food and drink. Merwin is the National Jewish Book Award–winning author of Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli. He has written about Jewish culture for the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and many other publications and served for almost two decades as theater critic for the New York Jewish Week.
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