Ptcha and stuff

[jogoode]

Anyone care to share their favorite spot for Jewish Deli food?

I'm talkin' ptcha, kremplach, and schmaltz, not pastrami and corned beef ... well I guess we can talk tongue if you want ... I think 2nd Ave. Deli is still solid and has a damn good selection of hard to find Jewish delicacies. Where else?

[Pan]

I haven't had kreplach in a restaurant that I can remember, nor grivelach (my parents' pronunciation of "gribenes"). But is "ptcha" your pronunciation of shchav (the sheep sorrel drink)?

[Suzanne F]

P'tcha is calves' foot jelly. Think: the fleishag version of the gelatenous stuff around gefilte fish.

[jogoode]

I've never had 2nd Ave's kreplach. and gribenes is certainly not on the menu (I don't think). You could ask, though, because they give out free schmaltz to those who ask.

Pan,

How do you pronounce "gribenes"?

[alacarte]

I think you'll have better luck if you're willing to leave the confines of Manhattan. Perhaps heading to Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn, or out to Monsey in Rockland County will yield more kreplach etc.

If you have access to Bubbe's kitchen, better still.

[menton1]

One place in Manhattan with all that stuff is Barney Greengrass on the UWS. No need to leave the city!!

Barney Greengrass

541 Amsterdam Ave.

New York, NY 10024

212-724-4707

Edited December 9, 2003 by menton1 (log)

[Jason Perlow]

I've never had 2nd Ave's kreplach. and gribenes is certainly not on the menu (I don't think). You could ask, though, because they give out free schmaltz to those who ask.

Pan,

How do you pronounce "gribenes"?

Grib (like crib) in ess.

[jogoode]

One place in Manhattan with all that stuff is Barney Greengrass on the UWS.

When I was little, I used to go to Barney's for fish platters.. but I've never tried anything else there. I'm closer to Russ & Daughters now so I do most of my fish shopping there.

What should good ptcha taste like?

[menton1]

What should good ptcha taste like?

Chicken.

[MakanmataRob]

You can find all of these things (though all are not necessarily available year round) at G&M Foods on Essex Street, just south of Grand St. It is take-out only.

[Pan]

Pan,

How do you pronounce "gribenes"?

I would tend to say "gree-v'-lakh," like my parents do (except that people have trouble understanding what I'm talking about) and spell it grivelach. I've heard people pronounce gribenes "gri ["i" as in "fish"] - b' - ness."

[herbacidal]

Anyone care to share their favorite spot for Jewish Deli food?

I'm talkin' ptcha, kremplach, and schmaltz, not pastrami and corned beef ... well I guess we can talk tongue if you want ... I think 2nd Ave. Deli is still solid and has a damn good selection of hard to find Jewish delicacies. Where else?

thanks. looks like 2nd ave deli is a stop for next trip.

how about kascha (sp) (and bowties?)

i've only had bain's deli version, and liked it.

therefore, somewhere there's gotta be a version twice as good.

[bloviatrix]

In my experience, you have to be careful with kasha varnishkes. If not done well, they taste like band-aids.

They're actually pretty easy to make at home. Carmelize onions (I like a lot of onions) - schmaltz or duck fat adds nice flavor, toast the kasha (coarse), and simmer with water or chicken stock, boil up the the bow-tie noodles (in this case, they're bow-ties, not farfalle), and combine the three ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.

Edited December 10, 2003 by bloviatrix (log)

[alacarte]

Hey, someone get Rabbi Ribeye on the board to weigh in on this matter.

[menton1]

There used to be a place on the Lower East Side, Sammy's, I think on Allen Street, that had all these Jewish traditional foods, and even had schmaltz sitting on the table along with the salt and pepper. It used to attract all types of celebrities as well...

Has this place disappeared? Anybody remember it?

[alacarte]

Sammy's Roumanian?

I think it's still there.... but I'm not 100% certain...

[Pan]

I walk past the place all the time. It was still there as of a couple of days ago. No, I've never eaten there.

[herbacidal]

Sammy's Roumanian?

I think it's still there.... but I'm not 100% certain...

i've been to sammy's roumanian.

quite enjoyed it.

i like kreplach and all that other stuff.

wouldn't mind eating more of all of that in a deli setting though.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Hey, someone get Rabbi Ribeye on the board to weigh in on this matter.

You may be assured, a la carte, that this very thing will occur forthwith ...

He, Rabbi R, is considered to be the absolute ultimate authority on all things gastronomically Hebraic here ...

Trust me on this, he does know his food ...

[menton1]

Sammy's is the place!! Pulled up their menu on menupages.com, and they not only have Petcha, they have Kishka, Chopped eggs & Onions, Flanken, Kasha Varnishkes, Fried Kreplach and lots more. No mention of Gribenes, but perhaps they would make it for you! I guess it's still going strong.

Sammy's Romanian Steakhouse,

157 Christie St, north of Delancey,

Manhattan, NY, 212-673-0330

Ess G'zinterhayt!

[rozrapp]

A group of eGulleteers went to Sammy's last year and reported on the experience. Here's the thread.

[richw]

Toasting the buckwheat prior to making kasha is definitely the secret for enhancing the overall quality of the finished product. I also recommend using coarse ground kasha instead of fine.

P'Tcha rules! My father makes it at home. I should document the process and put it in the recipegullet. Other than calves feet, there's a lot of garlic, salt and pepper. He eats it with dijon mustard.

[Rabbi Ribeye]

Hey, someone get Rabbi Ribeye on the board to weigh in on this matter.

Honored by your cordial invitation. Just gonna hafta be patient for this one, kinderlach. Case notes on my intimate encounters with pitcha are forthcoming in my column, "These Are a Few of My Least Favorite Things."

If ya enjoy my two paragraphs on it there, I might entertain expanding it into an entire treatise, kinda "Massechet Baba Pitcha," for you errant Talmudists.

Just a teaser: I am likely one of a mere handful of American-born Jewish toddlers ever to be tied up and force-fed pitcha . . . and yet it's true. (S&M folks: You can do better. Trust me.)

For now, ess gezund, fress gezundt, and thank your lucky six-pointed stars that we have yet to supplant a good sour pickle with kimchee. Everything in its place . . .

Rabbi Ribeye

[Rabbi Ribeye]

Toasting the buckwheat prior to making kasha is definitely the secret for enhancing the overall quality of the finished product.  I also recommend using coarse ground kasha instead of fine. 

Re. toasting: Correct, o Wise One.

Whole grain, to my taste, is even better. And another perk: You can buy whole grain by the pound on the cheap at your local healthy store, rather than at a signficant premium for those cutesy li'l cellophane-windowed boxes. Ach, I know . . . tradition. For those who insist, I'll give you a pass on this one. After all, I still hand-grate my potatoes for kugel and latkes.

My mother's answer to frugality with the dinner items that we could ill afford: "Shtop zich nisht. Ess mit brait." ("Don't stuff yourself. Eat it with bread.")

Rabbi Ribeye

[herbacidal]

Sammy's is the place!! Pulled up their menu on menupages.com, and they not only have Petcha, they have Kishka, Chopped eggs & Onions, Flanken, Kasha Varnishkes, Fried Kreplach and lots more. No mention of Gribenes, but perhaps they would make it for you! I guess it's still going strong.

Sammy's Romanian Steakhouse,

157 Christie St, north of Delancey,

Manhattan, NY, 212-673-0330

Ess G'zinterhayt!

dammit, i missed the kasha when i was there.

might be a reason to go back.

although i'd still prefer a deli.

anyone know of one?

katz's, 2nd ave, or other?