Cohen Media Group
Ah, the smell of tradition! There are a lot cultures with traditional food that’s hearty and not really that healthy. But there’s also something to those people cobbling together great tasting dishes from the only ingredients they could afford. For Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Eastern European countries, the delicatessen was a confluence and convergence of the family atmosphere and all those fatty, delicious foods from the old country. But things change, and fads come and go, and sometimes what was once omnipresent becomes rarefied.
Deli Man is a documentary from Erik Greenberg Anjou, the third in his series on Jewish life culture (following A Cantor’s Tale and The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground). In the movie, he takes us on parallel journeys to understand what was and what became of the deli restaurant. Of course, there’s the historical angle, with experts giving their expertise on the history of the deli. The roots of the delicatessen come from a German word meaning “fine foods,” although of course that’s not exactly how it’s thought of today.
The documentary specifically looks at the tradition of Jewish delis in the US, showing the rise and fall of their popularity. At one time in 1931, there were over 1500 kosher delicatessen stores in New York City alone. Today, there’s under 25 traditional stores, and most aren’t kosher. The film touches a bit on the departure from the strict standards of kosher food, which is essentially explained as “it was too expensive.” In another track, several older Jewish celebrities like Jerry Stiller, Fyvush Finkel, and Larry King talk about their memories and love of the delicatessen, adding a sort of “flavor” to the interviews.
But the movie also has a focus on one deli owner in particular, Ziggy Gruber, the titular “Deli Man.” Ziggy, a third generation deli owner, runs Kenny and Ziggy’s in Houston, Texas. His tale is also the story of the fall of the popularity of the traditional Jewish deli in America. Although Ziggy seems successful, there is this feeling hovering around him, a disconnect or sadness. Perhaps he’s lost his connection with his past, despite still keeping all the family tradition.
A sense of nostalgia and loss permeates the movie in an interesting way. tweet
This sense of nostalgia and loss permeates the movie in an interesting way. Mixed in with mouth-watering shots of food being prepared and people chowing down, there are more and more “we don’t do this anymore” statements. Sometimes it’s about the food no longer in vogue, like dishes made from the lungs of a cow. Nowadays, nobody wants to eat that, but 100 years ago or more, it was a necessity to use everything you could salvage from slaughtered animals. For those vegan and vegetarians out there, or even those simply eschewing the less healthy foods shown here, the disappearance of delis may not seem a tragedy.
Ziggy feel differently, walking his grandfather around an old neighborhood and seeing a Japanese fusion restaurant where an old deli once stood. But his grandfather has a different feeling; “everything changes,” he says. Tradition keeps us with a continuity to the past, but not every aspect is necessarily positive. People have more culinary options these days than ever before.
I’m not sure what the movie is trying to say, not entirely. But it was interesting to watch and well-edited, moving at a quick pace, which is critical for a documentary. After it was over, I did find myself craving a pastrami sandwich from a real deli, which I haven’t had in over five years. Whether or not this movie will stick with me like a hearty meal from a deli would, I don’t yet know. But I hope so.
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