This has amazed me. In only 100 years, the number of Jewish/Kosher New York delis have gone from 4000 to a few dozen. A few dozen, in a city with like, a billion people. Ok, more like 8 million, but still.
This leads to the inevitable question: What has happened to Delis popularity, and do Jews still actively live and eat in NYC?
I was fortunate enough a few weeks back to find myself in Manhattan, and happened to end up with a friend at a deli. Let me tell you, we brought the average age of that establishment down to about 76. Which is impressive. It seems like every ancient Jew left in the city was eating with false teeth there.
Therefore, I have come to one final conclusion. Florida is destroying New York’s deli population. Think about it. In the past, successful elderly Jewish doctors retired to the upper west side and thoroughly enjoyed their daily pastrami on rye. Now they move to Florida, where at best they can buy a stale bagel with some mediocre coffee. In America we lose our Jewish values, and sunshine > good chopped liver.
Florida, I hope you go to hell. New York delis such as Katz’s Deli are as timeless as Charlie Chaplin. It’s one of the many reasons I call New York ‘Jew York’. Don’t take that away from me.
Abraham
04/09/2010
The New York Metro area was recently reported to have 22.6 million people. Straight up, yo.
TheRoamingJew
04/09/2010
I agree that Deli’s are declining however another reason for this happening is younger people are more health conscious and are eating food with higher fat content.
From my perspective, I enjoy a good deli sandwich every once in a while.
Just as an fyi, you posted a picture of Carnegie Deli which is a Kosher style deli however it is not certified by a Rabbinical Authority.
Have a nice weekend.
Chicky
04/10/2010
The article mentioned the amount of Kosher or Jewish-style delis, and that picture was the best one I could find, even with the vast interwebs beneath my fingers. Although now I wonder how many certified Kosher delis there are left in the city.