Comments on My Jewish Problem
Christopher,
Great post. And yes, Jewish guys are freakin’ hot.
If memory serves, there was a film out sometime in the last few years about the Israeli Army that caused much swooning.
Anyone remember the name?
P.S. Not Munich or another drama. I think it was a documentary.
Matzah queen.
That being said, go to Shabbat dinner at a Chabad rabbi's house, and you'll get decent matzah ball soup.
Andrew,
Are you talking about Yossi & Jagger?
Jewish dudes are totally hot!
If there's anything more quintessentially Seattle than hipsters and their irono-sarcastic humor, it's people who insist that anybody who makes an inappropriate joke, even accidentally, is dead inside and deserves permanent social ostracism.
On a related note, why, in a city (if you include the East Side) that must have it's share of Jews, can one not find any decent Jewish delis? I grew up in San Diego, which isn't exactly crawling with Jews, and there are 3 or 4 passable delis.
Oh... the movie in question... are you thinking of Kippur?
but where can you go if you don't know a Chabad rabbi (I don't know what Chabad or Shabbat means?)
I haven't had motzah ball soup since I was a kid and would love a nice bowl, especially considering the weather.
And I can't spell worth beans.
Wait. Jon Fine wrote to the Stranger? The guy who was in Bitch Magnet and now in Coptic Light?
Good post. I was also left a bit uneasy about the "hipster" anecdote in Eli's story. I could very well be "that guy" too. There are a few Jews in my "Seattle" circle and it is definately intended to be a term of endearment to refer to them as such to their face. It does give me pause to considder that their outward expressions may be masking discomfort or offense. I think many kids who grew up in lily white neighborhoods with almost oppressive political correctness despite the absence of anyone of different race, religion, etc. to actually offend, moving to the city, moving in eclectic social circles and having those PC barriers smashed, can come as an enormous relief. You ever see that drunk kid at the party gush on and on to the first gay person they've ever met about how cool it is they're gay and how down they are with that and on and on? Everyone within earshot is cringing, and indeed it's awkward, puts the subject of his shpiel in an awkward position, but its probably 100% sincere. No doubt that kid is, like Eli's hipster, just trying too hard, or a bit too enthusiastic. A matter of time, exposure, experience and the same kid will be one of the ones cringing.
I think it's indicative of how underrepresented Jews are in Seattle, that Bar Mitzvah and such, had to be explained in italics.
roxy's has good matzoh ball soup. i have a quart of it in my fridge.
and my grandmother was jewish.
Yes, great post.
I was fortunate enough to go to law school in Boston, a city with a heavily Jewish population, and I got to know a lot about Jewish culture, and made quite a few Jewish friends among my classmates. It was a great way to learn about a wonderful group of people . . .
It's possible to grow up in a Jewish bubble even in Seattle. University Prep doesn't have school on Jewish holidays; and at least when I was in middle school, the major social events were bat mitzvahs (and to a lesser extent, bar mitzvahs).
As for empathizing with "being that hipster", I guess this is a different-strokes-different-folks thing, but I absolutely cannot empathize with this at all.
I would never call a Jewish best friend "Jew" in any context whatsoever, unless he or she egged me on to say it. I also originally grew up in a large city with a large Jewish population.
It's easier said than done bringing to the table the argument that "words are just that -- words", to which this somewhat applies. Over time, I've learned how to catch my brain from saying something like this by instantly thinking of a coarsely delivered substitute word that applies to own my background, imagining how I feel, then deciding if I should go ahead and make the crack. Sometimes, I fumble, but -- ironically -- moving to Seattle, and experiencing "The Seattle Way", I think I've become far more sensitive and better for it than when I lived in the bigger city where throwing words at each other in this context was more widespread.
It's easy to put political correctness down, but in this case, I think political correctness a good thing.. IMHO.
Fine matzoh ball soup can be found at Eats Market Cafe in Westwood Village in West Seattle.
http://www.eatsmarket.com/menus.php
and a review, too
Seattle Black and white problem
Lets see where do I begin oh yeah
I grew up on both sides of the track. My mom and dad split up in frisco.... I was raised by Nicaraguan family till I was 6 eating beans and rice as my mother had to work in the city.Then I was thrust out of little Italy in north beach to visit and live a little with my moms side of the family Icelanders White people etc in Bakersfield. They always thought my hair was kind of kinky and the kids wondered why I liked Jazz.
Then i got to hang out with my Dads family during a reunion visit in Palo alto and they wondered why my hair was slicked back as I was visiting from Washington state at that time and my school was mostly white kids(Kitsap county) and Native americans. Confusing yes because I learned That i've got to be both colors accepted stereo types to represent my large family Black and white..... I tend to go Black when I'm around white kids( kinky hair, sometimes I wear a beanie ) and then I change my looks to white (slick back hair baseball cap worn like a trucker-folded bill) when I'm around black kids. That was then
Now I just be who I am and I don't care what white people or Black people say I'm all of them and then some.
Like eli and the poster said I can relate to the Jewish story.
Sometimes I could pass for a skinhead back in the days and would hear some racist crap from white kids at the rock shows.Telling me that they dont like Black guys dating their girls and what not etc etc. Imagine my gut feeling -I wanted to kill them all.
Likewise vice versa I would be all Hip Hop and hear racist crap from blacks
friends abotu whitey. I was accepted because I got a nice tan from pops. Oh yeah If your Fathers Black that makes you black and all that X clan shit.
I diidn't lose any sleep about it but I was pretty peeved about these sentiments.
With that experience I've become pretty well rounded by playing both sides like Clint Eastwood in 'Fist Full of Dollars( the Rohos vs the McMasters)
I have always accepted who I am and that is human being,( or other as most forms want me to enter) ..... or because the never ending debate Black this , White that goes on I digress What the fuck am I supposed to stand by.
Oh yeah and try born in Canada from U.S. Parents. Duo citizen. Man I can't win for losing.
So in conclusion I've heard more jokes at the expense of my being (both races) that I could take yet because I'm so called thick skinned I never let it get to me. Buck up folks you got it easy being one color. You don't have to take sides whether you want it or not.Now for some Ska.
Hmmm. Do I take it, from #15, that the use of the noun "Jew" is offensive? How should one refer to a person of jewish heritage?
When I read this particular part of Eli's article I could relate to his experience well, but not at all to his reaction to it. I'm different from the majority of Seattlites too, and belong to an even smaller minority. I'm from New Zealand.
It has certainly happened to me that I'll walk into a room/party/gathering and somoone I know will say "The Kiwi's arrived!" or somesuch expression of my difference from them. Yet, I don't find it stupid or awkward or offensive, and I have a hard time understanding why Eli should find his experience any of those things.
this reminds me of growing up in spokane as an asian (well -- half-asian, but that's good enough for spokane). even my cool hipster friends would have no problem calling me out on me being asian whenever the opportunity arose -- like, say, when i entered the room or looked at one of them. the more clever ones would use pet names like 'gook' or 'chink.' some seattleites still think it's hilarious to this day.
Unless you are really clever about it, it seems unnessary to call people out on their differences in a crowd like that. Basically, you're saying "Hey, Person Who Will Never Be Like Us and We'll Never Be Like You Because of Something Neither of Us Have Control Over, But Don't You Dare Forget We're Different and You Being a Little Different is REALLY BIG DEAL So Much So That Have to Say SOMETHING to Cut the Tension/Excitement Caused by Your Very Presence!" Yikes.
Oh, how I love a Yemin.... or jewish boy. They are the hottest of the hot...
The nose, the hair...their mothers! Oh my mary.
I find myself using the word "fag" a lot... but really...with the best intentions... usually referring to my closest of friends or even, gasp, my brother.
Sometimes people just read too much into things....
Matthew Fisher Wilder: No. Different Jon Fine. This one is a nice, ultra liberal lawyer in DC/Baltimore. I also went out and got hooked with the ultimate goy boy: Amish. Kid you not.
How classically Seattle, to think that saying "Jew" is offensive. Only if saying "Catholic" or "Australian" is offensive. Sheesh. Jew, not a Jew, whatever.
'Jewish' is preferable to 'Jew.' As in "he is jewish(black, gay, etc.)."
Doesn't that sound more cultured than "he is a jew(black, gay, etc.)"?
Chabad is an ultra-Orthodox sect of Chasidic Judaism. Don't let that scare you too much though. They're really quite nice, and I received many invitations to Shabbat dinner even though I'm rather gay.
Great post (I also enjoyed your shroom article). Jewish folks have played many important roles in my life, including that of neighbor, roommate, teacher, advisor, pledge master, boss, friend, posse, girlfriend, mother in law, wife, and kids.
So, here's a New Year's toast to jews and the goyim who are down with them! And to mixed marriages! And to sexy hot jewish chicks!
May our fair city get this shit sorted out in 2007.
#20 got what I was getting at.
I obviously don't think "Jew" is an offensive word. It's all in context. "Australian" can be offensive if worded in a way like "Hey, You, the Australian! wanna put some shrimp on the bahbie for me? HA HA HA!"
It's really easy to make a non-offensive word offensive or at least sarcastically gratuitous. I believe this was what Eli was getting at, or worse. Eli's free to correct me, though.
Boyd - Hey, that makes me a minority too! Suck it haters! If you disagree with me you are now officialy a racist!
So, you're saying that some of your best friends are Jewish?
YES, thank you for pointing out the hotness of Jewish guys. Often I find myself intensely attracted to a guy and find out that he just happens to be jewish. There was this guy in my Human Rights Literature class that was drop dead gorgeous with his bright eyes, wavy brown hair, smooth skin, and adorable smile. He turned out to be jewish, not that it mattered, but it certainly added to my theory of jewish guy hotness.
There was a website that featured photography of hot Israeli soldiers a few years ago if anyone is interested (I think they would make a good Stranger cover):
http://www.kobi-israel.com
I love the Jews (and the gays for that matter).
Jew broads are definitely the hottest. Not sure about the guys; I can't help but think of Howard Stern when I think about Jewish guys.
Looking for good
Jewish-style delicatessen food in the Puget Sound region? There isn't
any. Lots have tried, none have succeeded.
In 1972, Brenner Bros. had already emigrated to Bellevue. I never
visited its prior incarnation in the Central District. The Bellevue
store was okay. It smelled right (that pickled-tomato odor), the
sandwiches were the right size, the corned beef was pretty good, but
their rye was only (and still is only) adequate.
Some years later, on Occidental Ave. in Pioneer Square, the Yiddish
Connection opened. Soup Daddy is in the place now. It was also just
okay, but it's all we had in town. It lasted a year or so and closed.
A few other places jumped in. Catskills, on the second floor of an
office building across from the Westlake Center, was very good. They
knew how to pile on meat, they knew what a "special" is (corned beef
or pastrami, cole slaw and Russian on the sandwich, rye, of course)
and made a pretty good Reuben. It was cafeteria-style with very funny
staff, although not in the East Coast sense; they just seemed to like
their work. Because it was on the second floor, it got virtually no
walk-in business, disastrous for a lunch place; for a while they hired
a hawker to stand outside on the sidewalk. I guess when the food court
opened at Westlake, it just couldn't make it.
Cohen Brothers opened on Third Avenue at about Columbia Street (it's
now a Chutney's Express or something). This one was the worst. Suffice
it to say that they bragged about their Reuben, which they zapped.
ZAPPED! Mercifully, they closed quickly.
Ajays (maybe AJs), on Madison a block or so west of Broadway, was
sincere, although they had a broader menu than just a deli. The guy
made a very good Reuben. He had a place in Belltown also, but it
wasn't a deli.
Matzoh Mamas on 15th was never very good. It's also a silly name for a
deli. They lasted a long time (evening jazz helped), but now they're
just a memory and a caterer.
A few years ago, on 45th NE in Wallingford a couple of blocks west of
the former Food Giant, a place opened called Mama Knish. Soups and
knishes. Does that make a deli? Weird that anyone thought they could
make a living. A few weeks later, the MAMA was covered up with a big
white board, so it read "_______ KNISH." Did Matzoh Mama threaten to
sue?
I admit I never was a knish fan, so any comment from me is unfair.
Roxy's? Try it yourself. I think it's just fair and the staff, when they were by the Market, was quite ignorant of their own menu. Maybe there are haimish substitutes.
I'm staying out of the bagel debate except to state that in the early
'70s, the only bagels available were Lender's frozen (very very bad)
and something bizarre from Bainbridge Island that rose so much that
there was no real hole; also, they were whole-wheaty which is as
appetizing as a whole-wheat croissant, which just isn't a croissant.
I have discovered the best Jewish-style rye bread in the region, and
it's in Kent at the Wild Wheat, a sandwich place and bakery downtown.
When you order a loaf, it doesn't look right. There are no seeds on
the outside, it looks and feels like a como-type loaf from Grand
Central, but don't be fooled. It is excellent, just the right
consistency inside and out.
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