I’m Gonna Get You Sukkah

Sukkah
The Sukkah hut that Chuck built, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Larry Giving the Sukkah Blessing
Sukkah Blessing by Larry, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Sukkah Brisket
Barbecue Beef Brisket, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Sukkah Brisket
Barbecue Beef Brisket, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

On Chuck & Tiffany’s Evite I wasn’t sure what the Jewish terms “shalom”, “sukkah”, “manischewitz”, or “mohel” meant, but all they really needed to say to get me to their Sukkah celebration was “alcohol” and “barbecued beef brisket”! It was great to see a lot of people that I hadn’t seen for a while.. and to meet a few new ones. The traditional Jewish/kosher/Sukkah food was delish.. knishes, brisket, stuffed cabbage, mulled wine, and apple crisp were the highlights. “Rabbi” Larry did the Jewish blessing and also gave us the history of the Sukkah celebration. Below are some video clips from his blessing/lesson:

Larry explains the Sukkah structure, (.mov, 564k)
Sukkah is after Yom Kippur, (.mov, 604k)
Larry explains which foods are to be eaten inside the Sukkah, (.mov, 528k)
Prayer with the Four Species (etrog, palm branch, willow branches, and myrtle branches), (.mov, 692k)

More Brooklyn Sukkahs at Satan’s Laundromat

I’ll have what she’s having

Pastrami at Katz's Deli
Pastrami at Katz’s Deli, Lower East Side, Manhattan

I had my first pastrami sandwich tonight… at Katz’s Deli, of course.. they’re world famous for their pastrami. My thoughts? The first 6 bites are really delicious and after that it gets to be a little too much. I’m lucky that I split a sandwich with Masako… I’d never be able to finish! We also all shared a sweet potato knish that was really good.. and .. uh.. sweet. Almost like a dessert. Katz’s has this strange ticketing system where you get a ticket when you enter the restaurant and when you leave you pay. I heard that if you lose your ticket you have to pay them $50 because they would never know what/if you ordered. After I ordered my sandwich the sandwich maker was writing my charge on my ticket and as he wrote it he said “I should write my phone number on here!”. I was like “yeh.. um… NO!”

The title of this post is in reference to the classic scene in When Harry Met Sally where Meg Ryan “faked-it” at Katz’s Deli.