Rabbi discusses Jewish X-mas traditions
By Kevin Duggan Call it a Christmas mitzvah!
A culinary event will
dish out the details of how
American Jews used Chinese food
to forge their own Christmas traditions.
“Chow x Judaism,” at the
Museum of Food and Drink on
Dec. 21, will showcase connections
between Chinese grub and
Jewish yuletide traditions that go
back more than a century, according
to a Jewish historian who will
speak at the event.
“Jews lived in close proximity
to Chinese immigrants on the
Lower East Side and there were
a lot of Chinese restaurants, so
Jews started to eat out at those
and other ethnic restaurants
in the 1890s,” said Joshua Eli
Plaut, rabbi of the Metropolitan
Synagogue in Manhattan and
author of “A Kosher Christmas:
’Tis the Season to Be Jewish.”
Jews patronized the eateries because
they were among the few to stay open
on Christmas Day, and because East
Asian cuisine did not use dairy, which
made it closer to kosher than say,
Italian food, which often mixes meat
with cheese — a violation of the dietary
laws, according to Plaut.
Soon Chinese food became highly
sought after among young secondgeneration
Jewish immigrants in
Brooklyn, who bent the rules even
further, dropping strict food traditions
in favor of chopsticks and chop suey
— which might use ground pork, the
historian found.
“A resident of Brownsville, New
York, commented in 1928 that he
observed young Jews frequenting one
of the six chop suey houses lining the
streets of Pitkin Avenue,” he wrote in
his book. To that generation, Chinese
food was both worldly and rebellious.
“It was a rebellion against the
religious code of conduct of Eastern
Europe,” Plaut said. “Dropping the
kosher dietary laws was a step towards
Americanization.”
Ever since, eating out at Chinese
COURIER L 52 IFE, DEC. 21-27, 2018 24-7
restaurants has
become a way for
Jews to partake in
an explicitly religious
national holiday
with their own
rituals, according
to Plaut.
“Every year
it’s a sacred tradition.
The Chinese
restaurant is a
place where you
announced your
Jewish identity,” he said.
Along with Plaut’s presentation,
the event will also host a
line-up of live cooking and tasting
events, comedy, and stories about
Asian food and Judaism.
Chef Julie Cole, who manages
the Manhattan eatery Nom Wah
Nolita and helped to invent the
“baogel” — a mix of bao bun and
bagel — will give a live-cooking
demo, and the museum’s executive
chef John Hutt will offer tastes of matzoh
ball wonton soup.
There will also be a kosher wine
tasting, storytelling by food and drinks
writer Beth Kaiserman, and comedy
from Fumi Abe and Mic Nguyen, of
the sometimes-serious podcast “Asian,
not Asian.”
“Chow x Judaism” at the Museum
of Food and Drink Lab 62 Baynard St.,
between Lorimer and Leonard streets
in Williamsburg, www.mofad.org, (718)
387–2845. Dec. 21 at 6:30 pm. $55.
By Julianne McShane She’s talkin’ bout a resolution!
A Bushwick comedienne
will detail her goals for selfimprovement
at a New Year’s resolution
themed comedy show on Boxing
Day. The host of “Next Year I Will Be
Better,” at the Brick in Williamsburg
on Dec. 26, hopes that making her
plans public will help turn her dreams
for the New Year into reality.
“My New Year’s resolutions are
the same lofty goals that everyone
else has: I want to exercise every
day, eat healthier, save more money,”
said Paige Smith-Hogan. “I thought,
maybe if I host a stand-up show where
I say my resolutions on stage, I will
actually be able to do those things.”
Smith-Hogan plans to kick off
the show by passing judgement on
the resolutions of audience members.
Although the show is comic, she
expects that attendees will be particularly
sincere about their aims, given
the nature and timing of the show.
“It’s the day after Christmas, so I
feel like anyone who comes is going
to be really dedicated to New Year’s
resolutions instead of being with their
families,” she said. “This whole show
is an exercise in earnestness.”
She and a squad of four other
comedians will then perform short
stand-up sets about their goals for
2019. Among them will be Smith-
Hogan’s roommate Gabe Nathans,
who has resolved to take more risks in
his comedy career.
“I want to try more weird things on
stage and just go for it,” he said.
Smith-Hogan said that she also
has some more personal resolutions
in mind, including being kinder to
herself and cooking more.
“I want to do less negative selftalk.
I want to write for a half hour
every day. And I want to never buy
lunch — I only want to pack it,” she
said.
But will the funny people actually
keep the promises they make
themselves?
“I hope so,” said Smith-Hogan,
who then corrected herself. “Yes,
we’re going to!”
Only time will tell.
“Next Year I Will Be Better” at the
Brick (579 Metropolitan Ave. between
Lorimer Street and Union Avenue in
Williamsburg, www.brooklyncc.com).
Dec. 26 at 9:30 pm. $7.
HBy Julianne Cuba e’s leading a life of
spice.
A Bushwick hot
sauce and jam purveyor
will hand out samples of
his unique creations at the
Renegade Craft Fair in
Greenpoint on Dec. 22 and
23. The owner of Bushwick
Sauce Company loves the
kick of energy people get
after tasting his sauces and
jams, he said.
“I really enjoy all these
holiday markets, it’s a
great place for people to
try products,” said Adam
Brawerman, who runs
Bushwick Sauce Company ,
which sells products at
local storefronts such as
Heatonist in Williamsburg
and Stinky Bklyn in Cobble
Hill. “I really enjoyed the
energy and enthusiasm
people have when they do
try them.”
Brawerman will be
among more than 200 local
vendors showing off trinkets
and foodstuffs during
the two-day fair at the
Brooklyn Expo Center.
Brawerman makes and
sells four different hot
sauces, including Scorpion
Pepper Purple Carrot,
Peach Habanero Pepper,
and Jalapeño Cilantro
Lime, along with two jams,
including the classic strawberry
and apple butter, all
made with locally sourced
products from organic
farms, and all delicious in
their own way. It’s nearly
impossible to choose
a favorite, said the sauce
merchant.
“They are all my
babies,” said Brawerman,
although he has a fondness
for one of his first products,
the Scorpion Pepper
Purple Carrot hot sauce.
Brawerman is excited
for people to try his latest
concoction, a hot sauce that
mixes the spiciness of a
ghost pepper, the sweetness
of tequila, and the aroma of
lavender — aptly named
Ghost Pepper, Tequila, and
Lavender.
The flavors blend
together to create a tasty
hot sauce that gives the
perfect kick, and is not
unbearably hot, he said.
“It’s a really unique flavor
profile I don’t think
you’ll see anywhere else,”
said Brawerman. “It really
works — it’s not different
for the sake of being
different. It’s a wonderful
combination, surprisingly
versatile, and can be on a
variety of foods as well as
in spicy cocktails.”
Brawerman said he
chooses his ingredients to
add zest to a meal, not to
burn people’s tongues off.
“None of my hot sauces
are like that, I’m much
more about balance and
flavor than I am about true
heat,” said Brawerman.
“I’m trying to enhance
the food you’re eating, not
completely overpower it
with pure fire.”
Renegade Craft Fair at
the Brooklyn Expo Center
(72 Noble St. between West
and Franklin streets in
Greenpoint.) Dec. 22–23;
11 am–5 pm. Free.
Jewish Christmas: Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut will discuss his
book about Jewish immigrant communities and their influence
on the Christmas holidays. Joshua Eli Plaut
Hot jam!: Bushwick Sauce Company owner Adam Brawerman will
give out samples of his hot sauces and jams at the Renegade Craft
Fair in Greenpoint on Dec. 22 and 23. Bushwick Sauce Company
Getting better all the time: Paige Smith-
Hogan will host, produce, and perform at
“Next Year I Will Be Better,” a New Year’s
resolution-themed comedy show at the
Brick in Williamsburg on Dec. 26.
Kate Gehrmann
Packing heat
OY TO THE WORLD!
‘Better’ and better
Bushwick hot sauce
maker at craft fair
/www.mofad.org
/www.brooklyncc.com