So if the tradition was eating what was available and making use of all of it, is what we think of as tradition really something else?
Like many other foods, traditional Jewish deli foods have been commoditized and their ownership has been concentrated among a few large companies.
“What we take as traditional is fairly new…it’s not the deli, it’s postwar America,” said Gil Friend.
Michael Pollan added, “this tradition that we call Jewish deli food and that has seemed unchanging has been revolutionized [by industrial agriculture] over the last 50-years, but a lot of people didn’t notice it.”
Levitt points out that those old Jewish companies are no longer what they were. It’s all nostalgia. For instance, Con Agra now owns Hebrew National. There is one company producing salami. Salami used to vary by city, neighborhood, kitchen. “Now we have one salami,” said Levitt.
Saul’s has had some success gaining acceptance for menu changes by as, Friend said, “offering an alternative that is more satisfying,”
But what about cost? Some people just don’t care enough to pay more for their food.
“We live in a world of hidden subsidies,” said Friend. “If you substitute the concept of the towering pastrami sandwich with a gallon of gas in which you are paying the real price, you’d have a $20 gallon of gas.”
By way of example, Levitt chimed in with a rundown of the different costs of deli meats. Government subsidized industrial meat costs $2 a pound, Niman Ranch, which is not 100% grass-fed or local, but was raised without antibiotics and hormones, is about $4.50 a pound, and locally raised, 100% grass-fed beef is $6 a pound.
So far the restaurant has handled the cost issue by offering smaller sandwiches for a little more money, balancing portion size adjustment and cost. Some customers are appreciative, some less so.
“Saul’s proves it can be done. It’s just more expensive…what they are doing here is important. We’ve figured out how to do sustainable, expensive food. (the customers at Chez Panisse are well-trained…nobody there expects an out-of-season tomato.) When sustainable food hits delis, taquerias, and cafes, that’s when it democratizes,” said Pollan.
I left the talk thinking that Saul’s is taking on a heroic task in redefining the deli menu and asking customers to come along, even if it means giving up some of their favorite foods some of the time. I also left with a mean craving for a pastrami sandwich.
“Jewish cuisine is a Diaspora cuisine and the fact that the cuisine stays the same is not where we came from and not where we are going. Food changes. We have to lead, not react. The cuisine needs to reach back and connect to the past but we need to connect to our future as well. We need permission to do that,” said Adelman.
As for new recipe ideas, Saul's chefs may want to pick up a copy of Oakland-based Bryant Terry's "Vegan Soul Kitchen," which already has some recipes that remix his favorite Saul's dishes. As a Jew who grew up in the South, I am very fond of the hybrid soul-Jewish cuisine... though not sure if that even exists outside of my kitchen?