> (Barb posting from Margaret's) Melba and The Second Avenue Deli:
>
>I arrived at Margaret's a little bit before noon. She was glad to see
>me. (Nyah, nyah!) I phoned Saint Marcel and we made a luncheon date
>for 2:00 p.m. When I was here earlier I'd intended to give a gift
>and a photo of us to my favorite server, Mary, at the Second Avenue
>Deli. I didn't. That was part of my goal today, apart from the good
>eats there! Oy vey! Hushpuppadinisniki! Uffda! What food!
>
>Because we wanted to sit in Mary's section, we had to wait a while for
>a table (at 2:00 p.m.). Marcel arrived only a couple minutes after we
>were seated. I gave Mary the picture of her and me (not a very good
>picture of either of us) and a jar of my Gedney jam. Did I mention
>that Hostess Lisa noted my State Fair medallion? (Yeah, I was wearing
>it for Margaret's benefit and I'd forgotten about it.) She was
>dumbstruck at the idea of someone making their own jam "with pectin
>and the little jars and the hot water?" The very same. She was
>nearly beside herself when I showed her the jar I'd brought for Mary.
>
>So we ordered lunch. Marcel and I had the chicken soup (no matzo ball
>for him), Margaret had a glass of Merlot (imagine that), and I had a
>plate of chicken soup also. These were the starters. Marcel and
>Margaret had tongue sandwiches on seedy rye, and I had half a pastrami
>sandwich on seed rye. That was our order. Did I mention the half
>sours, pickled pepper, and other pickles? I didn't? Those come on the
>table along with the famous health salad - basically oil-free
>coleslaw. Pretty tasty stuff. We're having some for brunch on
>Saturday. I forgot to mention the basket of challah, rye, and challah
>rolls. Silly me. Oh, then Mary brought the plate of chopped liver (a
>half cup at least) with the sliced red onion and some olives.
>
>Then she comes out with the egg barley and mushrooms, and some kasha
>varnishkas. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, do I look undernourished??
>Hardly. "Oh, you've got to try this; it's delicious." I've been
>there three times -- she calls me Barbara. She can't remember Marcel
>and Margaret's names. Margaret convinces me that I must make a little
> sandwich to take home from the leftover liver spread. I don't wish
>to insult her. :-) I make a little sandwich. Mary asks if I've ever
>had ruggelach. I have. Now I'm having more. Let me tell you, the
>chocolate ruggelach is murder! Oh, my. "Here, let me wrap those for
>you." She comes out with foil containers to pack up the sandwiches,
>the kasha and the egg barley, the rest of the tongue, and the
>ruggelach. Not just the ones she'd served, but MORE, fergodsake. So
>Hostess Lisa wants to know if I've had their chocolate babka. Gee, I
>haven't. "Here, you've got to try this." OK. Boy, is THAT stuff
>good!! Not too sweet! "You liked the egg barley with mushrooms?
>Have you ever had our mushroom/barley soup?" I swear I said I had but
>she must have misunderstood because she disappeared for a moment and
>came back with a small bowl of the soup. What could I do? Insult
>her? Have her thinking that the Minnesota State Fair Jam Queen is a
>hick? Mercy, I can't do that. I ate it. I had to. Lord, that stuff
>is delicious.
>
>We're set for supper -- and breakfast. You should be so lucky. :-P
>
>I wonder what would have happened if I'd brought brownies. . . .

Now you gotta 'splain to folks how egg barley ain't barley... it's small egg
pasta... there's plain and there's toasted.


---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
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"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
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