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Best bagels probably H&H. Hard to find old fashioned CHULLENT, LECHOS, oe even KISKA made with the real gut. Times have changed food wise. Unfortunately many foods are called the same name today BUT ARE NOT MADE THE SAME.

Bagels-4-U bagels are the best bagels.

Adelman's is on Kings Hwy near Ocean ave - that is nowhere near Williamsburg, FYI. Otherwise, Arthur is right - best pastrami in Brooklyn.

Wonderful segment. I am an Orthodox jew from Brooklyn and I can assure you that Shlishkas have been available forever in Brooklyn and are sold in every deli in Brooklyn.

The best bakeries are indeed in BORO PARK. And the best babka is not on Avenue M or Kings Highway but in Boro Park. Strauss' Bakery makes an excellent Chocolate babka; Gombos's is excellent too, though it is of a different style.

for fans of his, type arthur schwartz in google, click on his site and sign up for his newsletter. his occasional letters will truly make your lives better. there is also a link for his weekly podcasts (of a show he makes for a station in CT).

Fairmount Bagel Bakery, Montréal!!
74 avenue Fairmount Ouest
Montréal, QC H2T 2M2
fairmountbagel.com

It's amazing how bad bagels predominate in this city. Wasn't like that when I arrived (from Ohio...) in 1984.

H&H, for my money, are nice and chewy, but then what do I know? I'm a Presbyterian from Akron. Will check out Bagel Hole tomorrow.

Is it true that one can buy H&H bagels at Fairway for a fraction of the price? Are they left-overs?

Enjoyed the show--P.C. or not.

The bagels at H&H are the most overrated in the city. The baked goods equivalent of Norah Jones. They're way too bland. In Manhattan, I prefer Tal, Ess-A-Bagel and Murray's. Here in Queens, Bagel Oasis and Utopia Bagels are among the best. In London (U.K.), don't miss the Brick Lane Beigel Bake, open 24/7 and still making old-fashioned small bagels with a proper crust to crumb ratio.

Also, it was wonderful to hear Arthur explain early in the interview that Lox and smoked salmon are not the same thing. Bravo! I say, "Save the lox. Nova difference."

I enjoyed the program, thanks Leonard & Arthur.

Re Arthur's comment re the derivation of the word farfel. My prior impression was that it was from/related to the Italian pasta with a similar name - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farfalle

Which is correct ?

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Arthur, Food Talk has NEVER been the same without you! When will you end our misery and come back to daily radio???

Bravo to Arthur Schwartz who recognizes the sophisticated eternal verity that we Jews eat what the general population eats! This has probably always been true. Jews have adopted these foods and made them their own, sometimes but not exclusively kosher. To extend this point, this is also equally, historically, true of our customs and ceremonies. What truly distinguishes Schwartz's brilliance, in addition to his supple mind, is his determination to preserve the Yiddish food of the last few generations.

Julio -- kosher (according to me, not an expert but) is: 1. don't mix meat and milk, ie no cheeseburgers. 2. no pork or catfish (or other unscaled fish). 3. Beef must be inspected carefully for any cancers, etc. and animal cannot be killed with the industry standard punchhole to the brain since it causes too much fear. (Bled out instead). Also only the front half of the cow can be eaten.

Aside from health reasons the other idea of being kosher is that you are aware of religious ritual even while you are eating or making food.

Hope that helps.

Dear Leonard,
Thank you so much for the Arthur Schwartz interview. It was one of your best.
I also liked the Mayakovsky and Montana pieces.
Dan Levitt

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bagels4u in NJ are every bit as good as bagel hole on 7th ave (bagels4u are by the weequahac (sp) folks who brought bagels to the new world...)...(I bought dozens of bagels from both outlets)

Lecho is a good hungarian dish too
sauté onions - lots
I make it with about a dozen cubenelle peppers sliced
2 large tomatoes (cut out seeds
cover to retain juice
add paprika & salt
add something like Debreceen cooking sausages or standard kobaci if you like meet
right before serving mix in a raw egg or two
mix until see scrambled bits
ready in 15-20 min.
enjoy

As a kid in Sunnyside, Queens( I'm now 52), I bought bagels from the Armenian-owned deli across the street for 7 cents a piece. I chewed on one for half an hour, with or without butter--nothing to compare today.

On 76th and York, there is a good bagel shop. I ain't going to say it is the greatest but they are good and in the 'hood. They recently went up to $1/bagel.

I am enjoying the conversation. I never heard of Arthur Schwartz but he is a like-able guy.

Would you give a quick definition of "kosher" before the show is over?! Please!

I wonder if Arthur remembers how to make a good Chechoslovakian Lecho- made with peppers and onions and eggs and tomatoes? I need a great recipe! I miss this dish a lot!

Murray's Bagels!

I was reared in a kosher home, but then a salami and provolone sandwich changed my life.

The Bagel Bakery in Roselawn (which was then a Jewish neighborhood) in Cincinnati OHIO definitely had "new York" when I was growing up in Cincinnati in the 70s and 80s!

"People from Ohio" might just appreciate a good bagel!

Josh (#1): YES!!! Arthur & Len - My favorite radio personalities of all time. Opinionated, intelligent, and well-spoken. I wish we still had the old combination of Arthur from 11 - 12 and Len from 12 - 2. Oh well, maybe someday in the future...

David (#2): H & H is the epitome of good bagels, at least for this girl hiding out on the Jersey Shore who is subjected to chain bagel shops and bad cream cheese. :)

It may be that "nothing tastes as good as it used to" has nothing to do with the food, but the age of the taster.

Montreal Bagels are still small, high crust-to-dough ratio, hand made, cooked in a wood-fired oven

That's funny b/c I am from Ohio and I remember LOVING bagels when I came to NYC as a kid. Now, I don't really care for them b/c they're too fluffy. I'm going to the Bagel Hole this weekend to see if they are like I remember. Thanks for the tip!

We really miss hearing you Arthur. Well, Arthur turned me on to the Bagel Hole in Park Slope. They are good, but I've stopped buying the bagels to go with a shmear. The shmear has become a scmick and a schmeck.

Joe's Deli is gone, Grabstein's, long gone is Zei-Mar on Brighton Beach Avenue.

Fried matzoh with sour cream.

That is all.

Ess A Bagel, 21st/first avenue

Comment on ACME fish on Gem st.?

Check out Queens Pita on Main St. south of Queens College. This is a great old fashion bakery.

2nd ave. deli -- is the new one good?

Ooops got so excited that I forgot the question: I've been too long in the suburbs where you can't get good bagels but isn't Ess A Bagel still around?

Growing up with a Hungarian father, our favorite desert was poppyseed noodles, but the noodles were home-made noklie(sp)
Any place I can find this dish.
All the good Hungarian places on the upper east side have long closed

I love you Arthur; used to listen to WOR JUST for you, you're the best food shmoozer in the universe! Thanks for this show.

Arthur,

Please do some homework on fats. Recent studies are exploding the tired paradigm of saturated fats=bad / unsaturated fats=bad. The source of the fat is more critical to health. Fat from industrially produced animals is being proven to be a serious health risk. Pasture raised animals produce very healthy fats. Of course, industrially produced vegetable (hydrogenated) oils are a disaster. Reference Nina Planck's recent book "Real Food" for a bit of insight.

Orthodox Jews are still making traditional foods for Shabbos - combined with more gourmet, contemporary recipes. For example, I'll make gefilte fish, chicken soup with kneidlach and potato kugel, but I'll also make green beans with shallots & red & yellow peppers in a sticky sauce and sweet potatoes drizzled with a whiskey & vanilla-based sauce.

Just to put in my two cents, Angelica's Kitchen has great, great corn bread. I don't know how "jewish" it is, but so what.

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Some of the best bagels in the city come from Bagel Oasis in Queens on the side of the L.I.E. I grew up on them and they're the real deal. Or, Slim's in Bayside, also delicious.

In Manhattan, I love Ess-a-Bagel, but they're a bit too large.

Brooklyn, the Bagel Shop in Williamsburg is pretty amazing.

LEONARD!!!

Stop dissing fat! It's good for you! We need fat - goosefat is said to be the most fab food - read Mary Enig and Sally fallon! It's so wrong about animal fat! bad fat is trans fat - traditional Jewish food was healthy!

I moved out of the city many years ago. Here in Rockland county you have great jewish takeout food. Mrs. Gelbmans in New Square, Zishes Bakery, Glaubers bakery. the competition is getting fierce but I must say the best is home made!!

The glatt kosher place on St. Marks PL, in Manhattan (used to be called chickpea) has amazing falafel. Ali Bab's on the UWS, best chummus.

For corned beef, the "new" Second Avenue Deli in Murray Hill.

Two words: Kossar's Bialy's. Changed my life. Best bagels ever.

Does anyone know where to find Israeli-style falafel? I had the most amazing falafel from the Jewish quarter in Paris, and I've just never found anything comparable here... My Israeli friends told me it's just like the sandwiches there.

Best hummus on the planet is at Broadway's Jerusalem just south of Times Square.

Not only Puerto Rican cuisine, but just about all Latino cuisine has been culturely cleansed by the Leonard Lopate show!

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I went to a Cambodian restaurant last week and the food is amazing how come these places are never discussed?

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Arthur Schwartz is one of the most wonderful -- not to mention REAL New York -- people you will ever come across. At least reserve the hate for after you hear him.

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The Mendy's in Grand Central Terminal makes a really tasty brisket sandwich - watch out for dripping on yourself on the train! Get a half sandwich and some noodle soup (skip the matzo ball) - it's plenty.

I have listen to Leonard Lopate show for years, as member of the Puerto Rican American community in this city as one of the the largest if not the largest ethnic community, I have never even once Heard this show have a discussion on Puerto Rican cuisine!

Leonard,

with the amazing diversity in this city, you seem obsessed with Jewish cuisine, you have some sort of topic on Jewish cuisine at least every other week.

You do a dishonor to the amazing diversity of the great world cuisines, that make up this great city.

Hence the cheap pandering to only one community in the city is not the mission of a so called "Public Radio" station.

Long time listener!

H & H Bagels

Fabulous -- I've been looking forward to the LL/AS interview for many, many moons!