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With its colorful dried fruits, contrasting black-and-white cookies and hulking sandwiches, a visit to a Jewish deli is a treat for the eyes as much as it is for the stomach. Inspired by these eye-catching sights, illustrator Ben Nadler chronicled these moments and more in gorgeous detail for his new book The Jewish Deli: An Illustrated Guide to the Chosen Food.
Packed with comics exploring Jewish history, vivid renderings of NYC's Jewish delis and delightful illustrations of everything from knishes to latkes, the book makes for a mouthwatering read. It'll be published on July 11 (it's available for pre-order now for $25), with a launch event in NYC.
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The 246-page hardback book begins with a lesson in Jewish history, then explores the immigration of nearly 3 million Jews who left Europe for the United States or Canada in the late 1800s. Nadler expertly condenses centuries of history into understandable, engaging comic strips.
The book then digs into specific foods, explaining Kosher rules and the differences between a delicatessen versus an appetizing store. Nadler features hot dogs, sausages, lox, challah, bialys, cream cheese, matzo ball soup, blintzes, knish, pickles, latkes, babka and much more in mouthwatering drawings. His illustration of different types of bagels is so gorgeous, it's tempting to tear the page from the book and frame it.
New York delis get a spotlight, of course. When describing the pastrami sandwich at Katz's, for example, Nadler encourages readers to "resist adding anything to this already ideal sandwich (no ketchup, no mayo, no cheese)." The book also describes the deli's historic "Send a salami to your boy in the Army" campaign and even includes some lesser-known items on the menu that are worth trying.
In deep green, vibrant red and muted gold hues, a drawing of Russ & Daughters captures the storefront with its iconic neon sign. Nadler interviewed Niki Russ Federman, co-owner of Russ & Daughters, about the store and its history and features a Q-and-A with her in the text.
Other NYC shops, like Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery and 2nd Ave Deli, find a home in The Jewish Deli. The book isn’t just about NYC, though, as delis across the U.S. from Chicago to Houston to Los Angeles feature prominently among the pages. Nadler even explores the fierce bagel debate between Montreal vs. NYC.
Growing up in a Jewish family in Wisconsin, it was tough to find Jewish delis.
“We would go to New York and go out of our way to visit the Jewish delis, so it felt like a very special thing that you had to travel to,” Nadler tells Time Out New York. "I think maybe that's where like the affinity was born in me."
Now living in New York City, he was able to visit local Jewish delis for his research.
"Within all of our cultures, it's that food really seems to be in our DNA in a way. When you eat it, you feel so much connection whatever that kind of food is," Nadler says. "There is something so homey about eating pickled herring, and I wanted to find that feeling through my illustrations."
In his two-and-a-half years of working on the book, Nadler focused on the deep questions of how food weaves with culture—in the past, present and future.
"What is it about food that is so tied to like our memory and our families and our history? When you go to the physical institutions, it really helps you get there," he says. "And also because of the tumultuous history of Jewish people in the world, it feels so important to keep those things alive."
As for Nadler, his ideal deli order is from S&P Lunch (at Fifth Avenue and West 22nd Street): Turkey, coleslaw, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye bread.
"I think that's my death row sandwich," Nadler says.
Head to P&T Knitwear on the Lower East Side for a book launch event with the author on July 12.