A Healthy Jewish Deli or The Way to a Grandchild's Heart is Through His Stomach

As we wandered through tonight's epic search for a salad, I found myself thinking of our recent visit to my parents. Visits to New Jersey are usually punctuated with food. There is the trip to the deli, the kosher Chinese take out, the Italian place that has excellent sushi, and, of course, the bags breakfast on our way out of town. If we're lucky, there are additional trips to Carvel (more likely a Carvel cake bought at the supermarket) and or Dunkin Donuts.

We were only in NJ for a few days, and so time to run from cuisine to cuisine was limited. Nevertheless, we managed (arriving Sunday and leaving Thursday):

Monday- Dinner at Lox, Stock, and Deli, the local kosher deli. There was chicken pot pie, kosher bakery cookies, and lots and lots of pickles. Two-thirds of a large menu page was salads. There was also a salad bar and pepper-encrusted tuna. There were "healthy choices."

Tuesday- a trip to Carvel, the best soft-serve ice cream anywhere on earth. I had a medium chocolate soft-serve with coloured sprinkles. American sprinkle are different than Canadian sprinkles. They are softer, less crunchy and candy-like. They are one of the few things I truly miss about the US. We also purchased chocolate crunch, a crunchy chocolate something that Carvel puts in-between the layers of it's ice-cream cakes to make them the best ever!

Wednesday- Chinese food for dinner, lots and lots, and lots of Chinese food.

Thursday- heading out. As usual we ended our visit with breakfast with M&D at the bagel place. An everything bagel with whitefish salad, this time washed down with a Yoo Hoo, another American food. The bagels to go are almost gone.

After tonight's salad quest, I was amazed at how easy it was to find multiple salad choices in a traditional kosher deli.
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L'havdil (and now for something completely different)

A devout hasid dies and goes to heaven. Upon entering he sees an elaborate and beautiful feast. Wondering if it was kosher, he asked ArchAngel Gabriel, "Who's the mashgiach?" Gabriel answers, "The Kadosh Baruch Hu, the Almighty Himself oversees all the food." The hasid replies, "I'll have the fruit plate."

Nighty night y'all.