Sunday, April 6, 2014

Jewish Food Festival, York Pa.

       Today I went to the local Jewish Community Center where a Jewish Food Festival is held ever year. I haven't gone in a few years and boy has it changed. There was a time when I had a membership for my children and myself at the JCC. We loved it, the community as a whole and loved as well maybe more the Jewish Festival every year.
       I don't know why it's changed so drastically, but it has. Maybe because the hours are only from 12-4? It' so crowded with lines, almost two blocks long. I saw one familiar face. Coming in a different entrance made eh walk longer and I who has a bad knee really didn't enjoy it, although I can use the exercise, so I decided when I saw the line to leave. Food, even as much as I loved it, wasn't worth that line. But as I was leaving I see another line. Now that's more like it, but even that was long. They ran out of hot dogs at 2:30. I had two boys who have never been there before.
     But the line was divided in two so you could get the same thing on either side, minus hot dogs. Hey, I had them home anyway and they were also kosher which doesn't matter to me, but they do taste better. So I ordered four knishes, two kugels and a corned beef on rye. I bought the boys drinks and we sat, joining a couple at a table. Everyone sits with anyone. It's good that way.
       So I bite into my sandwich and the guy loaded the corned beef up. It was good, but it wasn't great. Something was missing. The boys didn't like kugel or knishes so I let the older by go buy chicken soup. I gave him five dollars. He came back with a quart container and told me, "they gave me a break". I said what, a break on what, I gave you five, where the change? Now I wasn't upset or excited, just trying to understand this break he was given. Then he told me. It was seven dollars and you gave me five. Okay, no problem, I got it now. Poor kid, he just didn't understand, not his fault.
But now this is his supper tomorrow :) because that he likes.
        The knishes? They stopped selling the great square knishes. Those old fashioned knishes are square and come from Brooklyn. They could have gotten a deal. Instead round knishes were sold. They were good too, just not great. This is all one persons opinion. But one last thing. Vendors. Vendors seemed to have taken over a larger, much larger space where people were directed to enter to walk to, that extra walk, that walk where they were supposed to spend more money on items, not food, not share time and cultural chats with others but spend money on things.
      Why couldn't they leave greatness alone ? It was good, it was great and they had entertainment, kids who sang and danced. Today they had speakers. No not humans, but big box speakers piping music not clearly to help the atmosphere? I don't know, but why, why couldn't they leave well enough alone ? Next year, I'll stick to the Greek Food festival. They don't cram you in to squeeze you out !  Oh, I did have a nice surprise when I came home many hours later after visiting someone. On my door were pretty bunch of white flowers, and a plastic bag. Opening the bag, was a box with a knish inside and matzoh ball soup. My daughter wasn't sure I was going, so she dropped some off, two hours from where she lives. Me ? I bought extra and gave to someone too. What goes around...
    I love you

No comments:

Post a Comment