Sample Jewish cuisine

MOLLY GILMORE; For The Olympian | • Published November 04, 2009

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At DeliFest, a sandwich isn’t just a sandwich: It’s a cultural experience.

Temple Beth Hatfiloh’s annual fundraiser, set for Sunday, is a chance to revisit – or create – New York deli memories with corned beef sandwiches, traditional Jewish baked goods and, new this year, Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda.

As the name implies, the soda, a favorite in New York’s kosher delicatessens, does taste like celery. Sweet celery.

“They used to make reference to it as ‘the Jewish champagne,’ ” said Arnie Goldstein, 79, a temple member who grew up in New York.

The menu for the occasional lunch or dinner out when Goldstein was young was corned beef and Cel-Ray.

“It seemed to be a perfectly natural thing to drink when you had a corned beef sandwich,” he said. “If you wanted a drink, you didn’t drink Coke or Pepsi; you drank Cel-Ray.”

He hasn’t seen Cel-Ray outside of those delis, which still stock it. But even in New York these days, there’s a hunger for the traditional deli.

“You just can’t get these Jewish deli sandwiches,” said Diane Kurzyna, who handles DeliFest publicity. “Even in New York, the Jewish delis are closing. The New York Times, NPR, everyone has been doing stories about the nostalgia for the Jewish deli.”

The headline for the Times article: “At Jewish Delis, Times Are as Lean as Good Corned Beef.”

But not everything at the event is flown in. The entertainment, klezmer music by Rabbi Mirel’s Shalom Ensemble, is from Seattle. The rugelach, strudel and other delicacies are made by the temple’s talented bakers. And the bread – rye, of course – is baked by Bagel Brothers.

Goldstein has been eating corned beef on rye and drinking Cel-Ray for more than 70 years. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves to tell a story about an old friend who married a woman from France.

“She had shown him the Eiffel Tower, and he was showing her the Carnegie deli,” he said. “She ordered a corned beef on white bread with mayonnaise and the waiter turns to him and says, ‘Mister, talk to your wife.’

“Corned beef on rye is a way of life for New Yorkers and ex-New Yorkers.”

DeliFest

What: The kind of food typically found only at a kosher deli and klezmer music by Seattle’s Shalom Ensemble are on the menu at a fundraiser for Temple Beth Hatfiloh.

When: 4:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday

Where: Temple Beth Hatfiloh, 201 Eighth Ave. S.E., Olympia

Tickets: $18 in advance or $20 at the door. Tickets include a meal of corned beef on rye (or a garden patty for vegetarians) plus pickles, coleslaw, sauerkraut and a beverage. Baked goods and Dr. Brown’s sodas (including the celery-flavored Cel-Ray) will be sold separately.

More information: 360-352-1533 or edieschlepps@aol.com