Andrew Silverstein is a New York-based freelance writer and the co-founder of Streetwise New York Tours. In 2023, he was named “Best Freelancer of the Year” by the American Jewish Press Association.
Andrew Silverstein
By Andrew Silverstein
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Culture Does the cheesecake shortage of 2021 mean that Christmas is becoming more Jewish?
Promptly at noon Friday, I went to a Philadelphia cream cheese website to sign up for the “Spread The Feel” campaign. Amid an ongoing cream cheese shortage, Philadelphia’s parent company Kraft Heinz is paying customers $20 to not make cheesecake for Christmas. In exchange for an email address and basic personal info, Kraft will reimburse…
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Culture Yes, Kraft will really pay you $20 to eat halva instead of cheesecake* (*some restrictions apply)
Kraft Heinz, the producer of Philadelphia cream cheese announced they will pay select customers $20 each to not bake cheesecake for Christmas. The promotion comes as New York area bagel shops and other cream cheese users are running out of Philadelphia. A Forward investigation revealed that the cream cheese shortage is connected to limited water…
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Culture In the cream cheese fiasco of 2021, a new suspect emerges — is it the water?
While Manhattan bagel shops are scrambling to meet their schmear demands, for Paul Denise, the Superintendent of Public Works in Lowville, New York, the cream cheese crisis of 2021 reflects a much larger concern: balancing competing water needs in his community. Lowville, a village of 3,200 people near the Canadian border, is home to one…
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Culture Why the story of cream cheese is the story of Jews in America
When it comes to “bagels and lox,” the cream cheese is essential but goes without mention. Like the marinara sauce in “spaghetti and meatballs,” it plays a leading role but gets no top billing. Still, a tart, bright red tomato sauce gets noticed. Cream cheese, however, inspires no secret nonna recipes. Even Jewish gourmands who…
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Culture Remembering the most phenomenally successful Jewish author you’ve probably never heard of
Editor’s Note: According to his website, author Noah Gordon died Nov. 22 at the age of 95. Today we’re remembering his life and work by revisiting this story about Gordon that we published this summer. Though Noah Gordon’s first novel, “The Rabbi,” spent 26 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in 1965, he…
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Culture Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart ate hummus here — the forgotten Middle Eastern history of a comedy legend
The most important table in stand-up comedy can be found in the back corner of the Olive Tree Cafe, a dark Greenwich Village restaurant. The two slate tables pushed together serve as a makeshift green room for comedians who perform downstairs at the legendary New York club, the Comedy Cellar. Both “The Cellar” and the…
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Culture Is the death of the McDonald’s McBagel good for the Jews?
After a 22-year run, the bagel as a staple of McDonald’s is no more. At the start of the pandemic, the fast-food chain pivoted to focus on drive-thru and takeout service, removing over 100 menu items. As dining rooms in the United States reopened in the summer of 2020, many items returned. The bagel, however,…
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Culture How 770 Eastern Parkway became the world’s most-recognizable Jewish building
Three dozen replicas of the building are located around the world
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