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 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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Culture How schmaltz, schtick and schteak are bringing back old Jewish New York
Dani Luv is getting a new gig. After 22 years in the basement digs of Sammy’s Roumanian, singing songs like “Strangers With My Wife,” the Israeli keyboard player and insult comic is taking his show to Times Square. Starting on Sept. 16th, he will perform his bawdy Yiddish-inflected act four nights a week at Bacall’s…
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Culture The most phenomenally successful Jewish author you’ve probably never heard of
In a suburban Boston retirement community resides one of the most successful living Jewish American authors, the 94-year-old Noah Gordon. His book sales are over 25 million and his name is often mentioned in the same breath as Ken Follett’s. He’s a household name, just not in the United States. Though his first novel, “The…
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Culture ‘We Cannot Be Silent’ — Jewish workers in devastated countries face unusual dangers and difficult choices
In October 2018, Joel R. Charny was in northeast Syria. As president of the Norwegian Refugee Council USA, Charny was evaluating water, shelter and education programs for Syrians forced from their homes. In its seventh year of civil war, Syria was considered the most dangerous country on earth by the Institute of Economics and Peace….
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Culture Why Jews are key to Chinatown’s survival
My last indoor dining experience of 2020 was in early March. I had crispy roast duck, watercress and assorted dumplings at Wu’s Wonton King, at the junction of Chinatown and the historic Jewish Lower East Side. Located at the foot of the Forward Building, Wu’s occupies the site of the old Garden Cafeteria, what used…
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Culture In gentrified Greenwich Village, one link remains to a Jewish folk past
In 2017, Amanda Foley, the location scout for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” needed a place to shoot a record store scene. It’s a challenge to find interiors that fit the storyline of the series’ main character Midge Maisel, a wealthy Jewish housewife who dives into the Village scene of the late 50s and early 60s….
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