Rob Eshman is a senior columnist for the Forward. For his food writing and recipes subscribe to his Foodaism newsletter.
Rob EshmanSenior Columnist
By Rob Eshman
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News Meet Jake Cohen, the Jew-ish chef with 1 million TikTok followers
This is one of seven profiles of American Jews who fascinated us in 2021. Click here to see all seven and read an explanation of our Forward Shortlist. Editor’s note: On Jan. 5, about two weeks after this column was published, The Washington Post reported that Jake Cohen has been named in a lawsuit alleging…
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Food How I solved New York’s cream cheese shortage in 24 hours
I’ll get right to the point: the easiest and most delicious way to overcome the Great Cream Cheese Shortage of 2021 is to make it yourself. As the New York Times reported, a combination of skyrocketing demand, supply chain issues and even the odd cyberattack has led New York delis and supermarkets scrambling for non-existent…
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News Karen Bass on Ilhan Omar, L.A. Jewry, homelessness, and her daughter’s memory
It was just before Thanksgiving when I sat down with Rep. Karen Bass to talk about her campaign for mayor of Los Angeles. The Homegirl Cafe where we met downtown was doing a brisk business in whole pies and turkey-shaped bread. “The holiday times are the worst for me,” she said. “I just wish I…
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News Why Jews, yes, Jews, should join L.A.’s street vendors struggle
I was standing on the sidewalk waiting my turn at Tacos La Guera, a street vending stand that sets up each evening between a Whole Foods parking lot and the four lane cacophony that is Lincoln Boulevard. “How many tacos?” a young man named Rafael asked me, pressing a 12-inch chef’s knife against a massive…
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Food Here’s the cheesy, crispy dish that made me and Alice Waters swoon together
Here’s a name drop I don’t deserve: Many years ago I attended Slow Food’s Terra Madre food conference in Turin, Italy. I happened to be standing in line to get a slice of freshly-made focaccia di Recco, and next to me stood Alice Waters. We watched the bakers stretch impossibly thin sheets of rolled-out dough…
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Food Gorky’s hot Russian borscht will revive your faith…in borscht
I miss Gorky’s. If you hung out in pre-gentrification downtown L.A., circa 1980, you’ll know what I mean. Gorky’s was a warehouse-sized cafe, open 24/7, a glorious Socialist workers commissary crossed with a starving artist cafe. You went there hungover at 11 a.m. for bottomless coffee and a slice of poppy seed cake, or at…
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News I visited a tiny home village for the homeless. Why aren’t there more of them?
There are 115 tiny homes along the Arroyo Grande Freeway between Pasadena and Los Angeles that weren’t there a month ago. Each took 90 minutes to build, and together they will soon offer 230 unhoused people immediate shelter, food, and health and occupational services. Oh, and there’s an off-leash area and free veterinary care for…
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Food When life gives you etrogs, make etrog liqueur
When my wife first came home with an etrog, I was enchanted and aghast. This was before we were married, when we were just beginning to celebrate the cycle of Jewish holidays together. I knew that to observe the holiday of Sukkot, Jews traditionally constructed makeshifts huts, and performed a ritual waving tree fronds while…
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