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 Recall or not, Gavin Newsom needs to atone—and so do his critics
It’s a coincidence that the election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom falls one day before the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday of atonement. But it may also be fortuitous. After a contest that has been alternately brutal and silly but always expensive, polls show that Newsom is likely to retain his seat. After…
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Food A fresh fig salad for any fall meal
When the High Holidays roll around, so do fresh figs. This salad, which takes about five minutes to make, balances the fruit’s peak soft sweetness with the slightly bitter crunch of walnuts and a burst of fresh mint. I sometimes add pomegranate seeds, which only improves things. Our friend Julie Drucker served this salad to…
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Food East Coast v. West Coast Bagels, so which are better?
In the scheme of things —Afghanistan, global warming, the Delta variant— the “Great Bagel Off” may not ask the most urgent question, and yet 2,500 people signed up to hear the answer. That’s right: 2,500. Not to actually eat bagels. Just to watch other people eat them, and decide: Which coast does have the best…
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Food Better-than-honey cake Italian honey cookies
I’m not ashamed to admit that outside our kosher home, I don’t just eat kosher food. But admitting I don’t really like popular Jewish foods— that’s kind of embarrassing. Here’s my short list of the foods of my People that I’d be fine living without: pickled herring, chopped liver, matzo brei, sweet kugel and honey…
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Food Creamless yet creamy celery soup, a no-waste recipe
There was a sign posted at the Los Angeles branch of D.C. Kitchen, a non-profit that employed at-risk adults to turn donated food into nutritious meals. It read: “People and food should not be wasted.” Words to live by, right? Celery is one of those vegetables we tend to waste, or at least overlook. But…
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Food Chickpea gnocchi with market vegetables: Italy, meet the Middle East
Chickpea gnocchetti — gnocchetti di ceci— little knuckles of garbanzo beans and flour— combine two of my favorite things: the Middle East and Italy. This recipe is inspired by one I found in an old issue of La Cucina Italianathat I fished out of a neighbor’s recycling. (Who throws away La Cucina Italiana?) I’ve made…
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News Remembering Ruth Pearl, mother of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, and ‘strength incarnate’
Ruth Pearl, who died July 20 at the age of 85, fought a thousand battles in her lifetime. She didn’t look like a warrior— barely five feet tall, rail thin with cropped brown hair and a soft voice that quavered, especially as she fought respiratory problems in later life. But when I first met her,…
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Food Never mind Ben & Jerry’s. Hannah Spiegelman’s ice cream has war and peace in every scoop
Hannah Spiegelman is a 28 year-old Brooklynite and the creator of A Sweet History, a blog and business that creates ice creams based on historical figures whose lives were usually steeped in controversy. There’s her Ida Tarbell flavor, in honor of the crusading 20th century muckraking journalist, featuring double-oaked bourbon, coffee and nutmeg. And you…
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News An Israeli restaurant chain said it closed due to boycotts. Protesters are celebrating.
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Sports It’s so cool that Sandy Koufax was there for that
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Opinion Why are we so focused on Mamdani — not Nazi-inspired ideas proliferating on the right?
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Opinion I won’t vote for Democrats who backed Mamdani. I know I’m not the only one.
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Culture Musk created Grokipedia to counter bias, but it’s full of antisemitic and racist dog-whistles
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Film & TV As long as there are movies about Nazis, there will be movies about the art they looted
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