MICHAEL WEX was born in Lethbridge, Alberta and later moved to Toronto. Wex is the also the author of nonfiction books Born to Kvetch, Just Say Nu, and How to Be a Mensch (and Not a Shmuck), and fiction books The Adventures of Micah Mushmelon, Boy Talmudist; The Frumkiss Family Business; and Shlepping the Exile. He is also well known as a speaker on matters relating to Yiddish language and culture and more general aspects of Judaism. He lives in Toronto with his wife and daughter.
"Mouth-watering and eye-opening in equal measure - Rhapsody in
Schmaltz is essential reading for anyone who has shmeared a bagel,
trifled with trayf, or hunted the Afikomen." --Ben Schott, author
of Schott's Original Miscellany
"Wex proves once again in Schmaltz that he is Yiddish culture's
equivalent of his titular fat; a salve, a balm, the heart, soul,
and very tam of the edible delicacies and their origins that he
chronicles here. Not since the Rascal House menu was last printed
has there been a finer assembly of words on Jewish food upon the
page." --David Sax, author of Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect
Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen "Only
Wex can write an insightful, witty read on the history of Jewish
food and its ingredients. According to Leviticus 'all the fat is
the Lord's.' Lately I think my butcher has been giving me too much
of God's share." --Ziggy Gruber, Owner of Kenny & Ziggy's New York
Delicatessen
"Most Jews have a lot (sometimes too much) to say about Jewish
food. But few say it with Michael Wex's mix of insider's wisdom,
great appetite, and even greater humor. Rhapsody in Schmaltz is a
masterful work, one I'll turn to over and over for both historical
reference and a hearty chuckle." --Leah Koenig, author of Modern
Jewish Cooking
"I'm typing this blurb with a hot glass of tea and a pletzel to the
right of me, so I need to make this quick. Wex has given us a
learned examination of the religious whys and wherefores of the
food found in North American Polish-Jewish homes (like mine and
his) through the 1960s. There are not a few wise cracks mixed in,
like onions in kreplach, with all the scholarship. Wex more or less
does for kugel what Knausgaard has done for lutefisk." --Stuart
Rojstaczer author of The Mathematician's Shiva "A rare combination
of erudition and wit - an irreverent romp through the highs and
lows of Yiddish food by a yeshiva boy gone rogue." --Barbara
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Chief Curator, POLIN Museum of the History
of Polish Jews "Chicken, Kishke, Cholent and Matzoh have dominated
the Yiddish menu and kept it in virtual bondage for hundreds of
years. Rhapsody in Shmaltz tells the true story behind these
fetishized dishes and gives us what Yiddish, no stranger to pain,
calls Essen Emes." --Adeena Karasick, author of Amuse Bouche: Tasty
Treats for the Mouth "An enticing tour of Judaism's culinary past.
Wex (How to Be a Mentsh (and Not a Shmuck), 2009, etc.) brings
lighthearted humor and his considerable expertise on Jewish culture
to a wide-ranging look at Jewish food, from biblical dietary
restrictions to New York bagels. An informative, merrily
entertaining culinary and cultural history." --Kirkus "Only Michael
Wex could unravel the delectable mysteries of Ashkenazi cuisine
with the precision of a Talmudic commentator and the wit of a Jon
Stewart. Here are all the usual suspects--from kasha and knishes to
kugels--but their explication comes by way of Chaucer and Ray
Charles, Petronius, Pynchon, and Homer Simpson. A savory must-read
for all food and language mavens, who will discover the true
Yiddish vegetables, not to mention, the subtle erotic sirensong of
a challah." --Jayne Cohen, author of Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Food
Lover's Treasury of Classics and Improvisations
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