Rabu, 09 September 2009

Westchester Deli Culture, Part II: Wedges and Westchester


Ray's Grocery Mart Deli, Riverside Ave, Croton-on-Hudson, Westchester County, NewYork. One of the many delis in my home town. Photo Courtesy of Bill Tuttle

When making a wedge, the deli employee first took the provisions out of the display case, took the wraps off, and cut it on that large funky silver automatic slicer that cut the meat and cheese into thin slices like nothing. Customers watched as the person behind the counter caught the falling meat from the machine making sure they didn’t skimp on the cold-cuts layered gently on the wedge. I thought that everybody described these foot long sandwiches made with Italian bread (courtesy of the old Ossining Italian bakery of course!) as a wedge. Since graduating from CHHS in 1981, I have lived in many parts of the North East, Atlanta, and traveled a lot for work. I learned that delis and the term wedge are a part of Westchester County foodways—the culinary history and culture of a people’s places, habits and expressions. When I asked for a wedge (sandwich on a long piece of Italian bread) outside of Westchester I kept getting this strange looks. It took a long time to realize that people called my wedge a sub, grinder, hero, hoagie, Italian, po' boy (New Orleans), zep, torpedo, outside of Westchester.

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