Good Causes and Bad Pickles

Week 78: San Francisco, CA

On Monday night this week, members of the company of "Spamalot" and the cast of the San Francisco company of "Wicked" came together to present a one night only performance to benefit the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. From the beginning of the AIDS crisis, performing artists have been at the forefront of the fundraising effort, giving of their hearts and talents to help raise awareness and much needed money for AIDS related causes. As a cabaret artist in New York in the '90s, I performed in literally hundreds of these evenings, and it is always an uplifting experience. Monday was no exception. We performed at a charming little theatre on Pier 39 at busy, touristy Fisherman's Wharf, and our show was sold out. It was so great to see an enthusiastic audience come out, even in these difficult economic times, to give of themselves for this worthy cause. And our performers and volunteer crew put on a fabulous evening. It's always great to see my fellow artists step outside of their roles in the show and do something that expresses their other facets and talents; we have amazing musicians and dancers within our ranks, as well as gifted comedians and songwriters.
I had the honor of opening the show with a song that had been hand picked for me by my dear friend, and the benefit's indefatigable director, Tim Connell. It's called "Stupid Things I Won't Do," and is by musical theatre songwriter William Finn; it's a diatribe by a theatrical snob about how he won't live the humdrum life outside the rarefied world of show business. I really put on the dog, with a natty suit and fedora and had a blast. Ultimately, we raised a nice amount of money through ticket sales and our silent auction, and the audience was treated to an evening that was moving, funny and inspired. What an honor it always is to be able to give something back with love and creativity.

Every cultural minority has its "soul food." I have mentioned before that I am the token Jew on the tour, and usually this doesn't bother me at all. It's nice to be the one to chime in with a good Jewish joke or a bit of Yiddish now and then, and it certainly adds to the secret pleasure of performing "You Won't Succeed on Broadway (If You Don't Have Any Jews)." Every now and then I get a hankering for some Jewish soul food. Sometimes these moments creep up on me because I am homesick for New York, sometimes because I miss my Mom and my childhood. When one of these cravings hit, I go searching for a little Jewish food fix.
On my way to work I pass a place called David's Delicatessen on Geary Street so one day this week I stopped in. The place looks authentic, except both times I have been in it has been rather empty and quiet. They boast that they have provided a "real Jewish deli" to San Francisco for over 50 years and claim to have all the traditional delicacies, from knishes to matzoh ball soup. My craving that day was for a good boiled brisket sandwich on rye, some chopped chicken liver with schmaltz (chicken fat), a good pickle, and a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray (celery flavored--believe me it's good) Soda. As you can tell, traditional Jewish deli food was conceived pre-cholesterol awareness!! So, the review. Well, the brisket was quite good, a little fattier than I like, but nicely accompanied by brown gravy and served on caraway rye. The chopped liver was also excellent but lacked salt. The accoutrements were what truly disappointed. The potato salad was not traditional Jewish potato salad, the big problem being chunks of hard boiled egg in it. I know enough about Southern cooking to know that hard boiled egg in potato salad is really more a Southern thing. The big disappointment was the pickle. A pickle, you say? How can the wrong pickle spoil an otherwise decent meal? Well, my gentile friend, the pickle in a Jewish deli meal is the high note at the end of the concerto. It's the bit of bite and sourness that finishes the whole experience. At David's, they gave me three crinkle cut sour pickles right out of a jar of Vlasic. Uh uh. That's not the real McCoy. What you want with a good Jewish deli sandwich is a kosher garlic dill spear pickle, with a mild garlicky flavor--or better, a green pickled tomato (but you can only get that in New York). So, I give David's a B overall. My dresser, Lorraine, who is married to an expatriate New York Jew, has given me a couple other places to try for an authentic experience so my mission before I leave here is to find the best Jewish deli in San Francisco! I will keep you posted.

My week finished out with a day of fun spent with my sister-in-law, Patricia, and my two nieces, Zoe and Isobel. They took me to Golden Gate Park on a spectacularly summery day, and we enjoyed this world class public park, with it's splendid botanical and rose gardens and museums. We spent a couple hours struggling to get through the overcrowded, very popular California Academy of Sciences. This amazing complex, which I understand has been recently expanded and refurbished, contains an aquarium and a replica of a rainforest among other treats.
It was fun to spend time with Zoe and Izzy, neither of whom I know very well because we live cross country from each other, and who have simply gone from the little girls I knew to intelligent, articulate young ladies. Both are very artistic and interested in drama, both have beautiful skin, long lean figures and lush curly blonde hair. Nothing makes you feel older than to see your brother's kids becoming young adults! In the picture, that's Isobel on the left and Zoe on the right. I greatly enjoyed the day and am looking forward to going out to their home turf of San Jose next week, where I will also get to hang out with my brother Alex and my nephew Ben. Yet another perk of this tour--I have the chance to visit my family. I can't believe we have already done five weeks in San Francisco! It has sped by, and excited as I am about being in LA for the first time, I am going to miss this town. I have fallen hard for the City by the Bay. Well, two more weeks to go here in SF. Stay tuned.