Summer Art Classes

Ambig-JEW-ity

 

A lot of people aren't going to get this one, but I don't care. I'm writing it for the ones who will. Or if you never even thought about minorities and tv and you're interested, then it's for you too.

I don't think people generally think about whether they identify with the people they see in their favorite tv shows because it's mostly automatic. Unless you're a minority. I see interviews and articles all the time lamenting the lack of minorities on tv and/or nominated for Oscars. But they're mostly talking about the minority you can immediately see because they somehow look different. That's how people tend to think of minorities, which isn't wrong. It just doesn't include all minorities.

Generally, main characters are usually white, they could be lower to upper middle class, and it's assume they're some kind of Christian. Even if religion isn't discussed, there is never ANOTHER religion that's discussed. There are always Christmas episodes with no mention of any other religions. As if they don't exist. Or they have that token episode where the brother or sister has some kind of encounter with a Jew. I haven't seen any where there has been that episode done with a Muslim or Buddhist or even a Scientologist. But every now and again, you catch the Shabbat episode, like the one I recently saw on The Partridge Family. Some of you are probably too young to have seen that one, but I caught it on one of those channels in the 100's of Optimum that show old stuff. Or on Fresh Off the Boat, which happens to be a minority centered show (Chinese), that I think is hysterical. They did an episode where the main character finally met another Chinese kid in his all white school but the kid was adopted by Jewish parents. He's Ch-ewish (I'm taking credit for that one- it wasn't in the show).

The fact is, not only are the main families in dramas, comedies, and dramedies whitewashed or baptized, they are just assumed to be some version of believing in Jesus. As a kid, you want to identify with someone on tv. You want there to be a character or a family like you. That almost never happened for me. Or you get a totally stereotyped version of your people, which can definitely be funny. Like Fran Fine. The Nanny. I loved The Nanny. But even that was a LONG time ago AND Fran still ended up marrying the non-Jewish guy. It took like twenty years from Fran to get The Goldbergs, which is a show set thirty years ago. While I don't watch The Goldbergs because I don't find it that funny, I guess it's nice to have it. It's humor is more about life in the 80's though than life as Jews. I do find it odd that the person they chose as the matriarch isn't even close to being Jewish in real life. It's not that I don't think a shiksa can play a Jew, but there are plenty of Jewish actors out there that can really authenticate that Jewish s-mother role.

It does beg the question though- why can't there just be a show centered around a Jewish family that's just endearing? Like The Cosby Show. Family Ties. Growing Pains. They're doing a re-boot of Full House before we get one Jewish family that isn't the tired stereotype of the intermarriage scene with the same old jokes. The only difference is that this time, in Odd Mom Out, it's the WIFE who is Jewish. Usually it's the nebbishy, neurotic husband, like Paul in Mad About You- where it was never even SAID, but just implied by Paul being Paul and his negative, nit-picky, stereotypical mother. Miles Silverberg with Corky on Murphy Brown. Harry and Charlotte on Sex and the City. I rest my case.

With Odd Mom Out, in real life, Jill Kargman is the writer. In real life, she's Jewish. In real life, her husband is Jewish. It's supposed to be semi-autobiographical. Who at the head of these networks is so afraid of having two Jewish main characters married to one another? Are they afraid it's just so off-putting that no one will watch? It took me until today, Googling, to find out that the husband and his family in OMO are definitely supposed to be WASPs. I couldn't tell. Maybe it was because I was so excited that we were seeing all Jews in a sitcom. It was hard to tell because she made her character SO Jewish that she's wearing a chai maintenance shirt in the first episode and used the word ketubah in the second. Usually in the intermarriage sitcom world, the husband is Jewish but it's kept more hush-hush.

I'm sure it could've been just as funny without the same old Jew in a WASPs nest conflict humor. If I was a WASP, I'd be annoyed that they made the husband such a ginormous pussy. I know plenty of WASP men with way more sting than this guy. And if he's such a wuss, would he have even married a woman like Jill? How would that have gone down? Then there was the episode about being buried with her husband's family and no mention of wanting to be in a Jewish cemetery. These are real things that would come up. Sure, it's a comedy and only twenty-two minutes at that, but shows like Family Ties and Growing Pains tackled serious subject matter and just infused it with humor.

If you're going to bother making it clear that the main character is Jewish at all, then at least make it relatable. Don't just throw in a Hebrew word here and there and call it a day. It's like playing into the stereotypes that gentiles have about Jews vs the real stereotypes that make us funny. The Jewish papers and online websites are kvelling over the fact that it's a Jewish main character and I'm over here why the Jewish thing was included at all. If it was meant to just be a slice of her book, the "regular" mom vs the high society moms, then there was no need for the Jewish angle.

Update: I wrote Jill and asked her. She answered. She said that making the von Webers not Jewish just added to her "odd mom out-ness". Everyone at the network supports all her Jewy insertions. That if they get picked up for a second season, they'll delve more into her family. I get all that too, but I still would've preferred they were all Jewish and got their humor from another area. Even just the difference in levels of Jewishness could be funny. Or like I originally thought- his family as Jews who act like wannabe WASPs. Reform vs Conservative, kosher vs not, etc. My husband and I are both Jewish but come from totally different kinds of households. There is definite humor in those differences. I thank her for answering though, and QUICKLY, so I give her props for that. She's not too cool to answer regular people's questions. I'll keep watching, waiting for the Jews to come out in full force.

Even in the supporting cast, there have been other shows which featured Jewish characters and/or families. But it's the incorrect details that always have me burning. I just don't get it. I see Jewish writers in the credits, yet, there is always something that doesn't make any sense. And it gets me incensed.

Being Erica- Canadian show. I have Canadian friends that say there are a decent amount of Jews in Toronto, where Being Erica took place. The father's character was a rabbi, which is clearly a pretty serious Jew, even if his character hadn't been all that serious about it in his earlier life. The sister couldn't look less Jewish, she marries a guy who is named Josh, but his last name was McIntosh. No mention that she married a non-Jew or that it caused any issue as it WOULD if her father was a rabbi. It's not like Josh was a menschy character. He was a total dick and no one liked him. So it wasn't a case of him being a great guy that just happens not to be Jewish. And none of the cast playing Jewish characters were Jewish. It's like saying, well, they're Jewish characters, but it's not TOO Jewish because there are actually no Jews involved in the execution of the story.

We don't just want token Jewish characters, we want the SITUATIONS they're in to relate as well! We want to see the hell that sister would've been put through, in dramatic fashion, for choosing to intermarry. Or at least a conversation about it! Otherwise, why even bother throwing in the Jewish thing? For the writers to have diversity cred?

Here is just a few more examples of Jewish WTF on TV:

Friends- There was a blackout one night in the first season. Joey came running in with a candelabra. Chandler said it was his old roommate Kip's. Kip was Jewish. What Jew names a kid Kip?? Kip is the name of a blond, blue-eyed kid from Connecticut that wears pants embroidered with sailboats on it and beige boat shoes. And if I remember correctly it wasn't even a menorah. I'm pretty sure it was a seven light candelabra. How about that Courteney Cox clearly isn't Jewish and David Schwimmer clearly is, and Ross being Jewish was addressed with Ben and the Hanukkah Armadillo. But no mention of religion when Ross was marrying Emily or Monica marrying Chandler? There definitely could've been comedy in either of those scenarios. Especially with those parents!

How about Rachel- she was supposed to be a Jewish American Princess from Long Island. She was introduced as a runaway bride from Dr Barry Farber, a nebbishy dentist, presumably Jewish. Then the powers that be gave her Christina Applegate and Reese Witherspoon as her supposedly equally JAP-py sisters??? Come. On. Granted, Jennifer Aniston isn't Jewish, but she could definitely pass as one of the tribe. Christina and Reese aren't fooling anyone. Not that it mattered, because it NEVER came up. Never mind that Mr. & Mrs. Gellar would've been plotzing all over Ross and Rachel ending up together.

Girlfriends Guide to Divorce- Abby made a huge deal about her husband being only "half Jewish". He flipped out, giving his background as to how he's "full Jewish", yet HER name is Abby McCarthy! With NO explanation! I waited the whole season to hear what the hell was up with that and NOTHING. It didn't make any sense! And they gave her a brother who might as well have the word gentile tattooed on his forehead. There isn't a way you could convince me he's even half! Lisa Edelstein, at least as Abby, is SO Jewish- looking, mannerisms, etc. There is no way that would be her brother! It's the new Ross and Monica, just reversed.

I'm not even religious. This annoyance is more about being culturally relatable and correct. I don't know if it's that people can't get a grip or an agreement about Jewish being both a religion and a nationality/ethnicity, so they don't know how to deal with that in comedy? I also find it kind of offensive that it seems to be about this idea that it would be so unappealing to have a whole family be just a complete, nice family, who also happens to be Jewish. In this decade. Or the implication that there are no good writers out there who can write comedy for a Jewish family that takes place in the present time.

Stereotypes can be funny. And relatable. People totally related to the Barones on Everyone Loves Raymond. It was mainly about family, but also stereotypical about Italian mothers. There have always been shows centering around Italian families and Irish families where they used their ethnicity to drive story or get laughs. But the same old scenarios, with the same kinds of families, over and over are not funny or relatable.

There is plenty of Jewish/Other intermarriage and that in itself is relatable. Everyone is doing it. However, I don't believe that it's always been shown that way on tv, done in the name of progressiveness. I think it's more in the name of fear and how that translates into ratings. The real progression would be in having religion and culture not be the main conflict between the one spouse and the other spouse and their family, who are the main characters. Or if it is, how about two sides of the same coin? Fresh off the Boat is about a whole Chinese family, not a Chinese woman married to an American man. The husband is Chinese trying to be more American, and his wife is Chinese, afraid to embrace being American-ized. THAT conflict is funny. Of course, that show is set in the 90's, not today, so we still have a ways to go. But the creator of that show is still a genius. It is also semi-autobiographical and he definitely sacrifices political correctness for laughs.

I just wish someone would be brave enough to color outside the lines with us. To not have the fear of needing to throw in enough gentiles in the main character mix to make it palatable to the masses. I have a feeling that if something is written well enough, and really funny, people would watch and enjoy.

***Hmmm, maybe the networks are right in their fear. I just Googled "Jews on TV" and hit "images". I was looking for a photo to put with this entry. Ooof. I was not prepared for all the anti-Semitic stuff that came back at me in that search....

The Fairest One of All

Glen Rock Fun Fair. This week. Best carnival of all, even if I'm biased. Just having real working bathrooms alone, instead of port-o-potties is reason enough. But there are just a lot of great rides, the food is pretty good, it's a nice, large area, and the kids can just run around when they're not on rides. The unlimited bracelet for $25 is a deal for kids who want to ride all night. It also happens to be a great fundraiser for Grad Ball. Hope to see you there!

Drawing Room Summer

"Gavadeel"?

I had to text my *Italian* childhood BFF, Mondelli, to find out if gavadeel was the same thing as the cavatelli in cavatelli & broccoli, before I wrote this. She gave me the thumbs up, so here we go...

Eddie from Silk City texted me and asked if I like cavatelli & broccoli with chicken. I said that I think I like cavatelli (it's pasta, who wouldn't like it?)
, I like chicken, and I like broccoli, so I think we're good. It's not something I'd order just simply because I would feel like an ass trying to order it. In north Jersey, when you order, you say gavadeel & broccoli. As a Seinfeldian Jew and definitely non-north-Jersey-Italian, I cannot bring myself to be such a fraud as to say that to anyone out loud. I'd also feel schmucky saying cavatelli as well. So it's just not something I'd think to order. But if you want to make it for me and I don't have to say it- well, awesome.

He delivered the food, hot, at 6:30p. Perfect for us. There were three containers. One was the cavatelli, chicken and broccoli in sauteed olive oil, garlic, white wine, vegetable broth and Reggiano Parmigiano. Container number two had chicken lemongrass dumplings w/ Asian sesame ginger dipping sauce. Last, there was a salad with fig balsamic goat cheese, Mandarin oranges, sliced pear, dried pomegranates, and sunflower seeds over mixed greens with a honey balsamic dressing.

Who wouldn't want to eat like this? I didn't have to think about dinner. I didn't have to even think about what I wanted to buy, make, then eat. I like this whole, "surprise dinner" thing where he just brings whatever. It's kind of exciting to just have a meal arrive. He knows what I like and don't and my general palate. He's creative but doesn't go overboard knowing how basic my diet usually is on the daily.

I loved everything. I love salads like that. I'm not a huge salad fan regularly, because there is usually no fun in salad. But with that kind of stuff in it, it's always a treat. That's the kind of salad you look forward to eating. The dumplings were also amazing. I could've eaten them all. However, I did share them with B to be fair.

There is another mom in one of my message board groups that is going through breast cancer. Mastectomy, chemo, etc. A bunch of women on the board pooled money together to get her meals. They're using Eddie/Silk City to get meals to her. I think it's a great idea. When Jocelyn had cancer, she couldn't take one more ziti casserole or rotisserie chicken. To have someone deliver meals like I've tried, like real homemade stuff that is like getting a luxury dinner out, but in your home, is amazing. If you have to go through something so awful, even if you don't have all your appetite, it's a little silver lining to have a nice dinner to have if you're feeling like eating.

I highly recommend. I still won't order the gavadeel on a menu somewhere, but I'll eat it if Eddie's cooking!

Silk City Caterers: Like it on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/SilkCityCaterers

More TV goodness

I finished my last tv post prematurely. I hadn't watched a few things yet. Now I have...

OMG. Hindsight. VH1. It started in January 2015. It ran for 10 episodes and is already picked up for a second season. I didn't watch when it was on. I wasn't even really sure what it was about. I knew it had something to do with the 90's so I dvr'd it and then just didn't watch until everything else I watch ended for the season.

It's a little like Being Erica. *If you haven't seen Being Erica, you'd best put that on your list too.* It's a time travel do-over life kind of thing. Like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. But being able to go back and change your adventure to change the outcome in the future. Being Erica was time travel back to the 80's, this is time travel back to the 90's. Aimee Tuck, you need to watch this. It's all our music from freshman year. Everything they wear reminds me of us. I'm pretty sure Stay was played in the first two episodes. I'm only on the third episode, but I could've stayed on the treadmill all day watching it. Anyone that knows me, knows that I don't want to be on the treadmill at all, so it must be good. If you are nearing forty, are forty or a little older, you'll really appreciate this show. Find it somewhere online or on some streaming service. You won't be sorry, even if just for the music trip down memory lane.

Becoming Us, ABC Family, Mondays. It's the real life story of a family, mainly the son, coping with his dad transitioning to a woman. It is a documentary series. His girlfriend also has a transgender father who has been transitioning since the daughter was seven years old. But he isn't comfortable in his female look so I think he only dresses as a woman at home. It's really interesting. B thought it was a little slow, but it picked up more toward the middle to end. There is an arc about a half-sister getting engaged and married that I found a little boring, but I think that part is going to get interesting due to how Charles/Carlie, her stepfather, is going to be integrated into the wedding. The mother and her transitioning ex are somewhat amicable, but she is still a bit hurt and angry. The father, Charlie/Carlie, didn't handle the whole thing well and started taking hormones and such while he was still married and didn't say anything until he started growing breasts. I can see how that would be a problem in a marriage. I think it's worth checking out.

The Fosters, ABC Family, Mondays. I watched the first season. B abandoned mid-season in the second I think so I had to abandon because it was dvr'd upstairs. I never got to it. I like it though. I watched last night's and I remembered that I liked it. I'm sorry to see Jesus go though. I think he was an important character. Sometimes it gets annoying because it's a little schmaltzy but I'll probably just skip catching up and watch it this season.

RHOC is BACK. Mondays, 9p, Bravo. Those crazy bitches are back, crazier than ever. If you liked the OGs of the OC, ever, this is a season to watch. Vicki, Tamra, Heather, Shannon, and Megan (I think that's her name? she's new). Brooks is around and I think Lizzie has been relegated to "friend of the housewives".

Let's talk TV- Tara's Guide

Looks kind of like all of ours...

Every time I get a moment to hear something on a talk show, I feel like they're talking spring and summer tv. What was watched, not watched, and what we should be watching. I just saw a segment on what's coming up. I want to talk a little about what I just finished and is finishing, at least for the season- not for good. I don't even want to discuss Forever being cancelled. Abe....

People told me I *had* to watch Southern Charm. I have to admit, it was one of those shows that I dvr'd but didn't watch that way. I would catch it on Saturdays and/or on Sundays during the day when I'd be getting ready to go out, getting dressed, putting make-up on, etc. I got the gist of it. I know who the people are, most of their backstory, but I just couldn't watch the whole thing. I feel like I missed very little watching it this way though.

Thomas Ravenel reminds me of the "how many lumps do you want" cartoon character from Bugs Bunny. What a dunce. I have a hard time listening to him talk. I highly doubt Kathryn had a baby to "secure a spot on a reality show" (per Whitney's words on the reunion last night). I don't know why, at age twenty-three, she'd have a baby with a fifty-two year old man, but she isn't the first and she won't be the last. She's twenty-three. Twenty-three year olds do a lot of stupid things. I loathe Whitney. Grow up. Aging wannabe bad-boy with a mama's boy issue. And the whole mail order bride thing he has going on is creepy. That German model is younger than Kathryn. Pot meet kettle much?? Craig is twenty-seven, smart, and good-looking. What else is there to say? He's twenty-seven. He acts like one. Shep is alright. A goofy, endearing, immature, playboy. The reality tv staple. Candace and Landon are just pretty, cute, and harmless. Window dressing.

Why was I mostly uninterested? I don't relate to them. I was never independently wealthy, I've never had a sugar daddy or wanted to date daddy figures, I'm not southern, and I don't know how to fake appearances. Nor do I want to. It's all just a culture I don't get. It's fine, and it looks like they have fun, I'm just bored. I asked myself why they are different than Vanderpump Rules. On VPR, they're young, hot, hot-headed, immature and while my friends and I didn't live in LA, we had stupid drama like they do. Replace West Hollywood with Belmar. It's all the same. The drama was just more intense and interesting. It's was constant explosives. I felt like there was a lot of waiting around for something to happen on Southern Charm. If I don't have any urge to follow you on twitter after watching you on reality TV, you're boring.

It's the same with some of the Housewives. I don't watch all of them, just the ones where I feel like there is always something going on. I almost abandoned RHONY until Bethenny came back. I can relate to her family stuff. I find that part fascinating. The rest is a bit of a snooze, but it has more relatable moments for me. I will say that I have caught RHOA in marathons on the weekend when Southern Charm wasn't playing. It was pretty interesting. I won't dvr it, but will probably watch it whenever it's on. Same with Shahs of Sunset. I find them way more interesting than I thought I would.

Ok- on to what I've been watching that either is in mid-season, ending or just started....

Younger- TV Land, Tuesdays 10p. I think it's almost over- I don't know. It's a half hour show so it isn't a huge commitment. Yes, it's a silly premise but I love Sutton Foster, she can pass for twenty-six, and it's just a cute, guilty pleasure. I missed Deb Mazur since Entourage ended, I love the guy who plays the tattoo artist boyfriend, and I've sort of gained a little appreciation for Hilary Duff. Try it, you'll like it.

Happyish- Showtime, Sundays 9:30. Four or five episodes in now. It's weird, totally inappropriate, and can be borderline offensive to some. It's about advertising, getting older and seeming obsolete in the workplace (Steve Coogan) and his self-loathing Jew of a wife (Kathryn Hahn) who has mother issues. If you're in advertising, over 40, and/or Jewish, I think you'll really get a kick out of it. The Jewish mother stuff with Lee (Hahn) is beyond hysterical. Some parts are sort of like what I imagine an acid trip is like. What I find really interesting, is that the Steve Coogan role was supposed to be Philip Seymour Hoffman. I can't picture him in it, but B can. It's also only a half hour, so it's like a quickie.

Aquarius- NBC, Thursdays 9p- David Duchovny is the lead detective in the Charles Manson cases, but before Charles Manson was really known as THE Charles Manson. CM is young, and just starting to gather his minions. Duchovney is a salty old-school guy with an ex-wife and a kid who just deserted the military in the Vietnam war time. It was a bit slow but got really good toward the end. I think they showed the first two episodes, even though they called it a "2-hour premiere". So the second hour was better than the first. If you think it's slow, just give it a chance. We'll continue watching.

UnReal- Lifetime, Mondays 10p. It just started this week. It's SO good. I didn't watch Dirt, but someone I know compared it to that. It's the fictional drama about the behind the scenes of a Bachelor type show. But it's more about the inner workings and the people who work on it vs the bachelor and bachelorettes. It's all about the manipulation and crazy they manufacture. It was riveting tv, I tell you. Right now, it's our new favorite.

America's Got Talent- NBC, Tuesdays 8p, and probably another night as time goes on. The first night was last week. As long is Stern is on, I'm tuning in. I love to watch the kids. And Piff the Magic Dragon was pretty funny.

Wayward Pines- Thursdays, 9p. Horror genre. All star cast. A friend's son from town is in it- Charlie Tahan. Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard, Carla Gugino, Melissa Leo.

Coming:

June

Secrets & Wives- Bravo, Tuesdays, 10p. TONIGHT (June 2). Long Island. Instead of spoiled Jews this time, I'm sure it's another stereotyped & maligned ethnicity. But, Long Island. So I'm watching. It looks nuts.

Real Housewives of Orange County- Bravo, Mondays 9p. June 8. I'm in. I've watched all the seasons. I like their low class dramedy. What can I say?

Odd Mom Out premieres after RHOC. Bravo, Mondays, 10p. June 8. I'm giving it a shot. It will probably be mediocre like the last scripted series from last summer/fall that I can't remember the name. But I need something for the treadmill.

Mistresses- ABC, Thursdays 9p. June 18. I hate-watch this show. It's so slow and stupid but I watch. I'll miss Alyssa Milano, but it's fine for summer fluff.

Ballers- HBO, Sundays, June 21. I don't love "The Rock", but after finally seeing Gridiron Gang, I've softened. It looks good.

Graceland- USA, Thursdays, 10p. June 25. WE LOVE THIS SHOW. Watch the first two seasons on demand if you can. It's worth it. Can't wait for it to come back.

**Orange Is The New Black- comes out June 12. But since we only have old tube TV's and can't stream on them, I don't know when we'll get to that one. We still haven't seen season 3 of House of Cards.

July

Ray Donovan- HBO, Sundays 9p. July 12. Do I even need to say anything? Who isn't looking
forward to knowing what happens with the Donovan clan?

Impastor, TV Land, Wednesdays, 10:30, July 15. Watched the sneak preview after Younger this week and it's funny. Definitely worth a watch at a half hour long. Buddy Dobbs is a foul mouthed guy with a mess of a life due to poor choices on his part. Circumstances allowed for him to take over someone else's identity who happens to be the new pastor of a small town in the middle of nowhere, picked sight unseen, from an online search. Oh, and the guy whose life he took over was also a gay, out, pastor.

Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll- FX, Thursdays, 10p. July 16. Denis Leary. Looks good. Just saw something about it on Wendy Williams this morning. I like FX shows.

August

Bachelor in Paradise- ABC, Mondays, 8p. August 3. How could we not watch this? I don't even know any of the bachelors and bachelorettes anymore, but this is like the poor man's Paradise Hotel. It tries. I'll take it.



References/calendars:

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/2015-Summer-TV-Premiere-Schedule-Dates-Returning-Shows-70993.html

http://www.tvguide.com/special/summer-tv/calendar/

Food for the non-Foodie

I loathe thinking about what to make for dinner. I loathe actually making dinner even more. So I generally don't. Well, I do, sometimes, but that's when I'm making fifteen of something to freeze and take out at my leisure in single servings. Mostly, for E, because B and I eat frozen entrées from Jenny Craig, Luvo, Evol, and Lean Cuisine. But I was introduced to something WAY better.

Eddie Aboyoun is a local chef with thirty-five years of experience, owning and cooking in restaurants and doing catering. Living in Glen Rock, I had no idea that he's married to a woman we know in the bank or that his son is the extremely talented high school senior we saw in the high school play this past winter. Small world. Eddie came into my store and introduced himself and we got to talking about his catering. He mentioned that he cooks and delivers meals four days a week for a woman and her son in Upper Saddle River. This piqued my interest. Any time there is a way to circumvent making dinner is something interesting to me.

Sure, there is regular take-out. Chinese, Thai, Italian, etc. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm not interested in that kind of old-school, usually not so healthy take-out. I told Eddie that if he made me a meal and I liked it, I would write about it. Impressing me with food is no easy feat. Not because I'm a "foodie"- because I'm not. I'm the opposite. I have the palate of a first grader. So if you can get me to eat your "fancy" food, well, you certainly deserve a blog entry. I told him I like "plain food". Standard fare. I asked him what he cooks for this woman and her son. He said he does a kind of interview, where he finds out all likes and dislikes, definite no's, definite yeses. Then he makes up his own menu and brings them whatever he decides the meal plan is that week. I asked him how that works out. He says he's rarely even made the same thing more than once and they've liked everything. That seemed like a challenge to me, so I was definitely game to see what has going on.

Then I forgot about it. Because I have raging attention deficit disorder. B got a text last Tuesday in the late afternoon that Eddie wanted to bring us dinner. Without hesitation, B accepted and I was thrilled. We had no idea what time it was coming so I waited home and B and E went bike riding. Eddie showed up at 6:30, which was perfect. We get home around 6:10, so 6:30 or so is our normal dinner time. I opened it up and did a little fist pump. PERFECT warm weather dinner. The food was still hot, so I didn't even have to do ANYTHING. I used paper plates so I didn't even dirty a dish.


-Salad: Mixed greens, Watermelon, Feta Cheese, Kalamata olives in a Honey Balsamic Dressing

-Turkey burgers: Made with cilantro, scallion, Dijon and mango chutney. Topped with lettuce, tomato, avocado, Colby Jack cheese, and more mango chutney

-Sides: Small ears of corn, seasoned French fries




Now, if he had told me what was on the burger before we got it, I probably would said to leave off the avocado, change the cheese, and I'm not sure about the chutney. I might have said ok, but I could also see me saying to leave it off. BUT, the chutney was under the cheese I think and on the bun. I didn't SEE it. And the cheese was perfectly melted over the whole burger. It looked like cheddar or some kind of mix of cheddar and something else. I would normally put cheese on any burger I was having, but I stick to mild cheddar, mozzarella, and American cheese. That's about it.

The ONLY think *I* took off was the avocado. I just will never like that. But B LOVES it. So he left his on. I think it was the best burger I ever had. I'm not kidding. Eddie gave us food for B, E, and me. E would never appreciate that kind of food, so we gave him leftovers from the night before and we ate Silk City food. Everything was amazing. We had one burger left over because E didn't have that. B and I totally fought over who would get to eat it. Luckily I am married to a gentleman, and I won. I'm normally not a fan of seasoned fries, or seasoned anything, but that's because they're usually spicy. These were just perfect. Fries don't typically travel well, and these were no different- they weren't crispy, but I expect to have to put fries in the toaster oven if they were to come in a closed Tupperware kind of thing where the condensation gets to them. But the FLAVOR- that's the most important part and he nailed that. I ate them without crisping them up because they tasted so good. I was really just afraid they were going to be spicy, but they weren't. Flavored, but not spicy. Just how I can appreciate them. The corn was perfection.

How can you get food like this for dinner? Right now, he is pretty much a "one man show" for the meals. That's for cost efficiency. I get it- more people, more money, more problems. So, he's working on how you can have just a meal like that for your family. I asked him about costs. Like, how much does it cost for this woman to have food cooked for her.

He is in the planning stages of small scale catering like he's doing for this woman. He would work out a fair weekly price for however many family members that would be eating. By giving a weekly price, it allows him to give entrees like tuna steak, filet mignon,  pastas, chickens and other higher or lower cost items, when not charging by the individual dish. He is also conscious of portion control, for better dietary needs as well. Meals would cost about $15.00 per adult and maybe $10.00 for kids. The dinners he brings the current client and her son include an entree, starch, vegetable. Sometime the client will text him to switch out the salad for dessert. When that happens, he will give her and her son something like mixed berries, Greek yogurt, honey and granola, sliced melon, or grapes.

His main business right now is catering larger events like graduation parties, religious events like christenings, communions, confirmations, and other parties. But I've already asked a handful of local moms if they would want a service where they could order dinners like the one I had and there was resounding "YES!". The main issue was just not having the time to cook, they want something healthy, but they also don't want to have to heat stuff up to the point of having a messy kitchen from what is still essentially "take-out". A lot of the husbands work late and with anywhere from 2-5 kids, having to cook a healthy dinner, five working nights of the week, just basically sucks. One mom said she'd even pay extra for it to come hot and just ready to serve out of the bag/box.

If you're interested or have any questions, comment here, on FB, via email to me, to Silk City (Eddie), by carrier pigeon- whatever. I have nothing to do with this business except for loving the food and wanting to see Eddie succeed here in Glen Rock with Silk City Catering. There is always room for more great food choices. And anything that makes moms lives easier and less time spent in the kitchen- I'm all for it.

He has a full, extensive menu also, but I couldn't put it up here. Just ask him for it.

Like his Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/SilkCityCaterers

Silk City Caterers
Glen Rock, NJ
201-406-4472
Contact the Owner: eddie@silkcitycaterers.com

http://www.silkcitycaterers.com/