Extra: In Memoriam: Corky & Lenny's

All of Cleveland, especially Jewish Cleveland, is in a tzimmes over the shuttering, during Hannukah, of a 67-year-old institution, Corky & Lenny’s. In the past 24 hours, I have seen more social media posts and news stories about this closure than I do about the potential closure of our democracy as we know it if Donald Trump gets reelected next year. 

I had a love/hate relationship with Corky’s, as those in the know referred to it. The place was sometimes downright dirty (it was once shut down by the Board of Health), the staff preternaturally disgruntled, and the food mediocre except for core Jewish fare of Nova lox, corned beef, and matzo ball or mish-mosh soup. But bringing home a container of that soup was a necessity any time someone got a cold. 

How they do it in New York

I am a passionate devotee of Jewish food even if I’m not a very good Jew, as tomorrow’s regularly scheduled post will show. I have memories of lining up to eat at Corky’s with my parents going back to the ’60s. Even when I discovered far better delis in New York (Katz’s, the Stage, and the Carnegie) and learned the difference between a Jewish deli and an appetizing store, I retained a certain affection for the place that introduced me to all that mishegoss.

The last few times I sat at Corky's with Joe I felt resentful – that there was nowhere better to eat, that the food was only so-so, that the place and the people who worked there were so depressing and depressed. They even started rationing the pickles that once overflowed in glistening metal bowls. 

Corky’s owner is not ruling out a comeback on a smaller scale. For my money, all they need to succeed is soup, Nova, some bagels, rye bread, and corned beef. The rest of the menu was for the birds anyway – the old birds who ate there every day. 

Those alta cockers are sure to be more than a little farmisht next time they’re looking for a decent nosh. While there are other places to get matzo ball soup to nurse our wounded souls, they won’t be Corky’s.