Hellman Remembers the Deli
Written & Narrated by CharlesRammelkamp
Maryland
Hellman Remembers the Deli
Even though I arrived early
for the book-signing at Barnes and Noble
I still had to stand forever in line
to get Levinson’s autograph in his new novel,
while the doddering yentas in front of me
yammered their memories at him.
But, I remembered, dutifully waiting my turn,
they’d made the best shrimp salad sandwiches
at the deli across from the diner
Barry based his movie and book on,
Mandell and Ballow’s Deli
in the Hilltop Shopping Center –
so much better than that diner!
Those sandwiches melted in your mouth,
thick and creamy,
with that soft crunchiness
you get with fresh shrimp,
curled like cashews in the dense sauce,
on thick beds of wheat or rye.
When I got my license,
my mother let me drive over
to get us a couple ninety-cent sandwiches;
it felt as if she were treating me
to an afternoon at a whorehouse:
such an extravagance; self-indulgent
pleasures to make you feel sinful —
not that eating shellfish
made us feel any more guilty
than the bacon we had for breakfast
Saturday mornings.
When I asked Barry about the deli,
dutifully waiting my turn in line,
he said he always went to the Hilltop Diner
because you went to Mandell and Ballow’s
only if you had a date.