New York's Lower East Side has been a gateway for immigrant groups to the United States for more than a century. No group has left its impression here more than the Jewish immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe who lived here from the early 20th century until the 1960s. This walking tour of the Lower East Side focuses on the area's Jewish culture and, specifically, Jewish cuisine.
In the company of an expert in Jewish cuisine who has written extensively about various elements of Jewish culinary history, we will visit the great landmarks of the Lower East Side including the eateries on Houston Street (Yona Shimmel's, Russ & Daughters, Katz's) as well as a number of hidden-away spots where Jewish culinary traditions provide a window on the neighborhood's history. We'll sample bialys, pickles, and, depending on the day, stroll through one of the city's best covered markets.
The seminar will also look at Jewish culture and politics. We'll pass by some of the city's oldest synagogues, including the oldest Russian Orthodox synagogue in the U.S. Our perambulations will also carry us past the Forward newspaper's headquarters, a major site in the history of American socialism.
In the end, we'll emerge sated with some of the best food in the city and a deeper sense of the cultural legacy of Jews in New York over the past century.