“I’ll Have What She’s Having” A Jewish Deli Story at Skirball Cultural Center

The Skirball Cultural Center presents “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli now through Sept. 18, 2022. It’s an exhibit that explores how American Jews arrived to America with their traditions, and adapted them to their culture by building a community through food. They combined Central and Eastern European dishes with ingredients available in the United States. Delicatessen is the German word that translates to ‘a place to find delicious things to eat.’

The name of the exhibit comes from the 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally” an enduring romantic comedy starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. It’s a story about friendship that turns into love by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. During an argument, Ryan bickers over relationships and sex, mocking an ecstatic moan over her deli sandwich. The commotion stops all conversation at the deli and provokes one of the diners to exclaim “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Fun Fact: The woman who recites this line is Reiner’s mother.

Food of Immigration

Between 1880 to 1934, more than two million Jewish immigrants made homes in the United States. The emergence of delis can be traced to Jews from Rhineland. to New York City.  Jews fry, Eastern Europe and the Russian empire arrive through the early 20th century. “The story of the Jewish delicatessen is as much about immigration as it is about food,” remarked Thurston, “so we open the exhibition with a close look at how the influx of Jewish immigrants to New York City in the mid-nineteenth century meant that regional Central and European foods such as pickles, knishes, gefilte fish, borscht, and rugelach came to be served under one roof. This created an appetite for the mixed cuisine that we now know and love as Jewish deli.” Meanwhile, an increase in America’s beef consumption was a modern dietary development that opened up market opportunities for Jewish entrepreneurs. On view in this first section are artifacts from the Skirball Museum collection, such as candlesticks, knives, suitcases, passports, and textiles that were brought by Jews at the turn of the twentieth century with their hopes, dreams, and food ways.

The exhibition traces the Jewish experience in the US during the twentieth century. On view will be neon signs, menus, advertisements, fixtures, historical footage, film and television clips, and artifacts that illuminate how delicatessens evolved from specialty stores catering to immigrant populations into the beloved national institutions they are today. Candlesticks from the late 19th to early 20th century are on display. They are an important part of Jewish religion and family. Candlesticks could fit into a suitcase easily and helped to maintain tradition in America.

“This exhibition exemplifies the Skirball Cultural Center’s twenty-five-year tradition of sharing distinctly Jewish histories that represent quintessentially American experiences. The deli was a place of gathering and familiarity for immigrant Jews, maintaining connection to the tastes and customs of the kitchens they left behind and paving the way forward into new communities and identity,” said Skirball President and CEO Jessie Kornberg. “More broadly, the deli has since become a touchstone of American culture, born in New York, but integral to countless communities nationwide, including Los Angeles, home of some of the country’s and cuisine’s most enduring and iconic institutions. It’s a joy to be able to reflect on this chapter of Jewish American immigrant history.” 

The Food

See on display hot matzo ball soup, pastrami on rye with coleslaw and a pickle, and other fun Jewish deli food. Learn what makes a bagel and lox a favorite, and why herring was a mainstay of the Eastern European Jewish diet. There is a “Yiddishisms” display educating visitors the meaning of chutzpah to nosh to verklempt. Yiddish is the mother tongue of newcomers from Central and Eastern Europe that subsequently emerged as the language of deli.

Mid-Century Heyday

This section focuses on the mid-twentieth century when the American Jewish community starts opening delis. New York remained the epicenter of the Jewish deli culture, yet others opened around the country. Delis attracted a wider clientele, and menus started including local favorites, such as cinnamon rolls and rice and beans. Landmark Carnegie Delicatessen and Lindy’s Restaurant in New York’s Theater District attracted theater patrons. Mid-century matchbooks from LA’s now-closed Junior’s Restaurant in Westwood and Solley’s Restaurant and Delicatessen in the San Fernando Valley are on display with others. 

No Substitutions

This area in the exhibit displays and tells the story about the people who own and work at delis. Vintage uniforms and implements from classic LA delis Factor’s, Canter’s, and Nate n’ Al’s, alongside photographs and video interviews help share the stories of the people behind the food. Visitors are invited to write down their own go-to deli food or favorite deli memory and pin it up on a restaurant-style order line.

Who’s at the Table?

Visitors can also view snapshots of political candidates from across the aisle stopping at delis on the campaign trail, including Senator Ted Cruz at Shapiro’s Delicatessen in Indianapolis and President Barack Obama at LA’s Canter’s Deli.

Survivor Communities

For many of the four hundred thousand Holocaust survivors and refugees who rebuilt their lives in the United States, delis were a lifeline as they acclimated to a new country. Laura Mart explains, “Delicatessens provided a livelihood and a purpose for the immigrants who became owners, waiters, cooks, and customers. One such business was Drexler’s Deli in North Hollywood, which was owned and operated by Rena Drexler, a survivor of Auschwitz, and her husband, Harry. For them, the deli was a place to give sustenance and a sense of togetherness to the Orthodox Jewish community that grew up around it. We are honored to display the stunning original neon sign that brightened the entrance to their much-beloved deli.” Also the beloved Canter’s Deli on Fairfax Ave.

Pop Culture on Rye

So many television shows include deli’s in their storyline including Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and film classics like When Harry Met Sally (1989) and At War with the Army (1950).

After this exhibit leaves Skirball, “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli will tour the country, and be on view at the New York Historical Society from November 11, 2022 through April 2, 2023. Then it moves to the Holocaust Museum, Houston, Texas, from May 4 through August 13, 2023, and the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, Illinois, from October 22, 2023 through April 14, 2024.