Last night was worth the decade+ wait! Over 500 people in attendance. A fantastic panel. Egg creams. Sold and signed around 50 books. Great friends in attendance. What a night! Oh, and I got to sit on a throne of siphons! What more could you ask for?
But I get ahead of myself. The evening event was held at Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in NYC. It was on Oct 30, 2018, just a few days after the anti-semitic attacks in Pittsburgh (which we reference in the beginning). Nonetheless, it was a wonderful gathering, with over 500 people in attendance.
Below is the description from the original web page promoting it:
Decades before Americans bought trendy sparkling water in San Pellegrino bottles or La Croix cans, New York Jews were drinking seltzer that fizzed straight out of etched-glass spritz bottles set atop pushcarts that lined the streets of Lower Manhattan or were delivered weekly in slatted wooden crates.
It was the Jewish elixir sure to cure all ills, from fevers to headaches and upset stomachs, even more miraculous with a dollop of flavoring that turned it into an egg cream. “An egg cream can do anything,” Mel Brooks famously quipped. “Psychologically, it is the opposite of circumcision. It pleasurably reaffirms your Jewishness.”
Enjoy an effervescent evening with Barry Joseph, author of Seltzertopia: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Drink, Kenny Gomberg, the third-generation owner of Gomberg Seltzer Works in Canarsie and hit cookbook author, Adeena Sussman. And sample the old-fashioned creations at a Gomberg-flavored seltzer and egg cream station!
With:
Alex Gomberg, Vice President of Brooklyn Seltzer Boys. His family owns Gomberg Seltzer Works, Inc., New York City’s last remaining seltzer factory, which has been delivering bottles of fizzy water since 1953.
Barry Joseph, author of Seltzertopia: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Drink. His expertise has been featured by The Wall Street Journal, NPR’s All Things Considered, CBS Morning News, The New York Post and more.
Adeena Sussman, author of the upcoming cookbook Sababa: Fresh Israeli Cooking, the Tahini cookbook, and co-author of the New York Times #1 bestselling Cravings with Chrissy Teigen.
Moderated by Gabriella Gershenson, food writer and editor.
My sister was generous enough to film the whole thing on my camera from the 2nd row. Enjoy!
Now for a photo walk-through of highlights from the evening (view all 42 photos from the evening here):
