By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — At a growing number of restaurants, there’s more to read than the menu. The backs of the wait staff’s shirts can teach you Yiddish at a Jewish deli, or engage in some punnery at two Italian restaurants in the eastern part of San Diego and in Santee.
Watch the servers at DZ Akin’s Delicatessen and even if you don’t speak Yiddish, you’ll be able to interpret this sentence: “Oy vey, that fellow is meshuga coming here supposedly to schmooze, but all he really wants to do is kvetch so much it makes me want to plotz. What chutzpah!”
Below these embroidered words are printed dictionary definitions to help the uninitiated. Chutzpah, for example, is defined as “extreme self-confidence, boldness or audacity.” And kvetch is defined as “to complain constantly.” Meshuga is “foolish,” though others have defined it as “crazy.” Oy vey is an “exclamation of dismay.” Plotz is “to collapse or faint from surprise or exhaustion” and schmooze is “to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner.”
Recently, Nancy and I had dinner at DZ’s with friends Frank Kalmar and his wife Susan Stern. Dr. Kalmar predicted that one day restaurants will start selling shirts like these, or perhaps offer them as premium gifts for people who spend X amount of dollars at their establishments over a period of time.
At Nicolosi’s Italian Restaurant, which recently moved from Navajo Road in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego to Santee, boasts one shirt that causes double takes: “Legalize Marinara!” Another one exclaims “Holy Cannoli!” about the delights of its pizza.
Rosati’s on Mission Gorge Road in the Allied Gardens neighborhood has a shirt that announces, “I got sauced at Rosati’s.”
I’m sure there are other shirts, offering lots of education and fun, at other restaurants around town.
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The Jewish Political Scene
LOCAL — Three elected officials who are members of the Jewish community have endorsed Marni von Wilpert for reelection to the District 5 seat of the San Diego City Council. They are County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, San Diego Councilwoman (District 2) Dr. Jennifer Campbell, and San Diego Unified School District Board Member Shana Hazan.
County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, who announced he will run to replace termed-out State Sen. Toni Atkins in 2024, has been receiving numerous endorsements in the 39th state Sente District. The four Democratic members of San Diego’s congressional delegation, including Jewish Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, have endorsed him, and so have all nine members of the San Diego City Council, including Jewish members Sean Elo-Rivera and Dr. Jennifer Campbell. Additionally Fletcher has won the backing of the mayors of San Diego, La Mesa and Lemon Grove. Jacobs described Feltcheer as “a proven champion for women, the LGBTQ+ community, young people, and working families. … [W]e need fighters like Nathan in the Legislature to continue leading a new generation of change and paving a stronger future for California families.”
CALIFORNIA — Jewish actor Ben Savage, who starred in Boy Meets World, a 1993-2000 television sitcom, has announced he will run for the Burbank-based congressional seat that Rep. Adam Schiff plans to relinquish to run for the U.S. Senate seat from which Dianne Feinstein is retiring. In an Instagram message, Savage, 42, said, “I’m running for Congress because it’s time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative, and compassionate solutions to our country. Feinstein, Schiff, and Savage all are
Democrats. So is Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, who also is considered a likely candidate. A former mayor of Glendale, she, like Savage, has an entertainment industry background. According to Wikipedia, “In 1995, Friedman was the co-producer of the Warner Brothers release It Takes Two. In 1996 she was associate producer of House Arrest; executive producer of Foxfire; executive producer of the family film Zeus and Roxanne; and associate producer of the independent film Aberration, which was released by LIVE Entertainment.”
NATIONAL — The Republican Jewish Coalition has endorsed legislation by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arizona) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado) that would strengthen the Taylor Force Martyr Payment Prevention Act. According to former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) who now is national chairman of the RNC, “Th 2018 Taylor Force Act was a vital step toward ending the Palestinian Authority’s ‘pay-for-slay’ system that incentivizes deadly terrorist attacks against Israelis and Americans. The Cotton/Lamborn bill makes important progress toward that goal by denying access to the U.S. market for financial institutions that facilitate so-called ‘martyr payments.'”
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com