man in Houston,
in a scene from
Deli Man.
The Deli Man Cometh
A new film serves
up more than 160
years of Jewish
deli tradition —
and the fans
who keep hot
Davis auditioned with Bob Dylan's "l Shall Be Released."
pastrami hot.
grandfather's generation. He is
possessed of that delightful mix-
ture of personal warmth and
sardonic humor that seems to
run in the business.
"I was born into it:' he says
proudly. "It's a warm, friendly
environment. You wanted to
come to work. Work is fun."
One of the serendipitous
aspects of Deli Man is that
Gruber's unquenchable zest for
the restaurant and its denizens
becomes an important part of
that "narrative turbine." We
watch him shmooze with cus-
tomers and staff in his Houston
0
place, Kenny and Ziggy's —
arguably one of the best delis
in the U.S. — see him hang out 8
with his girlfriend, even see his
wedding in Hungary.
The film is chock full of his-
torical material on the develop-
ment of the deli in America.
A full-bodied dill pickle, spicy
brown mustard with grain, a
blintz that melts in your mouth
and a crumbling cut of corned
beef steeped in its juices are
among the recipes that came
from Hungary Poland, Russia
and Romania and flowed onto
the tables of iconic New York
delis such as Katz's, 2nd Avenue
Deli, Carnegie and the Stage —
and into 19th- and 20th-century
American culture.
Throughout the film, Ziggy
preaches a gospel of joyous hard
work, secure in the belief that,
as he says on this afternoon in
New York, "If you run the busi-
ness right, you will prosper and
do well."
On the other hand, he admits,
"You have to work 90 hours a
week."
He recalls many colleagues
saying to him, `"I don't want to
kill myself like my parents did:
but it depends on the person. It's
a very physical business."
Gruber has no doubt that "I
will die behind the counter,"
adding, "I have no hobbies.
I don't know what I'd do if I
wasn't working."
Anjou adds, "His hobby is he
goes to other restaurants."
Ziggy quickly counters,
"You're never done learning.
Maybe they're doing something
we aren't; I'm not God, I don't
know everything."
0
George Robinson
Special to the
Jewish News
Nor
were you?
A: I got to go home for a while,
to Traverse City.
Q: What is the week like on the
show?
A: Things happen quickly. You
get a song, rehearse with the
band, meet with your coach, do
wardrobe stuff and work with a
separate vocal coach. We're work-
ing very hard. But there's still
time to hang out.
Q: I don't want to jinx you,
but what happens if you don't
win?
A: This thing has been such a
surprise and shock to me, and
I'm grateful for the opportunity.
It's been wonderful. The Voice
may make my life easier and bet-
ter for my family. I've learned a
lot already from the show and the
other contestants.
❑
The Voice airs Mondays
and Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
on NBC.
rik Greenberg Anjou,
a genial man with a
growing filmography
of Jewish-themed nonfiction
films including A Cantor's
Tale and The Klezmatics: On
Holy Ground, is sitting in
Ben's Kosher Delicatessen
Restaurant, an enormous palace
of pastrami in New York City's
Times Square area, talking
about his most recent film,
Deli Man, which opens at the
Maple Theater in Bloomfield
Township March 20.
"The film needed a hero,"
he declares, then looks happily
to his right at Ziggy Gruber,
the 45-year-old Houston res-
tauranteur who ably filled that
cinematic niche. Anjou smiles
and adds, "Ziggy's journey was
always central to me, the con-
glomeration of his journey as
a delicatessen guy, a Jew and a
marl. You couldn't have created
anyone better [for the film]."
Gruber, who was raised a
New York Jew, is a third-gen-
eration deli man (and Yiddish-
speaking French-trained chef).
He virtually grew up in his
grandfather's deli, the Rialto
on Broadway, where he hung
out with the deli men of his
JN
-10
Jerry Stiller and director Erik
Greenberg Anjou on set.
Anjou had been drawn to the
idea of a film about the dimin-
ishing world of the Jewish deli
after reading David Sax's book,
Save the Deli, and meeting
Ziggy while he was in Houston
for a screening of his 2010 film
portrait of the Klezmatics.
"I'm always looking for inter-
esting Jewish stories:' the film-
maker says. "I knew from day
one that this would be my next
project."
❑
Deli Man, directed
and written by Erik
Greenberg Anjou, opens
Friday, March 20, at
the Maple Theater in
Bloomfield Township
(248-750-1030;
themapletheater.com ).
March 19 • 2015
47