Jews and Chinese food have a long and delicious history

‘ ‘ ‘ Christmas is one of the best times of the year, no matter your religion. ‘ ‘ ‘ After… ‘ ‘ ‘ Christmas is one of the best times of the year, no matter your religion. ‘ ‘ ‘ After the presents are bought, most families put away their wallets and go home together. They sit around the fire, relaxing and enjoying one another’s company. After about 10 minutes of that, the eggnog comes out during one of Uncle George’s onerous and long-winded speeches about walking to school in the snow, without shoes, uphill both ways.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Jews, on the other hand, have a little plum wine at their local Chinese restaurant. ‘ ‘ ‘ There are two traditions in my family on Christmas. First, because Santa is a nondiscriminatory gift-giver, he dutifully comes to my house every year, bringing the new socks that I need and, on occasion, a deodorant stick with a thinly veiled hint to use it. Second, when Christmas comes to town, my family goes out for Chinese ‘mdash; along with seemingly every other Jew in the world. ‘ ‘ ‘ When Jews first came to the United States, the melting pot hadn’t quite melted. Jewish neighborhoods coincided with Little Italy and Chinatown. Italian food, with its blatant combinations of meat and cheese, was out of reach for many Jews. Chinese food, on the other hand, far from being as porky as it is now, was often vegetarian. Lo Mein never included shrimp, just vegetables ‘mdash; meat is an American addition. Jewish immigrants dined in Chinatown not only because it was cheap, but also because it was a safe place in an often hostile world. It was a relationship based on need. ‘ ‘ ‘ Now, the symbiotic relationship is so strong that many Jews cannot live more than a 20-minute drive from good Chinese. We just cannot survive. However, in today’s world, where Jews live and work in all parts of society, Chinese food is no longer a staple of necessity, but rather one of love.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Susie Sheldon, Hillel’s Pitt Program Director of Jewish Student Life, explained, ‘[We eat] Chinese food pretty regularly. It’s not that unusual to do it on Christmas ‘mdash; we do it all the time, but on Christmas, it is tradition.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ During Christmas time, when families are inside watching the snow fall, eating Christmas cookies and spending time together, Jews are out celebrating the festival of immediate seating. Long lines are for the rest of the year, but on Christmas, the only people in the movie theater are the Cohens from up the street and the Rosenblatts from Sunday school.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Jewish community moves out of the synagogue and into Chinese restaurants. Junior Amanda Cohen went out this past Christmas Eve. ‘We saw a lot of people that we know. You know, the Jewish community is only so big, so even if you don’t know that one person, chances are that you both have a mutual friend.’ It’s six degrees of separation. ‘ ‘ ‘ No lines for movies, no lines for Chinese food ‘mdash; the only two places open for Jews to patronize.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ So, after seeing the latest Christmas movie matinee, Jews gather up their kin and get down to dumplin’ town. ‘ ‘ ‘ For a lot of Jews, getting on your mu shu is easy. Get on the subway and head down to Canal Street in New York City, or head to any other major city’s Chinatown. Yet, for Jews not so close to major metropolitan centers, finding a great Chinese restaurant can be tantamount to finding the messiah.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The problem isn’t finding one that is open ‘mdash; that’s usually easy. Rather, the problem is finding one with the requisite dishes and atmosphere. But fear not, The Pitt News’ guide to good Chinese is here for you.