Come for the 5th annual Planting Party!

September 22nd 2012

and stop in at

MORT'S DELICATESSEN

for lunch.

Envision the main artery of Golden Valley—Hwy 55, or Olson Memorial Highway— as a lilac-lined thoroughfare.

Golden Valley’s Envision Connection Project Bridge Builders has teamed up with the City of Golden Valley and the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Community Roadside Landscaping Partnership Program to implement a vision of lilacs, shrubs, and flowers along the sides of Hwy 55 through Golden Valley.

For four years citizen volunteers have come together to plant lilacs in the right-of-way of Hwy 55. The vision of the Lilac Project is to continue until the expanse from Wirth Parkway to Hwy 169 is planted.

More People Choosing Kosher For Health Reasons

An ancient diet has become one of the hottest new food trends.

A growing number of supermarket shoppers are going kosher — not for religious reasons, but because they are convinced the foods are safer and better for health.
Kosher foods, which must meet a number of dietary and processing rules to comply with traditional Jewish law, are the fastest growing ethnic cuisine, reports the market research firm Mintel. Sales of kosher foods reached $12.5 billion in 2008, an increase of 64 percent since 2003.

Reflecting the growing interest, Manischewitz, a major kosher food company, held a kosher cook off last month in Manhattan. It featured five chefs from around the country who prepared dishes with the most traditional of kosher-recipe ingredients: chicken broth.
Four of the chefs do not keep kosher but look for certain kosher products in the supermarket. One of those is Julie DeMatteo, a 68-year-old grandmother from Clementon, N.J., who is not Jewish but regularly shops for kosher foods. She believes they are more closely monitored during their processing and “more consistent in taste,” she said.

According to the market research survey, 62 percent of people who buy kosher foods do so for quality reasons, while 51 percent say they buy kosher for its “general healthfulness.” About one-third say they buy kosher because they think food safety standards are better than with traditional supermarket foods. Only 15 percent of respondents say they buy kosher food because of religious rules.

“We see consumers looking for a convergence of ethics, supervision and quality to general health and wellness,” said David Yale, chief executive of Manischewitz.

keep reading at the NY Times

What is Kosher Food?

Answer: Kosher food is food prepared in accordance with Jewish Dietary Laws.

In their most "biblical" form, Jewish Dietary Laws state:

Pork, rabbit, eagle, owl, catfish, sturgeon, and any shellfish, insect or reptile are non-kosher.
Other species of meat and fowl must be slaughtered in a prescribed manner to be kosher.
Meat and dairy products may not be made or consumed together.

A kosher food that is processed or cooked together with a non-kosher food, or any derivative of a non-kosher food, becomes non-kosher. For example, food coloring derived from a shellfish and used in a cake makes the cake non-kosher.

While Jewish Dietary Laws originated in the Bible (Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 17), they have been codified and interpreted over the centuries by rabbinical authorities.

Likewise, definitions of kosher have evolved in response to changes in the food industry, the Jewish People, and world culture.

Due to the growing complexity of foodstuffs, the need arose for kosher certifying agencies to determine the kosher status of prepared food. Today kosher certification labels are printed on the packages of kosher food.

As Jews lived in and adopted food traditions from different countries around the world and as different denominations of Judaism developed, Jewish definitions of kosher have become more varied over time. There are different Jewish ethnic cultures, different branches within Judaism, and various Jewish kosher certifying authorities in the United States that certify "kosher" based on rules that vary from liberal to conservative.

Furthermore, in recent times gentiles have become more interested in kosher food. Muslims, who account for 16 percent of the $100 billion-a-year U.S. kosher market, may buy a kosher food product because it fits the Quran's dietary laws of Halal. And people who are health-conscious may purchase something kosher because they believe it is healthier and safer as a result of the extra supervision. Various religious, cultural, health and quality reasons spark their interest in and color their definitions of kosher.

Don't Forget to Vote for Us!

Market in the Valley

Golden Valley Sunday Farmers' Market

7800 Golden Valley Rd (under the watertower)

This week at the market

"Ask the Mayor" Booth

Got questions for the leader of the city? Come out and meet Golden Valley Mayor Shep Harris

Craig the Magnificent

the amazing juggling, stilt-walking, balloon animal making magician

Mort's Deli—it ain't chopped liver

A classic Jewish deli comes to Golden Valley

By James Norton

Mort's Meat Platter ($14.99) deserves to be a modern legend, a fairy tale that will send carnivorous children to bed with visions of red meat dancing in their heads, or a cautionary fable that will scare little vegetarians into persistent insomnia. It is stupid big. Your stomach will contract in fear when you gaze at the vast expanse of flesh that sprawls across the plate. There is corned beef and brisket. There is a stack of sliced salami. There is—why not?—pastrami, and a baseball-sized lump of chopped liver. There's also enough bread for at least four reasonably sized sandwiches.

This monstrosity can be found at Mort's Delicatessen, a new arrival in Golden Valley. Mort's—which takes the trouble to import its bagels from H&H and its cheesecake from New York City's Carnegie Deli—means business.

A deli counter up front offers cuts of meat, Dr. Brown's sodas, sliced desserts, and various pickled items for those who want takeout; in-house diners get to sit in comfy booths and steel themselves for the carnal pleasures that await.

Freshly founded, Mort's lacks the patina of age and cheerful, acid-lined weariness that colors many of its East Coast brethren. But its heart certainly is in the right place. Meals at Mort's start with a plate of traditional deli pickles, perfect pickled beets, and pickled tomatoes that are a pleasant blend of sweet, sour, and mildly acidic flavors. A solid follow-up is a cup of the matzo ball soup ($3.50), a straight-down-the-middle rendition of the classic. It's a little light on schmaltz, and the matzo ball is of the dense-n-chewy variety, which may very well be exactly to your taste (few things are as polarizing in the world of American Judaic gastronomy as the "perfect matzo ball soup" question).

Mort's giant menu is a mix of hits and misses, but the former outnumber the latter. Corned beef is an interesting variant on the typical tender mass of little pieces familiar to deli fans; Mort's serves up big, long slices that are a little tougher and adorned with a blackened exterior that evokes BBQ more readily than rye bread. Different isn't bad, however; the stuff packs a lot of flavor and fat. The salami is awesome; it's shockingly pliable, mellow and mild with just a hint of spicy kick. The brisket tasted underpowered and a little washed out, but the equally mild pastrami had a buttery edge that made for good eating. Chopped liver seemed to err on the side of spinelessly underflavored, which may please those who want their creamy internal organs to be unassuming.

Fans of cardiac procedures should sample the restaurant's egg-dipped turkey club ($13.59), which is essentially a bunch of corned beef and turkey meat jammed between two slices of French toast. This is a hell of a sensuous sandwich. If you've got psychological issues that entangle the pleasure of naughty food with the shame of illicit sex, this is either the main thing to avoid or the best thing to order. Use your own judgment.
One final word of advice: End your meal with the gorgeously executed cheesecake ($5.29), which comes in iceberg-sized slices and is neither overly sweet nor disgustingly tacky and sticky. Just make sure to share it with a friend.

Copyright: http://www.citypages.com/2008-12-17/restaurants/mort-s-deli-mdash-it-ain-t-chopped-liver/

3rd Sunday Cruise-In

http://www.7hicruisers.com/calendar/Morts3rdSunday2012.jpg

Famous Quote by Mark Twain

"Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."

--Mark Twain

Source: Jill Lewis/Heavy Table

What is Kreplach?

Kreplach are small pasta dough triangles filled with ground meat or mashed potatoes. Similar to dumplings, they are sometimes called Jewish ravioli or Jewish wonton. Sometimes kreplach is boiled and served in soup. Other times kreplach is fried and served as a side dish. It is customary to eat kreplach before the Yom Kippur fast, on the last day of Sukkot, and on Purim.

Box Lunch Menu

Need to order lunch for a meeting or an event at the office?

Check out our boxed lunch menu for all your lunch time favorites.

History of Golden Valley

The Village of Golden Valley was incorporated Dec 16, 1886. During its early years, Golden Valley was an agricultural community of only a few hundred residents, full of farms, mills, and dairies. Residential development began after the Electric Luce Line Railroad was cut through the village in 1912.

Between 1910 and 1940, Golden Valley's population increased from 692 to 2,040. More residential development followed industry's discovery of Golden Valley after World War II, and the village continued to grow. It became a city in 1972.

A video history of Golden Valley ("Celebrate Golden Valley"), produced in 2003 by Curtis Laine of Studio 23, is available for purchase through the Golden Valley Historical Society.

Was it daffodils or wheat? The story of how Golden Valley got its name has several variations; however, references to grain outnumber those to wildflowers.

The most recent explanation, published in 1986, cites daffodils as the inspiration. According to Golden Valley: A History of a Minnesota City, 1886-1986, the city was named by William Varner, one of the area's first settlers. Upon arriving at St Anthony Falls in 1854, Varner headed west to find a home site and eventually came upon "a hill so high that he thought it was a mountain. He climbed the hill and looking down he could see the whole valley lush and green dotted with golden daffodils. In the distance he could see a lake shining in the sunlight and he said, 'This is my valley, my Golden Valley.' " That hill, now much eroded by nature and humans, is currently home to the Golden Valley Country Club.

Backtrack to May 29, 1958. An unattributed article in the Suburban Press claimed the name Golden Valley "came about because of the yellow of the cowslips, goldenrod, and sunflowers which covered the hills in 1852 when the first pioneers settled in the valley." As soon as he read that article, 75-year-old Robert Moser, lifelong resident and son of early homesteader Carl Moser, called the paper to set the record straight. He said "it was wheat, acres of it glimmering in a summer sun, that put the word 'golden' in Golden Valley."

Read More: http://www.goldenvalleymn.gov/about/history.php

Mazel Tov to Muhammad Ali's Grandson on His Bar Mitzvah

By Jeffrey GoldbergJun 6 2012, 8:32 AM ET

This is pretty awesome. From the Philadelphia Daily News (h/t Jack Shafer):

Muhammad Ali was in town last November for the funeral of Smokin' Joe Frazier, but it turns out the boxing legend was back in the area on April 28 for the bar mitzvah of his grandson Jacob Wertheimer at Rodeph Shalom on North Broad Street.

Khaliah Ali-Wertheimer, Jacob's mother, told Ali biographer Thomas Hauser that though her father raised his children Muslim, he was "supportive in every way. He followed everything and looked at the Torah very closely."

"It meant a lot to Jacob that he was there," she told Hauser, who reported on the bar mitzvah at TheSweetScience.com.

"I was born and raised as a Muslim," Khaliah said, "but I'm not into organized religion. I'm more spiritual than religious. My husband is Jewish. No one put any pressure on Jacob to believe one way or another. He chose this on his own because he felt a kinship with Judaism and Jewish culture." Her husband is attorney Spencer Wertheimer.

UPDATE: In true passive-aggressive Jewish tradition, stalwart Goldblog reader Marc Syken writes in to say: "My son was also bar mitzvahed at Rodeph Shalom, yet no mention in your blog - what am I, the invisible man or something?"

So: a belated Mazel Tov to Nate Syken, on his Bar Mitzvah at Rodeph Shalom.

Copyright: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/06/mazel-tov-to-muhammad-alis-grandson-on-his-bar-mitzvah/258155/

Golden Valley's 125th Anniversary

Golden Valley was incorporated as village Dec 16, 1886. The community celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2011 with a series of events planned and implemented by citizen volunteers, and many existing community activities were embellished to include an anniversary component.

Planning began in September 2010 with a Bridge Builder’s group that met to discuss possibilities. From there the 125th Anniversary Planning Team was formed to plan events and activities for the year, ending Dec 2, 2011 with a 125th Anniversary Commemorative Luncheon at the Golden Valley Golf and Country Club.

The commemorative luncheon program included recognition of Golden Valley Hall of Fame nominees, display of time capsule contents, a celebration of the year's activities, and more. Emcee was Rena Sarigianopoulous, KARE 11 TV. Keynote speaker was Minnesota State Demographer Tom Gillaspy, who presented "The Future of Golden Valley."

More than 300 people attended the event, which was hosted by the Golden Valley Rotary, Golden Valley 125th Anniversary Team, and Golden Valley Golf & Country Club.

Copyright: http://www.goldenvalleymn.gov/events/125/index.php

May 12, 2011 | By Melissa Jordan-Reilly

Health Benefits of Borscht — Photo Credit Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images

Like many so-called peasant foods, borscht bursts with nutrients yet costs pennies per serving. The beet soup hails from Eastern Europe and is at least 500 years old. At its simplest, borscht is little more than grated beets cooked with water and seasonings and served chilled. But recipe variations are endless. Because all versions rely on beets as their main ingredient, the red vegetable guarantees plenty of vitamins and minerals, whether you make hot or cold borscht.

Vitamins

A 1/2-cup serving of borscht offers 8 percent of the recommended daily allowance, or RDA, of vitamin C, according to the American Diabetes Association. It also contributes 2 percent of your RDA for vitamin A. Vitamins A and C are both crucial antioxidant vitamins, which helps you fend off illness and the affects of pollution and aging. Borscht also gives you 6 percent of the folate you need for the day and 1 percent RDA for vitamin B-12. Folate, a B vitamin, is crucial to fetal development, and pregnant women are encouraged to increase their intake of the vitamin. Both folate and B-12 help your body turn food into fuel and support red blood cell production, which bolsters your energy and mood.

Minerals

Borscht contributes 4 percent of your RDA for potassium. The colorful soup also provides 3 percent of your RDA for phosphorus and 2 percent RDA for iron, calcium and magnesium. Potassium and magnesium support proper muscle and nerve production, which helps stave off cramping and weakness. Iron prevents anemia and overall fatigue and weakness. Calcium is crucial to bone and dental health.

Fat, Calories and Carbohydrates

Serve borscht as a way of packing a colorful, antioxidant-rich dish into your meal without undermining your health goals. Borscht contains only 39 calories and 1.2 g saturated fat per serving. The beet soup also is low in carbohydrates, at 4 g per serving. Borscht counts as one starchy vegetable serving for those who need to watch their starches and carbs.

Method

Recipes for borscht vary, but the classic summer soup method involves boiling grated or julienned beets in water or stock until they are tender, then chilling the soup. Some winter recipes for warm borscht call for potatoes, beef or dried fruit. Avoid these versions if you are on a low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet.

Tips

Keep the sugar to a minimum when making borscht. Use low-sodium chicken stock or water, rather than high-sodium prepared stocks. While regular sour cream is a classic borscht garnish, make your meal healthier by replacing it with plain yogurt or nonfat sour cream. Add flavor and nutrients by topping the soup with traditional chopped pickles, dill, scallions or celery. If you're not watching your starches, bolster the soup's nutritional content by adding a traditional boiled potato to the soup.

References

Knish

A classic potato knish

A knish (

/ˈknɪʃ/) or knysh is an Eastern European,^[1] and Jewish snack food made popular in America by Jewish immigrants, eaten widely by Jewish and non-Jewish people.^{[citation needed]}

History

Jewish immigrants who arrived from Ukraine sometime around 1900 brought knishes to America.^[2] Knish is a Yiddish word that was derived from the Ukrainian "knysh",^[3]^[4] meaning "a kind of bun." It is a baked or fried dumpling made of flaky dough with filling. The first knish bakery was founded in New York in 1910."^[5]

A knish consists of a filling covered with dough that is either baked, grilled, or deep fried. Knishes can be purchased from street vendors in urban areas with a large Jewish population, sometimes at a hot dog stand, or from a nearby butcher shop.

In the most traditional versions, the filling is made entirely of mashed potato, ground meat, sauerkraut, onions, kasha (buckwheat groats) or cheese. Other varieties of fillings feature sweet potatoes, black beans, fruit, broccoli, tofu or spinach.

Many cultures have variations on baked, grilled, or fried dough-covered snacks similar to the knish: the Cornish pasty, the Scottish Bridie, the Jamaican patty, the Spanish and Latin American empanada, the Portuguese rissole, the Italian calzone, the South Asian samosa, the Polish pierogi, the Russian Pirozhki, the Ukrainian Pyrizhky and the Middle Eastern fatayer.

Knishes may be round, rectangular or square. They may be entirely covered in dough or some of the filling may peek out of the top. Sizes range from those that can be eaten in a single bite hors d'oeuvre to sandwich-sized.

Copyright: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knish

Mort's Deli... a taste of New York in the heart of Golden Valley

Craving an authentic New York Style Jewish deli sandwich, but where to go in the Twin Cities? After the Lincoln Del closed in 2000 there was a void until Mort's Delicatessen opened in Golden Valley in 2008. With corned beef and pastrami piled high just like at New York's famous Carnegie Deli, now you can once again eat your heart out!

Family owned and operated, enjoy looking at the wall of family photos... love the complimentary plate of pickles served at your table (same as at the Carnegie in NYC)... and be ready to take some home for another meal (sandwiches are huge)! Did I mention they go through more than 1,000 pounds of corned beef a day?!

Copyright: http://www.homesmsprealestateblog.com/2012/02/morts-deli-a-taste-of-new-york-in-the-heart-of-golden-valley.html

Mort's Deli

The Twin Cities’ newest Jewish deli packs them in, New York style

BY Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl

Photo by Todd Buchanan

Remember the two Lincoln Dels, the suburbs’ most glorious Jewish delis? They closed in 2000, not for lack of customers but to cash in on some achingly valuable land. Why do I bring up the Dels? Because I have now waited in line with seemingly every single one of their old customers at the new Mort’s Deli in Golden Valley. Seriously, if you want to eat at Mort’s, bring a book, preferably something about New York and comically fatalistic, like Woody Allen’s Without Feathers. Because: Oy.

The corned beef and pastrami? Impeccable. Sourced directly from one of New York City’s few remaining classic delis, the Carnegie, each sandwich arrives filled with perfectly steamed, perfectly fat meat (not lean, there’s no point to lean corned beef: that would be like getting a lean cream puff; either get it or skip it). It’s perfectly stacked a mile high on perfectly moist and chewy rye bread. Mort’s also offers the most ideal possible starter: A complimentary plate of the same pickles the Carnegie Deli serves in New York. Add one of the Carnegie’s tender, pastry-wrapped, subtly oniony knishes and you’ve attained Jewish deli heaven, which is why Mort’s is currently going through 1,100 pounds of corned beef a day. No, that’s not a typo. “Semis are coming in twice a day,” says manager Corey Bloom. “We’re scrambling to keep up. If we open another location, we’ll need a bigger kitchen.”

Another location, already? Yes, it’s that good. Well, not all of it is. The potato pancakes tasted like mere hash browns and crumbled on the fork. The kasha varnishkes were overcooked, and the kreplach forgettable. If you don’t know what those dishes are, don’t worry about it. I do know—and I didn’t care. At all. I didn’t even mind that the service was distracted and forgetful. It was kind of nice, actually. It reminded me of New York. Want to be reminded of New York and the dear departed Lincoln Dels, too? Bring a book, and order the pastrami.

Copyright: http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/February-2009/Morts-Deli/

Who is Mort of Mort's Delicatessen

Mort with his 5 great grandchildren.
Mort is not only the name and inspiration, but truly the heart of our
family's Delicatessen.

He is our dad, our Zade (Yiddish for grandpa) our Great Zade and every
person that meets him, a friend. A man who is living the "American
Dream" and has successfully taught his offspring to do the same.

Born Morton Rueben Bloom on May 25th 1927 in a small town in
Skaudvile, Lithuania.

Come in to Mort's on St. Patrick's Day
we will have our special
Corned Beef and Cabbage!

After 4pm, Dine in only

Mondays-    Kids now eat free with each paid adult
Tuesdays-    Our famous Reuben Sandwich, only 6.99
Wednesdays-   Kentucky Hot Browns, only 6.99
Thursdays- Liver and Onions, only 5.99
Fridays-    All You can eat Fish & Chips, 10.99

And Mondays thru Thursdays, our popular
1/2 sandwich and cup of soup, only 7.99

***Daily Specials not valid with any other offers***

About Our Company

Mort's Delicatessen is a popular Golden Valley establishment featuring numerous deli items, special boxed lunches and a catering menu. Aside from the traditional deli cuisine, Mort's serves chicken wings, fried mac and cheese wedges, fish, salads and more. This locally owned and operated restaurant sits on Winnetka Avenue and is open seven days a week.