Monday, April 21, 2008

Can a Bay Area Brother Get some Matzoh???


Most area stores in the Bay Area, from the local neighborhood markets to the likes of Whole Foods, are completely sold out of matzoh. This apparently happened as of Saturday (the day prior to night one of the Passover holiday). What the fuck??!

I'm not the most observant Jew. I am not a regular synagogue goer. Read this blog and the occasional pork reference will surface. Nonetheless, there are certain traditions I uphold, and one of them involves keeping Passover, more or less. No bread, no pasta, no pie, no cake. I don't take it to what I believe are ridiculous extremes due to custom and rabbinical interpretations over the years (i.e., no beer because it has barley, nothing sweetened with fructose, no rice unless you are a sephardic Jew). I generally have matzoh everyday during Passover: with butter; peanut butter; olive oil and zatar; hummus; scrambled eggs; and definitely with tomato paste, melted cheese and a secret blend of seasonings as matzoh pizza.

Who is to blame for the shortage? There are a few theories. I'm not buying into these. Manischevitz ain't the only game in town. Buyers need to plan ahead, do their homework and adjust as necessary. So I will now have to add matzoh to the growing list of foods which the Bay Area is apparently incapable of providing: bagels; deli; pizza; fine dining (and casual) authentic italian. Let me know if I left out anything.

Suffice it to say, I am unlikely to buy Manischevitz products anytime soon, or any Passover products from Whole Foods in the future. From now on, it's Streitz, straight up.