Cherry cheese knishes

One of the pluses of visiting Brooklyn, NY when the kids were growing up was the food! Steve grew up in a high rise close to the Ocean and Coney Island, the Cyclone was right outside his window. Also right outside his window was the point where two elevated train lines converged, one going around a steep turn screeching noisily as it did, sparks flying. The building would shake when these trains went by. So between the carnival rides, the ever present trains, the car alarms, and garbage trucks, this was one noisy place.Two blocks away was the Boardwalk- basically northeast and southwest for 2.5 miles-good for running but the southern half was scary-I would turn around just beyond the remains of the Parachute Jump. I usually just ran to Sheepshead Bay for long runs eventually going along Jamaica Bay for even longer runs.So in Brighton Beach, I was introduced to egg creams (no egg or cream in them),farfel, kasha varniskas, all kinds of smoked fish and cherry cheese knishes. Cherry cheese knishes are 5 inch squares about 2 inches thick weighing more than a pound a piece full of sweetened farmer's cheese. Very rich and tasty.The principal source of these was Mrs. Stahl's Knishes on the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Brighton Beach. It has been gone for 10 years at least. We had found another source near his brother's apartment but when we went there last May, it too was gone. There is a store in Manhattan on the Lower Eastside (hard to get to by car)but they didn't taste as good as the Brooklyn ones. I was doing a search yesterday and found a few sources on Long Island. Right before I going to see how far those were from Steve, I found a place less than a mile away from where he is currently staying. Score!! So tomorrow I will be hooked up with these delights.
Also for every Jewish neighborhood, there are several Italian neighborhoods-mainly Southern Italians. This translates into more good food and bakeries. More goodies like sfogliatelle and rainbow cookies coming from the Avenue X bakery though next week, I could be in the North End of Boston so I won't be Italian deprived. Steve has gone to the same Italian restaurant several times during his trip. I was getting tired of it but without me there to complain, he was free to go.
What you can't find on Coney Island are Coney Islands! Those you would find only in good ole Michigan (and possibly Ohio). Coney Islands at first were hotdogs covered in chili but then turned into the small restaurants that serve them, collectively called "Coney Islands"-cheap places for breakfasts almost always run by Greeks.

I am walled in my driveway. The official snowfall for the NE corner (UM has a weather station nearby) was 9.6 inches. More is falling now. The plows came through late yesterday and put a wall up in front of my driveway. I should have hacked away at it while it was soft. Now it is ice and I have to wait for it to soften again.

We watched the ice dancing last night. Josh's friend came in 11th. To be the 11th best at something in the world is quite the accomplishment. But it was fun to watch.