We had the most incredible weekend.  Following the TJFF launch we were nice and busy without lineups until the weekend.  Thursday was insane.  My day began at 4 am with a call from the security company letting me know about a break-in at the deli.  Nice.  I arrived there within a few minutes to find Giulia and 1st cook Peter with the security guy.  We waited for the cops who came a few moments later.  Interestingly, the security guy said the glass repair people hovered like vultures.

When we entered, the cops made sure the place was clear and then we surveyed the damage: some bottles of booze and the pos touchscreen monitors. And the door of course.  The camera captured the guy pretty well so the police should be able to have something to go on.  They csi’d the whole place.  At 8 am I packed up my car and headed to Rogers TV in North York for a live 9 minute cooking demonstration on the Daytime Toronto program.

I sliced my finger on the tin foil unwrapping the meat but that was before the show and I don’t think the tv  caught the bloody towel.  Yoona and Deborah both said I did well.

Returning to help with the deli, it was a slower day than usual so I went home to chill for a couple hours when I start getting messages on Twitter about a New York Times article.  Adam Sachs wrote a terrific piece about Toronto as Meat City.  He gave me lots of ink which makes me feel all warm inside.  hahahaha

How do I describe this? It would have been hard to imagine anything else happening that could turn this into a wonderful day than a NY Times article online.  Bonnie Stern brought Adam Sachs into the deli with her daughter Anna the day before I left for Vegas.  Bonnie has been so good to me, sharing recipes, techniques not to mention bringing Ruth Reichle to the Monarch.  My apple cake is her mother’s recipe.

Which was funny when a group of her cousins came in for dinner last night – they polished off the whole thing.  Actually, we got eaten out of all our deserts – kudos to Robb the Baker.  Our whole desert program is wonderful.  Yesterday was exceptional for many reasons.  We were busy from the opening whistle but for the first time ever, Sunday dinner was busier than the lunch. It was all large groups and many of them my own relatives. I’ll remember for next year to bring in more staff but for now a special thanks to everyone who helped out.

I’m heading back to work now to make my First Seder deliveries.  Here’s wishing all of you and your families a wonderful Pesach.  Next year we’ll do a Second Seder in the deli.

We hosted the media launch of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival on Monday.  This was the second time around since we hosted last year as well.  If I look back I probably wrote about it. I really like this, in part, because it brings the Zuckermans to Caplansky’s.  I also like it because I feel like I’m contributing to downtown Jewish culture.  Helen Zuckerman is the head honcho and anyone who smuggles Diet Vernor’s across the border for me will always have a place at my table.

Helen entered with a 2l bottle under her jacket and a big hug.  Her daughter Aviva and I were good friends when we were kids and Mrs. Zuckerman made us sandwiches generally mothered us.  I hadn’t seen Aviva for 20 years or more before I was invited to a TJFF screening last year and its been wonderful to reconnect.  Aviva and sister Yona delighted in teasing me Monday about my Worthy 30 inclusion.   Yona said I got another mention in the Post that day.

Funny that.  After my last post I had a couple of women come into the deli and tell me they were there because they read my post.  Both sweet and attractive I didn’t know what to say.  Did they want to date me? Which one? Awkward.  Turns out they work for a cbc television show and they came to see if I would be a good guest on their show.  Fun.  I’m actually doing a live cooking demo on Roger’s in a couple of weeks.  The only other tv I’ve done was with Mio Adilman on Toronto Living.

Actually, that’s not true.  I did “Dotto on Data” many years ago in another life.  Clearly my television career is evolving at a glacial pace.  Unlike my sister Meredith whose “Abroad” show on CBC last week was fantastic.  I didn’t want it to end.

Watched the Leafs get creamed by Florida last night.  Kind of embarrassing.  It was fun being out with Jesse and Dave and we sat next to two very funny Brian McCabe fans from Oshawa and Pickering.  They were decked out in Leaf’s stuff but cheering every time he touched the puck.  The funniest part was that we kicked two guys out of their seats thinking they were in our seats but later got kicked out of our seats by two other guys.

Passover is coming quickly.  We’re closing the deli Monday at 4 p.m. and we’ll be closed all day Tuesday.  Wednesday its business as usual, plus matzoh.

Thats all for now.

What a gorgeous day.  Of course we had the patio set up and full of happy people by noonish.  Noonish.  My original hours at the Monarch were “Noonish till 9″.  Life was so much simpler then.  I’m often asked if I miss the Monarch and the truth is… I don’t.  It was a wonderful place to get started and I like all the people over there but it wasn’t ever my idea of a home.  Of course, one of the reasons was the lack of patio on Clinton Street.  Toronto loves its patios and our place was noticeably quieter on sunny days.

The patio and the exposure.  The patio I love, the exposure… has its ups and downs.  Sometimes I feel like I live in a fishbowl. Yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds here on my blog and all.  Tough noogies.  What’s a “noogie”?  Google it.  Anyway, the National Post’s Shinan Govani was generous enough to include me in his most recent “Worthy 30″ list of eligible bachelors.  When I failed to send them a recent picture of myself, they nabbed the one off the website.  Maybe you can see it better than I did but I didn’t really know how I felt about being included until I attended the Worthy 30 Party at Hugo Boss.

Totally inadequate. That’s how I felt the moment I walked in.  I decided to go alone even though I had offers of dates.  I just figured I’d meet new people if I went alone and I pretty much went directly from work.  What was I thinking?  Monica Schnarre was there.  Paul Godfrey.  Dan Levy.  Everyone was hot and well dressed.  ”I may not stay long,” I said looking around for someone with drinks.  I grabbed my jacket from the guy who was taking it away from the front area.  Actually, it didn’t start well at all: I wasn’t on the list.    But, but, but… I was on the poster? See? The photographer at the entrance couldn’t have been more disinterested in me.

I moved to the far end of the room and chatted with the Hugo Boss women.   I actually had a really good time after I saw Ron from the Post.  Jenn Ag from the Black Hoof pretended not to notice me but I cornered her in between sweaters and shoes and made her give me some small talk.  I think she hates that.  The bottom line? It was fun but hasn’t improved my dating life.  I realise I have no one to blame but myself (and that busy place I named after myself) and that in time all will be right.

Otherwise, life is good.  Looking forward to Passover.  We’ll be closed Tuesday evening but will probably open Wednesday as usual.  Check the website for details.

And Monday he was looking for another job. Except that this slicer is never late and the last time he missed a shift he called us from the police station where he was giving a statement before going to get his broken arm looked after. He actually came in yesterday for breakfast on his day off. We’re frankly worried about him.

Anyway, his absence meant that I was pressed into service and for the first time in ages I stepped in to slice on a busy Sunday. Its not like I haven’t sliced in a while but I’ve been doing these pansy-assed catering gigs where there’s no time pressure and its a total shmooze-fest instead of a full-on slicing shift in the deli.

“Need a drink,” asked Giulia mid-rush around 1pm. “You’re shvitzing” (yiddish for sweating). I think she was sort of snickering but I didn’t look up to see. It sounded snickerish but not in a mean way. “7-up, please” I said. “When’s Joe coming in for relief,” I asked. It actually got to the point where my hands were cramping around the handles of the knives and I had to ask Charlie to do a 2.5 lb take-out order for me.

There were days when I could crack single walnuts in my fists but that was because of my motorcycle. No one told me you can get clamps for your accelerator and consequently my grip was fierce following long bike trips. In any case, those days are gone although I really did have fun today and wouldn’t mind doing a few shifts a week slicing again. Plus it keeps me out of trouble and helps me focus on the meat.

I have started writing a reply to Corey Mintz’s question about consistency but I’ve yet to write something that I felt was worth publishing. Its not a simple question but it is an important one. I don’t want to sound defensive or incompetent either. I could mention that in “Save the Deli” David Sax quotes Schwartz’s owner Hy Diamond as saying that the barrel aged, dry-cured method of curing meat we use tends towards inconsistency.

There are variables in every part of the process which includes: curing, turning, spicing, smoking, cooling, steaming and slicing. Left out of this list is the cut of the brisket itself, the fridge temperatures, air pressure and all the human errors that could and do occur.

Of course, training and supervising people is the first, best thing we can do. And certainly the desire is there….

We’ve been booked to cater our first seder and I couldn’t be happier about it. I won’t name the customer because I haven’t asked her permission but she came in to discuss having her son’s bar mitzvah at the deli. After discussing that topic she mentioned the seder. “I’m so busy, I really don’t even want to think about it.” she told me and Vishanti.

“Haroseth and everything?” I asked. “Yes. Have you made it?” she asked. “Made it? According to Jewish tradition, I’m a direct descendant of Moses’ older brother Aaron. We invented the stuff.” I said. “Technically, no. I’ve never made it,” I said. But I’ve eaten it twice a year, every year for 40 years and she has a good recipe.

But that’s not all! hahahahaha Sorry. We’re also doing gefilte fish, matzoh ball soup, fricassee, braised brisket, smoked turkey, nodle pudding and some flourless deserts that have yet to be determined. Sound about right? I even offered to do the Four Questions but was rebuffed.

Of course, making a little extra would be a pleasure. Please place your Passover orders as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Sorry if you come and find us closed today, Monday February 15. I wish all of you a wonderful day. We had a really good weekend. No long lines or long waits but lots of happy customers.

Its reassuring too because I made the mistake of Googling myself Saturday. I used to do that in the early Monarch days and was amazed by the volume of comments about my food – mostly positive back then. Yesterday, I found a site with a series of nasty comments and it really put me off.

Fortunately, Saturday and Sunday the place was full of friends and of course there’s always a cousin or two around. It was a great weekend. Yesterday I met Sidney Frank, an immigration officer posted in Beijing on his way to the airport. He’s been living there for many years and almost screamed when I mentioned visiting my cousin Teddy Axler in Hong Kong just before handover. Apparently, they were friendly.

I love it when people remind me of my traveling days and even more when they indulge me by listening to my stories. I try keep it as brief as possible.

We bought a pair of used fryers from a used restaurant supply place on Ossington when we opened.  One of the fryers never worked right and after much pestering the vendor finally agreed to replace the fryer.  Today at 10 am a fellow shows up with the new (used) fryer.  He turns off the gas, disconnects the fryer and POOF! At some point some gas was ignited and a small fireball appeared in my kitchen.  Unfortunately, the technician was burned. In the confusion he grabbed for the extinguisher and sprayed it despite the fact that there was no fire. Then he fled.

However, the ball-o-flame did set off the gas alarm which brought the firefighters from across the street.  The fire guys called the police, EMS, Toronto Public Health and the Ministry of Labour. Oh and TSSA too.  Everyone wanted to know if the technician was okay.  We called the fryer vendor who hired the guy.  He came to the deli and told the police that he was the technician who installed the fryer despite the fact that he was not.  The police arrested him for obstruction.

Seeing your kitchen equipment guy being cuffed in your dining room and led away by the police is an experience I never imagined I’d have and I’m not grateful for it.

As I mentioned the fire guys called the Health Department.  Inspector looks around and says that because the fire extinguisher was used we couldn’t reopen until we clean up the powder and that means a total kitchen clean down.   But hey, its been a few months since our last inspection so how’s about we do one right now, he asks? Sure, I say, let’s inspect.  Meanwhile, the Enbridge guys show up and put tags on my gas equipment so I have to call a very expensive installer who luckily does make it out same day.

Then we all do full interviews with TSSA and the Ministry of Labour and wait for the trades people to show up.  All the while I’m trying to keep my staff, customers and suppliers informed.  We can’t re-open until we get the health inspector back tomorrow morning.  I’m confident that will happen even though its out of my control.

It could have been worse.  We lost a day and labour cost took a hit. I really feel for the fryer technician and for the equipment dealer too although, as mentioned, it could have been worse.

Bottom Line: if the Inspector comes back first thing tomorrow, we’ll be fine.

Feels like weeks since I unburdened myself on here.  Hope you don’t feel like I’m ignoring you.  I’m not.  Well, not any more.

January is the quietest month but I’m not complaining.  We closed for the first few days to give everyone a rest and do some cleaning.  When we reopened it was predictably quieter compared with December.  I heard from a few people that when they saw us put paper in the windows during the closure they thought we were done.  Yikes!  We aren’t “rolling in it” but its not dire either.  The paper was simply so people would know we were closed during the staff party that I was too cheap to pay someone else to host.

We’re starting to look deeper into how we do what we do to find efficiencies and ways to improve service.  We’ve decided to start smoking our own salmon for example.  At the same time, the furnace failed last week and I must apologise to everyone who shivered with us as the technician got it working properly.  Someone emailed me that I should have closed but closing is a last resort.  We comp’ed lots of coffee and tea and did lots of explaining but when the meat is as good as it is now, closing would be lose/lose.

I wish we could achieve a level of consistency where the meat was always as it is now but I know thats unlikely (due to the dry-rub method we use to cure meat).  I continue to get emails from people telling me my food is “drek” and others who fine it “awesome”.  At least they felt something, right?  I just know when my nephew Max siddled up to the bar for a fresser and a root beer that he loved every bite and I loved watching him eat it. Great kid.

Happily, we’ve been doing more and more catering events.  The live slicing was a big hit last night before the  TJFF Cinefile “Anvil” doc event at the Varsity VIP theatre and also Saturday night at Mio Adilman’s 40th birthday.  Not to sound like I’m trying to sell the idea that my smoked meat is fabulous but when its this good I love to stand behind it and watch people’s faces as they discover it for the first time.  And then come back for seconds.

On the personal front, my bachelor pad (do people still say that?) is almost ready for a house warming party.  I’ve got so much booze left from the staff party that it should be fun.  Bought a funky vintage (that means ‘used but still expensive’) ceiling lamp for my living room that needs to be installed as well as a dimmer switch.  You’ll see it at the party or the pics of the party.  I also need a kitchen table.  Friend and designer Jenny Armour used to have a Danish set that I loved.  Round teak table.  I’ll find something – just no more Ikea.

Quick shout out to my little sister Meredith and partner Rob on the birth of their son Rory. They’ve made us all very proud.

I wish each of them the courage to face their fears, live their dreams and experience the best and worst of what life has to offer with equanimity. Practice what I preach? I’m trying, Lord, I’m trying.

Its a tremendous pleasure for me to announce that the queen of retail, diva of deli and princess of pastrami (aka Jessie Roher) will be returning to Caplanskydom.  Jessica is my good luck charm and close friend.  She volunteered to help me open my deli-in-a-dive-bar 18 months ago and only left about a year ago to pad her resume with some higher education – a Master’s degree from LSE no less.

Since returning in September Jess finally succumbed to my begging and pleading.  Yes, my friends, the lovely and talented Ms. Roher will reprise her role starting the day after tomorrow (NYE!).  This time, she’ll do her own singing and dancing as well as my bookkeeping and just generally help me keep my shit together.  I couldn’t be happier to welcome her back.  We sat together today and reminisced about opening day at the Monarch (plates donated by her mom Beth and a plastic cup for a cash register donated by our friends at the Monarch).  She said we were “playing deli” for months and she’s right.  Now? We’re really a deli.  And a pretty good one too.  We’ll only get better with her influence and input.

Your’s too.  I love it when people send me messages about their experience at the deli.  Of course, the positive ones feel good but the not so positive ones are even more helpful.  I can’t be there 24 hours a day so its nice when customers and friends let me know how we did when I’m not around.  Ivy Knight, a Drake Hotel cook, freelance writer and all-around great lady was kind enough to Tweet about how awesome my team is while we were getting slammed yesterday.  She’s right.  The one and only Vishanti Moosai came in on her day off (for the second day in a row) to help save the day.

In the words of Now’s Steven Davey, I am indeed a very lucky man.