By Paul Goldfinger, Asst. Food Editor @Blogfinger:

According to “Ray’s New York,” manufacturer of authentic bialys, “It has the flavor of a bagel, the texture of an English muffin. It is the perfect combination with a slight savory onion flavor. ”  A Ray’s bialy is handmade in Brooklyn “using the famous New York water.” The recipe includes wheat flower, salt, onions, water and yeast.  One bialy has 195 calories, less than a 250-300 calorie bagel.

In fact, the Ray’s package says, “A bialy is only worth eating if it’s made in Brooklyn.”  We buy them frozen from Wegmans (see below.). Or from the Hot Bagel Bakery on Sundays in Oakhurst.

From the website “What’s Cooking America:”

Outside of New York City, the bialy is little known.  Bialys came to the United States from Bialystok, Poland, and they are sometimes known as Bialystok Kuchen.  In the early 1900s, hundreds of thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to American and settled in New York City.  They brought with them their taste and recipes for bialys.  

While there were once dozens of bialy bakeries in New York, the number can now be counted on one hand.  Bialys have long been a staple in New York delicatessens and a favorite of the Jewish community.  True bialy lovers know where the best bakeries are.  In fact, Manhattan’s Lower East Side is lovingly called “Bialy Central.”

But a note of caution: When you slice a bialy in two, only one side has a hole, so if you are sharing, try to grab the hole side—-although that seems counter intuitive.   Always toast a bialy and make it a bit over-toasted, for the essential crunch. Eileen says to put a frozen bialy in the microwave and hit “defrost 1. ”  This is by weight, so it is a brief defrost.  Then move over to the  toaster.  Don’t hit the “bagel” button because you want the back side of the bialy to be crunchy—even a bit burned.   Some, like moi, just pop the frozen bialy into the toaster. But I like the fresh Sunday bialys at the Hot Bagel Bakery in Oakhurst.

Frozen bagels are usually crummy, unless you get an authentic bagel and freeze it yourself, but even then it loses something. But somehow, the Ray’s bakery gets the bialy right, even frozen.

At Wegman’s you can find Ray’s in the Kosher frozen food display near “International.”   I don’t know what Jewish cuisine  has to do with “International” since there are over 5 million Jews in the US.

Do you remember the pitch for Levy’s Jewish Rye? “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s real Jewish rye.”  That product wasn’t so authentic, but Wegmans has real Jewish rye with those big black seeds from Pechter’s in Harrison, NJ. And that wonderful fresh product can be found in the bakery across from the muffins, and it is not frozen.

And maybe the all-time most desired Jewish dish would be a hot pastrami on rye, but you have to get it at a high temple of pastrami such as Katz’s Deli in lower Manhattan.  They have been making that fatty delight for over 100 years. My Uncle Marty used to say that the best pastrami sandwich was when the fat would drip down to your elbows.

Around here, you can go to Harold’s in the Raritan Center (Edison) for a darn good pastrami on rye.  But theirs is huge:  share one for two persons and take home extra meat, rye bread and pickles.. It is a treat.

Here is a scene from When Harry Met Sally filmed in Katz’s.Follow the viewing directions.    Billy Crystal is having lunch with Meg Ryan.  She seems to be eating a turkey sandwich while he is having pastrami , but his appears to be a stripped down version of what is usually a very fat pastrami sandwich.   (Warning:  This scene is R rated in Ocean Grove and PG in Asbury Park:)

THE BARTON BROTHERS FROM THE YIDDISH THEATER:  “Cockeyed Jenny” is the story of a kindly hooker. Her father finds her in bed with a John. Oy vey!