Dancing in the Deli

Santa Fe ♡ Albuquerque ♡ Taos
LOVE
2
Dancing in the Deli
Jeff & Ramona Schwartzberg
More Amazing Couples
Fan Man Productions
Niman Fine Art
jennifer james 101
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
February 2011
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Dancing in the
A
s I planned my first At The Table interview of
the year, my editor requested that this month, in
honor of Valentine’s Day, I search for a candidate
who might be in business with his or her partner and
include in my story how the relationship (we hope!)
sweetens the work environment for staff, customers and
the couple involved. You may recall a certain, long-gone ethnic
restaurant here where the wife manned the kitchen while the husband ran
the floor. On many a visit, the two invariably got into a full-blown argument
in front of the customers, including the slamming of doors and plates, that
left you sitting there wondering if the food would ever find its way out of the
kitchen and to your table. Ah, the joys of working with your significant other!
On the positive side, a few couples came to mind: La Boca’s James
Campbell Caruso and pastry chef wife, Leslie; Il Piatto’s Matt Yohalem and
wife, Honey; Luminaria’s Brian Cooper and wife, Erika. But I realized I
had profiled Campbell Caruso just last year; I knew the Yohalem’s were in
Sicily; and the Coopers had been transferred to Arizona. Some of the other
contenders I might have considered were no longer personally involved—
testimony that it is a challenge to work and also sleep with your business
cohort.
The buzz circulating about the return of owner and creator Jeffrey
Schwartzberg to his downtown Bagelmania and the clever and successful ad
campaign featuring a silhouette cutout of the back of Schwartzberg’s torso
heralding “Jeffrey’s Back!” had me heading there for breakfast to sample one of
the six Eggs Benedict varieties on offer (it’s my favorite morning dish). I have
to admit right here and now that I am not a bagel fan. I find them too doughy
and filling—shocking to think, for a number of reasons, namely: I lived many
years in New York City; I’m a carb addict; and an entire culture of people
has been fed on them for centuries. Goy that I am, I much prefer the bagel’s
cousin, the crustier and thinner bialy. But more on that later.
Upon his return, Schwartzberg changed Bagelmania’s name to match
that of his other restaurant, located at Cerrillos and Rodeo. Now there are
two New York Delis: the Southside location and the Downtown location,
aptly referred to as the Upper Eastside. The interior has been freshened up
with paintings and etchings featuring the Manhattan skyline and Triboro
Bridge as imagined by Peter Tengler of Artman Signs Productions. The
classic deli menu, too, puts your palate smack dab in the heart of the Big
Apple—or, more specifically, on a stool in Katz’s or Canter’s, or your Jewish
Grandmother’s kitchen.
The charming lady that came over to welcome me and made sure I
enjoyed my meal on my first visit since Schwartzberg returned seemed familiar
to me, and I assumed she was the manager doing a great job at running the
floor. When I complimented her later as I was telling Schwartzberg how much
I enjoyed my Benedict, he said, “That’s my wife, Ramona!” If the two of them
were as pleasant together as they were separately, I knew I had found my duo.
I mentioned to Jeffrey that although I heard he had the best bagels
in town, I wasn’t a bagel fan. When I returned a week later for lunch, he
surprised me with a dozen bialys from the bialy bakery in Miami owned by
his brother (who also happens to be his business partner). I was thrilled and
promptly dispatched two bialys to the kitchen for toasting. They returned,
laden with smoked salmon, red onion, cream cheese, and capers for me and
my lunch date to enjoy. Let it be known to my readers that Johnny Vee can be
had for the price of a bialy!
We planned our interview date. Schwartzberg was off to Mexico City to
visit his daughter for the holidays; Ramona would be staying behind to look
after the restaurants. I was happy because I still had ten bialys to tide me over
20
FEBRUARY 2011
magazine.com
story by JOHN VOLLERTSEN
photos by GAELEN CASEY
| Ramona and Jeffrey Schwartzberg
into the new year. When our schedules coincide, I return for our chat and join a rested and tanned
Jeffrey and his enthusiastic, delightful wife. Over my first bowl of matzo ball soup I learn just
how successfully this partnership works, both in the restaurant and in the couple’s personal lives. I
immediately know—mission accomplished.
“When did you first open Bagelmania?” I begin.
“In 1991, I opened it with the idea my son would continue to run it. He only stayed in the
business for three years,” Jeffrey notes with a chuckle. “This building used to be a paint and body
shop and then a mechanic’s garage; those big windows were once the doors the cars drove through
into the shop. We had to dig out the car lifts from the ground and lay down a thick layer of
cement to cover the surface. We opened the new place on the Southside in 1997. I eventually sold
the Downtown store and focused on the Southside. I did remain the landlord downtown to the
new owners, so when they decided to retire recently I re-acquired this location.”
At this point, a satisfied customer stops by our table to compliment the deli’s chopped
liver and welcome Schwartzberg back to this location. “It’s interesting how Santa Fe’s palate has
changed since we first opened. In those days, we had all of the items you always expected to
have in a classic Jewish New York deli, but now things like knishes don’t sell. We slowly stopped
making them. And, of course, green chile would never appear on anything in New York, but we
have it in a few dishes here and even a green-chile schmear.”
Both Jeffery and his brother-partner, Gary, grew up in their father’s hugely successful bialy
business, Slim’s, in New York. Dad “Slim” began his career in a basement bakery on the Lower
East Side of Manhattan at the age of 11. “My father was raised in the Jewish ghetto, and the
apartments were very cold in the winters. Bakeries in those days were always in the basement of
buildings, so it was always nice and warm. Dad had the idea that working in a bakery would be a
guaranteed way of staying warm. Interestingly, years later Dad opened the first bagel bakery to be
on the street level of a building.”
Schwartzberg regales me with stories of his many young years making bialys and bagels. His
tales are peppered with pantomimed movements of how the dough is rolled and shaped. Sound
effects accompany the vivid memories. “After measuring out the dough into balls, you load them
into a proofing box—you throw them into the box, and it makes a sound like thumpf, thumpf,
thumpf. I can still hear the sound.” It’s a crash course for me in the art of making bagels and
bialys. Schwartzberg’s eyes twinkle and sparkle as he recalls what must have been a grueling job,
but he clearly loved it. This guy knows his bagels, and his passion is contagious. I feel like I am
there with him in the bakery.
While Jeffrey was making his first bagel, Ramona Garduño was, well, Ramona wasn’t born
yet! Ramona is quite a bit younger than Schwartzberg; this is her first marriage and his third.
Seeing them together, it is clear that three times is a charm. A local gal, she grew up in Las Vegas,
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
FEBRUARY 2011
21
New Mexico, and, prior to meeting
Jeffrey, enjoyed a successful and
fulfilling career as a flamenco dancer.
“I was always running and
dancing around the house as a kid.
I couldn’t sit still,” she recalls. “I
started studying in Santa Fe and then
finally decided to get serious and go
to Spain for three months to totally
immerse myself. When I returned, I
found a teacher who would become
my mentor in Denver and lived there
for six years. That mentor was Pablo
Rodarte, a 20-year veteran of the
dance who lived and worked in Spain.
Finally, back in Santa Fe, I started out
doing non-performance roles with the
María Benítez company waitressing,
bookkeeping, and then finally joined
the company as a dancer.” Ramona
danced with Benítez’s groundbreaking
troupe for four years, including an
annual season at the Joyce Theater,
in New York City. Eventually,
Ramona started her own company
and performed locally at most of the
venues that feature flamenco.
“How did you two meet?” I
inquire.
Ramona: “It was at a girlfriend’s
birthday party. Jeffrey was newly
single, and we actually danced
together that night.” The courtshipto-marriage period lasted seven years;
they have been married for five.
“Because I had been married twice
before, it didn’t seem so urgent to me
to do it again,” Jeffrey admits, “but my
buddies encouraged me to.”
“Can you remember the night you
proposed?” I ask.
“I consider myself a romantic,”
Jeffrey confesses. “We were going
to the California wine country for
Ramona’s birthday, and I put together
the ring and other things in what I
called the ‘engagement kit.’ I had to
hide it in my luggage. We went to
a restaurant called Willy’s and were
all settled in a private booth, and
I was all ready to pop the question
when I realized I had forgotten the
engagement kit in the car, so I had to
go out and get it. It was pouring rain,
so I got soaked.”
“I was thinking, ‘Hurry up—ask
me, ask me,’” Ramona chimes in.
Throughout our conversation,
the affection between these two
is palpable. “What’s the secret to
working together?” I ask.
“We respect each other totally,”
Jeffrey starts. “She puts up with me.
It is a pleasure to work with her.
22
FEBRUARY 2011
Marriage changed our relationship for
the better.”
Ramona adds, “I am nonconfrontational. If we disagree, we talk
it through and don’t scream and yell.”
I needle the two of them. “Ever
any bumps in the road?”
“Last month we had one because I
hadn’t had a day off in months,” Jeffrey
admits. “It was a minor meltdown,
which is why I planned my trip to
Mexico. Ramona was sweet to stay
behind and look after the business.
One of her nicknames for me is
‘paineous in the asseous!’”
“Said with love,” Ramona clarifies.
She continues, “Despite the hectic
business, we always take time to have
date nights. We still dance in the living
room at home.” As a second career,
she has started a dance exercise class at
the Studio East, just off Canyon Road.
Called “Gypsy Moves,” it incorporates
her years of professional dance into
energetic, low-impact exercise.
Do they share the responsibilities
of managing the business? “We each
do certain things. The staff knows who
to go to for what,” Ramona explains.
“Jeffrey is more concerned with the
daily operation and staffing. I handle
more of the behind-the-scenes stuff
and administration.”
I compliment the delicious matzo
ball soup, with its delicate dumplings.
“That recipe comes from a gal that
worked for me right at the beginning.
Her name is Nan Lawrence, and she
was from the Bronx. It is the same
recipe we use today,” Jeffrey brags.
“We try recipes at home and then
introduce them into the restaurant.
Our chef here, Balmore, does a terrific
job.”
Watching the two interact with
the staff feels like watching a happy
family. My soup finished, I turn
down an offer for a Reuben sandwich,
and I’m off to work. Schwartzberg
miraculously produces another dozen
bialys (this guy is good). I assure him
that the story will be a good one—
bagels, bialys and all the rest.
So this Valentine’s Day, remember
to respect your partner, dance them
around the living room at least once
a week, and maybe throw in the
occasional bagel with green-chile
schmear…or a bialy! - JV
New York Deli is located at 4056
Cerrillos Road and 420 Catron Street
in Santa Fe. 505.424.1200 and
505.982.8900 respectively.
magazine.com