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Zabar's: A Family Story, with Recipes
The fascinating, mouthwatering story (with ten recipes!) of the immigrant family that created a New York gastronomic legend: "The most rambunctious and chaotic of all delicatessens, with one foot in the Old World and the other in the vanguard of every fast-breaking food move in the city (Nora Ephron, best-selling author and award-winning screenwriter).
When Louis and Lilly Zabar rented a counter in a dairy store on 80th Street and Broadway in 1934 to sell smoked fish, they could not have imagined that their store would eventually occupy half a city block and become a beloved mecca for quality food of all kinds. A passion for perfection, a keen business sense, cutthroat competitive instincts, and devotion to their customers led four generations of Zabars to create the Upper West Side shrine to the cheese, fish, meat, produce, baked goods, and prepared products that heralded the twentieth-century revolution in food production and consumption.
Lori Zabar--Louis's granddaughter--begins with her grandfather's escape from Ukraine in 1921, following a pogrom in which several family members were killed. She describes Zabar's gradual expansion, Louis's untimely death in 1950, and the passing of the torch to Saul, Stanley, and partner Murray Klein, who raised competitive pricing to an art form and added top-tier houseware and appliances. She paints a delectable portrait of Zabar's as it is today--the intoxicating aromas, the crowds, the devoted staff--and shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the long-time employees, family members, eccentric customers, and celebrity fans who have created a uniquely American institution that honors its immigrant roots, revels in its New York history, and is relentless in its devotion to the art and science of selling gourmet food.
When Louis and Lilly Zabar rented a counter in a dairy store on 80th Street and Broadway in 1934 to sell smoked fish, they could not have imagined that their store would eventually occupy half a city block and become a beloved mecca for quality food of all kinds. A passion for perfection, a keen business sense, cutthroat competitive instincts, and devotion to their customers led four generations of Zabars to create the Upper West Side shrine to the cheese, fish, meat, produce, baked goods, and prepared products that heralded the twentieth-century revolution in food production and consumption.
Lori Zabar--Louis's granddaughter--begins with her grandfather's escape from Ukraine in 1921, following a pogrom in which several family members were killed. She describes Zabar's gradual expansion, Louis's untimely death in 1950, and the passing of the torch to Saul, Stanley, and partner Murray Klein, who raised competitive pricing to an art form and added top-tier houseware and appliances. She paints a delectable portrait of Zabar's as it is today--the intoxicating aromas, the crowds, the devoted staff--and shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the long-time employees, family members, eccentric customers, and celebrity fans who have created a uniquely American institution that honors its immigrant roots, revels in its New York history, and is relentless in its devotion to the art and science of selling gourmet food.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 2022
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745 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
June 25, 2022
Lori Zabar’s Zabar’s: A Family Story, with Recipes is a memoir, family history, and wonderful nostalgia fillip. Zabar’s, the famous Manhattan “appetizing” store, holds a magical place in the lives and memories of many current and former New Yorkers. People plan their hotel stays to be within steps of Zabar’s on the Upper West Side (yes, me too). You’ll find the widest imaginable selection of cheeses; delicious babkas, knishes, and bagels; a selection of lox and other smoked fish of such high quality that famed chef and restauranteur Andre Soltner quietly purchased smoked salmon for Lutèce from Zabar’s; the best chopped liver and whitefish salad in New York; shiva platters so scrumptious that dead Jews were rumored to come back fto fress; and, of course, a remarkable selection of affordable everyday and arcane kitchen gear. Need a duck press? Go to Zabar’s, of course!
The sheer scale of Zabar’s sales is almost unimaginable: ”For the thirty thousand customers who came into the store each week, the biggest sellers were the basics. Fish: five thousand pounds each week, including two thousand pounds of smoked salmon and fifteen hundred pounds of pickled herring. Cheese: two thousand pounds each week of Brie alone. Meat: three thousand pounds of smoked meat per week. And, of course, coffee: eight thousand pounds a week.”
Lori Zabar, a distinguished New York historic preservationist and a proud third generation Zabar, recounts the Zabars’ immigration story. Some parts of the Zabars’ story — the deaths in pogroms and the Holocaust — are sadly common; other parts of the Zabars’ story — the merchant and merchandising genius and innovation — much less common. In Zabar’s: A Family Story, Lori Zabar both recounts the Zabars’ history and the growth of Zabar’s and also selects anecdotes that lovingly illustrate Zabar’s unique role. Here’s novelist Joseph Heller’s daughter, Erica: ”’We did not worship at a synagogue or church. . . “Our holy place was — and is — Zabar’s. Every Sunday morning my dad and I would make the slow trek (actually 123 steps from Zabar’s to the Apthorp) as if from our shtetl, dragging back bags and bags of bagels, onions, cream cheese, kippered salmon, sable, tomatoes, pickles, and, finally, rugelach.’” Zabar’s is a proudly democratic store. No deliveries, no matter how famous the customer. Except, of course, for Barbra Streisand and Lutèce.
Zabar’s was the source of many fantasies. Here’s a typical fantasy voiced by Nora Ephron: ”’Sometimes I imagine I. am a Zabar. . . I imagine that we Zabars all live together in a West Side apartment with pots and pans hanging from the living-room ceiling. I imagine that every night those of us who have worked at the store that day bring home six kinds of bread and the week’s smoked salmon special and we sit around blindfolded conducting taste tests on the relative merits of, say, the beluga and the sevruga, and I imagine we have bitter fights about how to eliminate the congestion at the cash registers and how to get the space in which we plan to expand to look ass cluttered and discombobulated as the rest of the store. In my mind’s eye, on the outskirts so this, Zabar children scamper around, nibbling chocolate croissants.’”
I now live two hundred miles from Zabar’s. Age and the pandemic prevent me from visiting New York. But as I write this, I’m constructing my next shopping list from www.zabars.com, with novy, belly, tongue, egg bagels, babka chopped, liver, whitefish salad, potato and kasha knishes, sourdough rye, and, of course, coffee and latkes.
The sheer scale of Zabar’s sales is almost unimaginable: ”For the thirty thousand customers who came into the store each week, the biggest sellers were the basics. Fish: five thousand pounds each week, including two thousand pounds of smoked salmon and fifteen hundred pounds of pickled herring. Cheese: two thousand pounds each week of Brie alone. Meat: three thousand pounds of smoked meat per week. And, of course, coffee: eight thousand pounds a week.”
Lori Zabar, a distinguished New York historic preservationist and a proud third generation Zabar, recounts the Zabars’ immigration story. Some parts of the Zabars’ story — the deaths in pogroms and the Holocaust — are sadly common; other parts of the Zabars’ story — the merchant and merchandising genius and innovation — much less common. In Zabar’s: A Family Story, Lori Zabar both recounts the Zabars’ history and the growth of Zabar’s and also selects anecdotes that lovingly illustrate Zabar’s unique role. Here’s novelist Joseph Heller’s daughter, Erica: ”’We did not worship at a synagogue or church. . . “Our holy place was — and is — Zabar’s. Every Sunday morning my dad and I would make the slow trek (actually 123 steps from Zabar’s to the Apthorp) as if from our shtetl, dragging back bags and bags of bagels, onions, cream cheese, kippered salmon, sable, tomatoes, pickles, and, finally, rugelach.’” Zabar’s is a proudly democratic store. No deliveries, no matter how famous the customer. Except, of course, for Barbra Streisand and Lutèce.
Zabar’s was the source of many fantasies. Here’s a typical fantasy voiced by Nora Ephron: ”’Sometimes I imagine I. am a Zabar. . . I imagine that we Zabars all live together in a West Side apartment with pots and pans hanging from the living-room ceiling. I imagine that every night those of us who have worked at the store that day bring home six kinds of bread and the week’s smoked salmon special and we sit around blindfolded conducting taste tests on the relative merits of, say, the beluga and the sevruga, and I imagine we have bitter fights about how to eliminate the congestion at the cash registers and how to get the space in which we plan to expand to look ass cluttered and discombobulated as the rest of the store. In my mind’s eye, on the outskirts so this, Zabar children scamper around, nibbling chocolate croissants.’”
I now live two hundred miles from Zabar’s. Age and the pandemic prevent me from visiting New York. But as I write this, I’m constructing my next shopping list from www.zabars.com, with novy, belly, tongue, egg bagels, babka chopped, liver, whitefish salad, potato and kasha knishes, sourdough rye, and, of course, coffee and latkes.
February 23, 2023
Zabar's is a culinary memoir about a Jewish deli in New York that's been around since the 30's and remains one of the biggest Ma and Pop stores in the country.
I enjoyed reading about how Zabar's was established, the strong family dynamic that the business runs on, and the recipes between chapters. The painstaking work that it takes to curate a grocery is insane, and Zabar's goes above and beyond with their meat/cheese/seafood/coffee etc. It was also interesting to read about all of the family stories that may or may not be totally accurate.
My only critique is that the author has an urge to humble brag that got pretty annoying and took me out of the charming story of the Zabars. She goes back and forth arguing that the Zabars aren't upper class but then immediately contradicts what she just said- one example is when the author asserts that the Zabar's aren't like other rich New Yorkers because of the MANY homes they own, none of them are in the Hamptons.....or how she just has to tell readers that her uncle's everyday shirts are custom made in Paris.
There was also a little too much about the author's personal life, when I feel that it should have been more about the store itself. But, if you're a foodie or memoir-enthusiast then I would recommend.
I enjoyed reading about how Zabar's was established, the strong family dynamic that the business runs on, and the recipes between chapters. The painstaking work that it takes to curate a grocery is insane, and Zabar's goes above and beyond with their meat/cheese/seafood/coffee etc. It was also interesting to read about all of the family stories that may or may not be totally accurate.
My only critique is that the author has an urge to humble brag that got pretty annoying and took me out of the charming story of the Zabars. She goes back and forth arguing that the Zabars aren't upper class but then immediately contradicts what she just said- one example is when the author asserts that the Zabar's aren't like other rich New Yorkers because of the MANY homes they own, none of them are in the Hamptons.....or how she just has to tell readers that her uncle's everyday shirts are custom made in Paris.
There was also a little too much about the author's personal life, when I feel that it should have been more about the store itself. But, if you're a foodie or memoir-enthusiast then I would recommend.
June 13, 2022
It's not everyday that you read a book about a grocery store, and yet this one has a rich history. It was quite interesting to see the author not mince words even as she highlights the flawed characteristics of their family. The end of each chapter includes a family recipe. I will probably make at least one of them soon.
April 6, 2022
I've never been to Zabar's, but I've seen it referenced in countless movies and books, so it was fun to learn the background of the Zabar family and the founding of the store. I found the first half (about the family's diaspora after a pogrom in Ukraine, and their initial store beginning in NYC) most interesting. The legal quarrels of the 80s were dull. But overall, I quite liked it.
September 1, 2025
growing up, i had theatre rehearsals every saturday at the church next to zabars. sometimes my mom would pack me lunch, and sometimes she would give me cash to get lunch at zabars.
zabars was always so exciting. it made me excited about food and of course it was always delicious.
reading this book was so insightful. and it gives me even more of an appreciation for all the generations of early mornings and hard work that have gone into this store.
and of course it made me want to actually taste my food and experiment with new recipes and new foods.
and now i’m so excited to go to zabars next time we are in nyc 🥰
zabars was always so exciting. it made me excited about food and of course it was always delicious.
reading this book was so insightful. and it gives me even more of an appreciation for all the generations of early mornings and hard work that have gone into this store.
and of course it made me want to actually taste my food and experiment with new recipes and new foods.
and now i’m so excited to go to zabars next time we are in nyc 🥰
March 30, 2024
A very wholesome 4 stars. Really good read if you’re interested in Jewish American history or food. Or both!
December 14, 2022
Absolutely loved it. So much Jewish history in one family and of course... the food! The yiddish, new york spirit, the business and marketing insights... there was a bit of everything! Extremely saddened to hear of Lori's recent passing, but this book is such an incredible legacy to leave.
October 20, 2022
A thoughtful, engaging read about a small family business that grew into an iconic NYC speciality food store. I was inspired to pick this up before traveling to NYC for a long weekend. I think I spent about as much time in Zabar's as I did reading this book. Suffice to say I lost track of time doing both.
October 22, 2022
Previously had a black and white cookie from Zabars. Saw this book and started reading. A family history from WWII till now. How Zabar’s started and grew in New York. A great development of a family independent food and retail giant.
June 1, 2022
"The Zabar's family motto is that we can achieve anything as long as we do the research and persevere. Prior experience is not a prequsite for sucess"
As a non-New Yorker. I was introduced to the concept of Zabar's on WOR radio with Arthur Schwarz while I was in seminary in the mid 80s. I would go there as I could and simply loved the atmosphere I found there, and even if I couldn't afford much as a grad student, I always left with some coffee and spread the word as best I could. So when the Zoomcast of the "book drop" was scheduled, we watched with wonder as the story of the Zabars, told BY the Zabar family unfolded, without the author as Lori Zabar passed just prior to the book's release.
I had so much fun reading this book. It was like I was at a table like the one the author talks about on the family trip to Israel. Everyone talking, laughing and sharing food. Some people have been negative about the lack of recipes from Zabar's. They need to remember this is a *family story* not a recipe book, even if it was a #1 book the week of its publication last month: a book about Jewish history seen through the eyes of 5 generations of one family by a gifted storyteller. I am naming it my #1 book so far this year. Highly recommended 5/5
As a non-New Yorker. I was introduced to the concept of Zabar's on WOR radio with Arthur Schwarz while I was in seminary in the mid 80s. I would go there as I could and simply loved the atmosphere I found there, and even if I couldn't afford much as a grad student, I always left with some coffee and spread the word as best I could. So when the Zoomcast of the "book drop" was scheduled, we watched with wonder as the story of the Zabars, told BY the Zabar family unfolded, without the author as Lori Zabar passed just prior to the book's release.
I had so much fun reading this book. It was like I was at a table like the one the author talks about on the family trip to Israel. Everyone talking, laughing and sharing food. Some people have been negative about the lack of recipes from Zabar's. They need to remember this is a *family story* not a recipe book, even if it was a #1 book the week of its publication last month: a book about Jewish history seen through the eyes of 5 generations of one family by a gifted storyteller. I am naming it my #1 book so far this year. Highly recommended 5/5
May 6, 2022
A delightful history of the Zabars family and their business, which has become an upper west side (and NYC) staple. As someone who lives quite close to Zabars, it was so fun to get a behind-the-scenes look into how this business came to be, and the values that still guide it today.
February 3, 2023
just made me love the UWS even more!!
July 14, 2024
Zabar’s is legitimately my family’s favorite place in the world. I loved reading the history behind this slice of heaven!
December 14, 2025
I enjoyed this read! It was a very expansive, sweeping story of the Zabar family history. I appreciated the cultural context surrounding different parts and eras of the store and think that added a lot of nice texture and interest. Will definitely need to check it out the next time I’m in NYC!
September 10, 2022
Probably more like 3.5 but I've been shopping at Zabar's since childhood so it gets bumped up for nostalgia. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at this iconic store but not sure how interesting it would be for people who are unfamiliar with Zabar's. I wish the author was a bit more critical of her family at times--I felt like she glossed over some of their problematic behavior, although as the granddaughter of the founder it's understandable that she would be biased. Sadly, the writer passed away this year, while her 89 year old father Stanley continues running the store with his 93 year old brother Saul.
July 29, 2022
2.5 stars. The beginning was much more interesting than the ending. And while I understand this is a story about her family there was a fair amount of defensiveness about some business choices and generalizing over more complicated subject. Can only recommend if you love the store or have an interest in a NY Landmark, anyone else should probably stay away or only read the beginning.
November 4, 2024
A lot of legal drama, a lot of what felt like reading someone else’s ancestry.com results. She also seemed to get so defensive about things I didn’t even need to know about. I feel like this could have been a really lovely and nostalgic, but I didn’t see much of that through all the other. Overall, just not at all what I was looking for.
April 4, 2023
As a food and Zabar's enthusiast, I enjoyed reading this one. But there was a little too much rooting for the home team, as it were. And some glossing over where details might have made it a much better book.
August 6, 2022
What a delicious valentine of a book! Lori Zabar, granddaughter of the founders of the famous New York store, in the heart of Manhattan's Upper West Side, wrote a family history that recounts her grandparents' departure from the pogroms of Ukraine, their efforts to establish and succeed in business in their new country, and then goes on through the decades to describe the evolution of the store into the beloved institution it remains today, still family-owned, with a number of descendants playing an active role.
She wrote about the business, the family relationships, certain members of its very beloved staff and of her own relationship with Lillian Zabar, her grandmother. There are wonderful anecdotes of the store's marketing escapades, descriptions and photos of the store, family and staff members, and of the Upper West Side at different times. I was especially touched by her description of her special days with her grandmother, which reminded me in some ways of the special relationship I had with my own.
An added treat: traditional family recipes you can easily make at home.
Personally, I began shopping at Zabar's shortly after I moved to New York in 1979, when things on the Upper West Side were pretty shaky, safety-wise, but along with some of the other nearly-all departed beacons of the neighborhood, like revival movie theaters, certain favorite restaurants, and Shakespeare & Company's book store, it was one of my meccas. Even though I lived much farther downtown, on the East Side in Murray Hill, and eventually in Brooklyn, and beyond, I never stopped shopping at Zabar's and still go there every time I make a visit to the city. I love its energy as well as its food.
Lori herself seems so much like a woman I would have liked to have as a friend, and was a contemporary in age and background. I was saddened to read that she passed away from cancer and her book was published posthumously. This book, however, is a wonderful legacy for her family, friends, and all of us who love the store her family created.
She wrote about the business, the family relationships, certain members of its very beloved staff and of her own relationship with Lillian Zabar, her grandmother. There are wonderful anecdotes of the store's marketing escapades, descriptions and photos of the store, family and staff members, and of the Upper West Side at different times. I was especially touched by her description of her special days with her grandmother, which reminded me in some ways of the special relationship I had with my own.
An added treat: traditional family recipes you can easily make at home.
Personally, I began shopping at Zabar's shortly after I moved to New York in 1979, when things on the Upper West Side were pretty shaky, safety-wise, but along with some of the other nearly-all departed beacons of the neighborhood, like revival movie theaters, certain favorite restaurants, and Shakespeare & Company's book store, it was one of my meccas. Even though I lived much farther downtown, on the East Side in Murray Hill, and eventually in Brooklyn, and beyond, I never stopped shopping at Zabar's and still go there every time I make a visit to the city. I love its energy as well as its food.
Lori herself seems so much like a woman I would have liked to have as a friend, and was a contemporary in age and background. I was saddened to read that she passed away from cancer and her book was published posthumously. This book, however, is a wonderful legacy for her family, friends, and all of us who love the store her family created.
March 15, 2023
I’ve never been to Zabar’s. But in college my roommate’s dad used to send us (ok, really her) gift packages from Zabar’s and I remember how delicious it was. I was really excited to read Zabar’s: A Family Story, With Recipes by Lori Zabar to understand a bit more where that food came from.
I found the whole thing fascinating to read. First, starting with the family leaving Ukraine to escape the progroms, similar to the stories that must have happened with my relatives. Then to the food trends throughout the years and how the store changed with it. (I loved the bit mentioned the opening of The Silver Palate in the 70s and how the following years home cooks started making chicken Marbella a staple from my childhood.) Then of course there’s the recipes, so many of which I remember my mom making especially for holidays. Yes there’s Latkes and Matzoh Balls, but even the Chopped Liver and Gefilte Fish, neither which I’ve had since my mom died.
Honestly I could see a lot of my mom in the author knowing they grew up in a similar time period. Which I think made it that little bit sadder knowing the Lori Zabar died from cancer shortly before the book was published.
Overall I enjoyed this so much! Finishing it I’m now dreaming about ordering a gift basket so I can try some of their food again.
5/5
I found the whole thing fascinating to read. First, starting with the family leaving Ukraine to escape the progroms, similar to the stories that must have happened with my relatives. Then to the food trends throughout the years and how the store changed with it. (I loved the bit mentioned the opening of The Silver Palate in the 70s and how the following years home cooks started making chicken Marbella a staple from my childhood.) Then of course there’s the recipes, so many of which I remember my mom making especially for holidays. Yes there’s Latkes and Matzoh Balls, but even the Chopped Liver and Gefilte Fish, neither which I’ve had since my mom died.
Honestly I could see a lot of my mom in the author knowing they grew up in a similar time period. Which I think made it that little bit sadder knowing the Lori Zabar died from cancer shortly before the book was published.
Overall I enjoyed this so much! Finishing it I’m now dreaming about ordering a gift basket so I can try some of their food again.
5/5
August 27, 2023
The beginning in the Ukraine was interesting but not really compelling as recounting of atrocities against Jews have been in many books I've read. The writing is bland and like a textbook. Yes, I know that Lori Zabar died three months before publication and that is very sad but I'm talking about the book. I did not feel deeply moved or drawn in by descriptions of what happened in Ostropolia. It was bland. When we get to the romp through the current store things pick up considerably. Descriptions of the food are absolutely wonderful. Then it goes downhill.
I found this book arduous to read and too long. As someone whose immigrant family members came here in the 1600s and served in just about every conflict starting with the War of Independence, I began to wonder where the giving back to this country might start and the unending striving for money and status would end. I would not recommend this to anyone other than New Yorkers who shop there.
I found this book arduous to read and too long. As someone whose immigrant family members came here in the 1600s and served in just about every conflict starting with the War of Independence, I began to wonder where the giving back to this country might start and the unending striving for money and status would end. I would not recommend this to anyone other than New Yorkers who shop there.
October 23, 2022
Tells the story of how Zabar's in NYC came into existence. The family was pushed out of Russia (now part of Ukraine) during the pogroms of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Some came to America and worked to create a fruit stand then grew that into a store, then several stores, a delicatessen, and real estate. Each member of the family was involved in a specific part of the empire. Some worked outside of Zabar's and brought their experiences back to Zabar's to help strengthen it and move it forward. Some family members left to create their own businesses but used the knowledge they gained at Zabar's to be successful.
I found this interesting. I liked the recipes that were shared and the stories behind those recipes. I liked that the family and the business are still together and still successful. I enjoyed this book.
I found this interesting. I liked the recipes that were shared and the stories behind those recipes. I liked that the family and the business are still together and still successful. I enjoyed this book.
January 13, 2024
i’ve always been fascinated by zabar’s and this is a nice read. lori describes her family very well, i feel like i know her father and her uncle, and it’s interesting in general since it’s the history of a new york staple.
i was therr recently and the store felt a lot more alive, if possible, once i knew a little bit more about it. as it happens to me with this particular genre of non-fiction, i find it a bit repetitive and i lost track of a lot of facts and figures.
i don’t consider this an essential read in the least (the book was kind of there, somewhere around the house and i just happened to pick it up), but it’s the kind of thing that one day i’ll find myself knowing a lot about the zabars in the middle of a conversation and i will feel very satisfied that i chose to read this book.
i was therr recently and the store felt a lot more alive, if possible, once i knew a little bit more about it. as it happens to me with this particular genre of non-fiction, i find it a bit repetitive and i lost track of a lot of facts and figures.
i don’t consider this an essential read in the least (the book was kind of there, somewhere around the house and i just happened to pick it up), but it’s the kind of thing that one day i’ll find myself knowing a lot about the zabars in the middle of a conversation and i will feel very satisfied that i chose to read this book.
June 30, 2022
Confession: I have never been to Zabar’s. I remember visiting an appetizing store (more on that in a minute) when visiting relatives in Brooklyn when I was a kid; the thing that really impressed me the most was the pickles in a barrel. (OK, I’m still impressed when I see pickles in a barrel.) Since there are many New York City gourmet food stores I’ve never visited, why do I mention Zabar’s? Well, I just finished reading “Zabar’s: A Family Story, With Recipes” by Lori Zabar (Schoken Books) and she not only made the store sound very impressive, but her discussion of the food that the store offers made me hungry.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/stre...
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/stre...
November 2, 2025
This is a fantastic fascinating history of the family who founded a New York treasure. Zabars is my favorite go to place for bagels which I buy via mail order (no one can make a proper bagel here in northern Virginia. ) I have promised myself next time I'm in NY, I will make my way and visit this place in person.
This book will make you nostalgic for family run businesses. they're not too common anymore. I think it's worth the read, especially the earliest years in Ukraine.
I was heartbroken to learn that the author, Lori Zabar died three months before this book's publication in 2022. She was only 67. She did her family proud with this detailed saga of the Zabar dynasty-- if only she could have lived to see it come to see its success.
This book will make you nostalgic for family run businesses. they're not too common anymore. I think it's worth the read, especially the earliest years in Ukraine.
I was heartbroken to learn that the author, Lori Zabar died three months before this book's publication in 2022. She was only 67. She did her family proud with this detailed saga of the Zabar dynasty-- if only she could have lived to see it come to see its success.
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May 10, 2022A lovely, pretty book, with nice recipes, photos, and being mostly a history-spanning multi-generational memoir. I wasn't compelled to read it in full because the many ways that it references Zabar's assumes intimate knowledge of it already, so it seems mostly a book for people who already have a connection to this place and/or are closely familiar with its fame from living in the region. I had never heard of it.
May 11, 2022
I finished this book in a night and wow was it phenomenal. Lori Zabar tells a wonderful story about a cultural institution that has shaped New York in infinite ways. It’s more than the history of a humble grocery but rather a recollection of a family’s story rooted in resilience, passion, and the love of feeding people. I only hope that I can make something as culturally relevant as Zabar’s one day
June 5, 2024
3.5 stars. It is very much the "American Dream" scenario. It is interesting to see the store evolve over time. I do enjoy how they did highlight a lot of the "smaller" employees who are very much a part of the store's history. I will say the Zionism in the book, at this particular point in time, was interesting to say the least. I can understand the sentiment with the older generations but left a slightly sour opinion in my mind.
May 11, 2022
Love the store, love the book! So interesting to read the history of the store and the whole Zabar family. Zabar's is famous for so many reasons and most are discussed in this book. The impact on food culture, the shrewd (and often hysterical!) marketing, the attention to detail and quality, the family interactions are all unfolded as well as providing some recipes. A food lovers dream book!
December 24, 2022
A delightful read. The book chronicles the history of the Zabar family who opened the deli, Zabar's that is a West side New York institution. A progenitor for all of the speciality food stores that later emerged in the 1980s, Zabar's was originally a deli that catered to new immigrants & that survived from the 1950s to the present day. The book also includes a few recipes from the family.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews