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08/06/00 02:17 AM

Eat something, you'll feel better
Barry Lewis
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   By Barry Lewis
   The Times Herald-Record
   blewis@th-record.com
   
   Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, a summer resident of Fallsburg, said it takes 20 minutes to drive through Fallsburg in the summer and it takes two minutes in the winter. And for good reason.
   There is a whole world that opens up in parts of Sullivan County in the summer that should be tapped into, instead of being dismissed as an annoyance. The boarded-up off-season store fronts in Woodbourne, Loch Sheldrake and South Fallsburg are not only dreary reminders of what was, but how much I miss what is available for eight weeks of the year.
   As you sloooowwwwlllly make your way through the hamlets, instead of making a permanent indent on the steering wheel and cursing out the light and cars in front of you, stop and smell the rugelach.
   Or taste the fresh challah bread, perfect just plain. Or have it with a dab of butter. How about saving it to make the perfect French toast on weekend mornings.
   Have a yearning for stuffed cabbage? How about kreplach (Jewish version of ravioli) or kishke (stuffed beef casings)? There's Meal Mart in South Fallsburg, Grunwalds in Woodbourne and Flaums off Broadway in Monticello, where Simcha Simuel of Monsey will offer you a smile, a full portion of kasha and a story to take home to the family.
   "We get people coming in who say the summer is the only time they can get this food," says Simuel, who advises you can't be moody around customers. "I told my friend Moishe, 'You gotta be pleasant ... be generous. People will come back.' Anyway ... this man says, 'My grandmother always made this food, so in the summer I buy it.' "
   Across the road from Flaums is "The Famous" Oneg Heimishe Bakery, home of the best onion rolls around. That's not to take anything away from their chocolate and cinnamon rugelach, but it's the onion rolls with the onions inside and outside the dough, that brings in the crowd.
   I would offer an advisory for folks looking to be intimate: Both partners should eat the onion roll.
   For a good knish ... and I mean gooood knish, there's the one and only Mom's Knishes in Loch Sheldrake. Yes, they used to be in Woodbourne, but they've moved to a bigger location with an even larger variety. Potato or kasha is no problem, but how about a broccoli, cheese or a pizza knish?
   Of course all these delicacies are kosher, but don't confuse them with the Kosher Sox shop, which has everything but food. And there's the Mazel Wok, which offers kosher Chinese food.
   You just can't find this stuff in the winter. And I understand for many there is no desire to break away from a balanced diet of meat and potatoes.
   Others walk around with the attitude that these different-looking people in their different clothes can keep their different foods. That's an opinion, however small-minded.
   I like to think that variety is the spice of life and there is nothing wrong with challenging the theory about the world being flat.
   As the famous ad campaign noted, you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy the food. And the next time you're stewing in traffic, pull over and find out what all the fuss is about.
   
   Barry Lewis is The Times Herald-Record's regional editor for Sullivan County. He can be reached at the Monticello bureau at 794-6711 or by e-mail at blewis@th-record.com.