Knishes are not as much part of the mainstream culture of New York City as they once were but they still scream "New York" which their thick golden crust and "chewy potatoey" insides.
After pretzel, pizza, bagels, push cart hog dogs and egg creams, knishes come in as the sixth Great New York food, and they used to be mainly sold out of hot dogs carts right along side the famous dirty water dogs.
Now you'd be hard-pressed to find a cart that sold them but they are still plentiful in bagel shops, specialty food stores like Zabar's and Eli's, and naturally, Yonah Schimmel's at 137 East Houston Street.
It's still the same dumpy hole in the wall, and its one of the last vestiges of the Lower East Side when it was full of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Yonah Schimmel's only competitor is the more commercial Gabila's knishes (officially known as "The Coney Island Square Knish"), which can be found in neighborhood delis and bagel shops. Schimmel's takes pride in only selling what was made the same morning, so purists always side with them.
So why are knishes so quintessentially New York? Read on.
1. Culture
Knishes represent a culture that barely exists anymore, especially on the Lower East Side, and many remember with fondness!
Yes, Yona Schimmel's has had the same address since Romanian immigrant Yonah Schimmel started the shop in 1890, which must be some kind of New York ethnic food record.
Of course, Coney Island has its own little piece of NYC Knish history. Gabila's has been around since 1921, so it's not like they are the "new kid on the block", but it's actually this company's blintzes that blow their knishes out of the water.
Gabila's also has a cool "Knish Photo Album" on their site featuring the history of the company (including pictures of the Gabila family and showing the knish making process). They do take pride in using 86-year-old equipment!
2. The crust
Oh, that golden crust! And the fact that those potatoes taste like mom's mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, only better!
True knish-olics also love the spinach and kasha (buckwheat groats) knishes, although they have gotten much less play over the years.
3. They get the job done
Knishes are cheap and filling--must more so than a burger or a falafel!
Gabila's have a REALLY THICK crust, so if you like a crust as thick as on a slice of pizza, go for it!
4. Clean eats
They are neat to eat. Yeah, no residue is left on your hands unless you overload them with the luscious golden brown mustard that is also favored by New Yorkers on--what else-- New York dirty water dogs!
,5. Pop-culture immortality
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Knishes were immortalized in the 2009 Woody Allen film Whatever Works, and a painting of them by Hedy Pagremanski hangs in the Museum Of The City Of New York.
Lesser known fame would include MF Doom's "Rapp Snitch Knishes" from the album, Mm... Food, so from NYC to jolly old London, there's a little knish for everyone, but, you know, mostly NYC.
6. Long shelf life
Knishes stay fresh for a few days, especially if refrigerated. Do not microwave knishes to heat them up--put them in a 400 degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes!
7. #Facts
naomibishop Knishery. I remember coming here with my dad as a kid. I feel like it's our duty to give these places business to keep them open. #YonahShimmel
According to the Yonah Shimmel's wiki page, no New York politician of the last 50 years has been allowed to leave office without getting a knish in the face first!
Of course, having seen no evidence of such, if anyone happens to have a photo of Bloomberg getting the spinach knishes right in the ol' kisser, please share with us because we need to see it to believe it.
8. Knishes without borders
Yonah Shimmel's will ship overnight to any address in the United States, but it is oh-so-much-fun to stand online in this famous rustic-looking shop and make believe you're living on the Lower East Side at the turn of the century!
Check out 6 Reasons Why Pastrami Will Forever Be Quintessential NYC.
[Feature Image Courtesy of Instagram]