Bagel Widda Shmear!

I grew up in New York City.  That allowed me to have some singular experiences, particularly in the area of ethnic-related incidents.  I have always had a very large appetite for bagels with cream cheese since my early teen years.  Now there are some place that really go heavy on the cream cheese and I don’t care for that!  A nice medium layer will do for me — thank you very much.  But I was reminded of all of this because I am sitting here eating my Bagel with cream cheese (OK, I admit its the second one this week) right now.  Things are so much different now.  Now you walk into the store, buy your bagel, cream cheese, and, if you choose, your beverage ( a pint of Tropicana OJ, Home style with some pulp for me!), you toast it yourself, put on your own cream cheese and off you go.  (Well I do all of my prep at the office, not the store).

I can remember walking into one of the Jewish Deli’s in downtown New York and ordering a bagel with cream cheese.  The person taking your order would turn around and yell (this was before orders were computerized) “Bagel widda shmear!”  I never really knew what it was that they were saying, but I always got what I wanted.   Of course that was when a bagel was a plain old bagel too!  Now you have Onion, Garlic, Cinnamon Raisin, Pumpernickel, Blueberry, Everything (which has some of everything on it!)…. the list goes on and on!  Oh yeah, and if you desire… Plain!

Well, one day I was in one of my favorites Delis with a Jewish friend and when he placed his order he said the same thing as they did:  “Bagel widda shmear!”  So, seeing my opportunity, I asked, “What in the world are you saying?  I understand the Bagel part, but what kind of language is “widda shmear?”  Well, he informed me that it was all in English.  The literal translation is ‘Bagel with a smear of cream cheese.” beccause they take the cream cheese and smear it onto the bagel.  I had just been educated.  Imagine the looks I got when I ( a young black teen ager) walked into my Delis and (accent and all) ordered, “Bagel widda shmear!”

The reactions were priceless!  Well, just something I remembered from my past that I thought I’d share.