Before Jack Abramoff became Jack Abramoff — and by Jack Abramoff, I mean icon of excess, of arrogance, exploiter of the weak and muddle-minded, a character waiting for Kevin Spacey to play him — he was feted in this town (among the Jews, at least) for bringing kosher cuisine downtown.
He ran two places near the National Archives, and both names apparently referred to the institution (why, exactly, I’ve never known.) Stacks, on the bottom floor was a New York-style deli; Archives, atop it, was a fancier place.
I never ate at Archives, but I did dine at Stacks and it was … flavorless. The paper-like texture of its sandwiches confirmed the worst cliches about kosher food.
One of the salutary effects of Abramoff’s downfall was that it helped bring about the establishment of Eli’s, where the kosher dining ranges from the decent (deli sandwiches) to the excellent (the falafel and shwarma platters.) All this is in my opinion, natch.
Abramoff apparently couldn’t keep away from the catering business — his halfway house time in Baltimore was spent working at a kosher pizzeria.
That’s over now, and Abramoff was seen today at … Eli’s! (No longer the only DC kosher joint outside of a JCC, now that a Maoz branch has opened a few blocks away.)
I hope he was merely dining, and not investing. And I hope that if he invests, he’s steered away from the menu.
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