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The Hy Life (part 2)

While the JN’s premier columnist, Danny Raskin, has been convalescing, we’ve been offering highlights from Danny’s prior columns. Danny has appreciated the greetings sent to him by readers.

Here is Part 2 of Danny’s column from Aug. 31, 2001, where he celebrated the 90th birthday of longtime deli man Hy Horenstein. Sadly, less than three months later, Hy passed away on Nov. 23, 2001. Part 1 of the column appeared last week.

That name of Hy Horenstein Deli seemed to come into its own big-time when Hy hit Livernois … Norman Cottler had built the Dexter Davison Market on Coolidge and 10 Mile Road in Oak Park … and his wife used to be a customer of Hy’s on Livernois … “Why don’t you come to Oak Park and my husband’s shopping center?” she suggested … At the time there was only the market, Mertz Bakery and Dexter-Davison Kosher Meats.

The most prominent of all his delicatessen-restaurants was the Hy Horenstein’s that opened on 10 Mile and Coolidge in 1963 … and didn’t close until he retired … 23 years later.

It had just 55 seats … and was in the tradition that Hy remembered so well … a delicatessen the way it used to be, he says.

The only reason Hy finally broke down and bought a slicing machine to cut corned beef was because, he tells, women used to come in insisting on their corned beef or pastrami being very lean and thin … “Actually,” relates Hy, “this is probably the reason the machines came into being in the first place. Years ago, the fatter the corned beef, the more people loved it.”

He had never before owned a slicing machine at any of his delicatessens … But even after finally getting one, Hy never would use a machine to cut his Jewish rye bread … preferring to always slice it by hand.

He was noted for his french fries … Never frozen like at so many places today … The potatoes were peeled and cut by hand … and fried until a golden brown … never ever soggy … “Heaven forbid they shouldn’t be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside!” exclaims Hy.

Back in 1949, Hy remembers, there were eight delicatessens within 10 blocks … “And everybody made a good living,” he says … Leinoff’s off Waverly, Ben & George’s between Tyler and Buena Vista, Lefkofsky’s at Tuxedo, Nate’s at Burlingame, Wilson’s at Richton, Liberman’s (formerly Perlman’s) between Cortland and Sturtevant, Hy Horenstein’s off Boston and Bill Boesky’s at Collingwood … “Around 1945,” recalls Hy, “a few of my favorites on Linwood were Flashenberg’s, formerly London’s; Lou’s owned by Lou Loewe on Pingree; and Abe Boesky’s Blaine Restaurant off Blaine.” They gave him a 90th birthday party

Danny … and Hy, always the dapper, wellRaskin Senior Columnist dressed gent, looked at the family and friends who came to pay him homage and said, “Clothes may make the man, but the delicatessen business made men out of boys.”

Hy Horenstein

Danny’s email is dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

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