Author: Daniel Schulman
Date: September 5, 2003
Publication: Boston Phoenix, On the Cheap



If you grew up in a Jewish family of Eastern Eurpean lineage, as I did, you may be familiar with the Yiddish word es, or eat. It's a term my great-aunt Esther invoked often during family gatherings, while making jabbing motions in the air with a serving fork as she commanded me to force down a third helping of brisket — because, "Oy gevalt, look at this boy, he's much too thin." Apparently Rebecca "Ma" Edelstein was fond of this word as well, frequently using the phrase "es and es" to mother her patrons into obesity at the deli she opened in Inman Square in 1919. Her trademark saying became the inspiration for the thriving, family-run S&S Restaurant that resides today in the same location.

While her once-cozy deli has expanded over the years to fill a half-block lot on a stretch of Cambridge Street hemmed by curio shops and eateries, Ma's spirit lives on in the mammoth portions served in the restaurant she founded. For brunch-goers, a precernptive belt-loosening is certainly in order before digging into the plate-obscuring boursin omelet ($7.95), a blend of sauteed spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes, infused with a subtle sprinkling of boursin cheese and accompanied by a heap of lightly browed home fries, a cup of fruit salad, and — as if that weren't already enough — a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Or, if a sandwich strikes your fancy, the house-favorite Reuben ($7.95), piled with extra-lean corned beef and served on marble rye, is more than a mouthful.

S&S's formidable menu also includes some traditional dishes, from a thick New York-style knish ($2.95) to chopped-liver spread served with crackers ($4.95) to hearty matzo ball soup ($4.95), strewn with chunks of chicken and carrots - even Great-Aunt Esther, who was very finicky about this dish in particular, would approve.

While attacking an oversize meal at S&S, you may find it hard not to ask for a doggie bag. But think of Ma Edelstein's saying, and ,eat up. She would have wanted it that way.

S&S, located at 1334 Cambridge Street, in Cambridge is open Monday through Wednesday from 7a.m. to 11p.m.; Thursday and Friday until midnight; and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Call (617) 354-0777.

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