Pumperniks was a Saturday afternoon staple for my family when I was growing up in Miami. It’s the first place I ever ate Matzo ball soup and a brisket sandwich. The experience of eating this food for the first time was enough to make me consider converting to Judaism.
Pumperniks, Wolfies and Rascal House were all created by Wolfie Cohen. Now all the great Jewish delis in Miami are gone and mostly forgotten. Wolfies, and Corky’s, are distant memories, and when Rascal House closed in 2006, it was a death rattle for the Miami I knew when I was young. That’s not to say that I define Miami based strictly on it’s New York style delis, but it was certainly an important piece of the picture.
Interesting fact… in the 1950s, Larry King (yes, that Larry King) ran a radio show out of a booth in Pumperniks.
On the back cover is a nursery rhyme of sorts which examines the Pumpernik family history. It’s rather macabre.
The Pumpernik Story
Told by Mr. Pumpernik
Illustrated by Mr. Pumpernik
From the motion picture, “Pumpernik”
Four little Pumperniks
Brewing up some tea,
One leaned over the kettle,
And then there were three
Three little Pumperniks
Fixing up a stew,
One upset the boiling pot,
Now there are two
Two little Pumperniks
Trying to bake a bun,
One looked in the oven,
And now there is one
One Mr. Pumpernik
What a man is he,
All his brothers disappeared,
ANYTHING for a recipe!
