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translucent. Stir in garlic.
    2. Add tomato juice, and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 to 7 minutes.
    3. Transfer to a bowl, and fluff couscous with a fork. Season with salt, pepper, sherry wine vinegar, and olive oil to taste (do a little at a time until you’re pleased, but don’t let it get soupy or soggy). Stir in olives and oregano. Serve at room temperature.
    * We were shocked and saddened to hear of Patrick Clark’s untimely death in February 1998—just a few months after we had enjoyed a delightful lunch with him at Tavern on the Green to discuss his contribution to this book. Only forty-two, he succumbed to congestive heart failure.

    Lentil Salad
    SERVES 6 TO 8
    2 cups lentils
    â…œ cup olive oil
    1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
    2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
    Â½ cup very finely chopped onion
    1 teaspoon crushed fresh garlic
    1 teaspoon salt
    Â¼ teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
    Â½ teaspoon sugar
    1. Rinse lentils under cold water in a colander, and pick through for stones and impurities.
    2. In a stockpot, bring 9 cups of water to a vigorous boil. Add lentils, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes. Rinse in a strainer under cold water, drain, and place in a large bowl.
    3. In another bowl, mix all remaining ingredients well. Pour over lentils and stir well. Serve chilled.
    PROMOTIONS, PITCHES … AND PITCHING NO-HITTERS
    Guardian of the Pickles
    O N M AY 25, 1994 , in celebration of National Pickle Week (yes, there is a National Pickle Week), fifteen strong-stomached and hungry hopefuls gathered at the Second Avenue Deli for a pickle-eating contest. Techniques varied: some contestants chopped the pickles into bite-sized pieces, while others chomped three or four whole ones at a time. The winner was Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who once again proved himself a macho guy by downing close to five pounds of delectable dills in just fifteen minutes! “The secret,” said Curtis, “is you belch after every second pickle to get rid of gas.”

    Pickles
    MAKES 20
    You can pickle firm green tomatoes or beets the same way.
    20 small Kirby cucumbers (choose firm, fresh, unwaxed, bumpy-textured cucumbers that are close to equal in size)
    Â¾ cup kosher salt
    15 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
    1 bunch of fresh dill
    2 tablespoons pickling spices or: 1½ teaspoons mustard seeds 1½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1 teaspoon dill seeds
    6 bay leaves
    1 hot dried red pepper
    1. Scrub the cucumbers with a brush in clear water.
    2. Pour 1 gallon of water into a large stockpot, add salt, and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, and allow water to return to room temperature. While water is cooling, wrap unpeeled garlic cloves in a cloth napkin, and crush them lightly with the back of a large knife.
    3. Pack the cucumbers tightly into wide-mouthed jars, add all other ingredients (distribute equally), and pour salted water over them. The cucumbers must be covered completely. Put the lid on, shake jar to distribute spices evenly, and store in a cool place (do not refrigerate). Open the jar once a day to skim off foam. In 4 days, the pickles will be half-sour, and can keep, refrigerated, for several weeks. For sour pickles, do not refrigerate until 6 days have passed.
    T HIS CHARMING ODE to Jewish delicatessen fare, by Abe’s friend Israel Shenker, appeared in
The New York Times
in 1984.
    Lochs and Bagels
    When my wife, Mary, and I left New York five years ago to live in Scotland, Abe Lebewohl wondered why. “What will you find to eat?” he asked.
    Mr. Lebewohl owns the Second Ave. Kosher Delicatessen & Restaurant, at the corner of 10th Street, and austerity is not his line. He has pursued the good life throughout Western Europe and Israel, and once almost succeeded in catching a waiter’s eye in Russia. Never having been to Scotland, he tried to visualize our setting. “It’s like a