Ari discovered Foodie Faces by Bill and Claire Wurtzel at the library last summer. We checked it in and out several times. We promised each other we’d try to have a foodie face day, but it never happened.
My parents visited last weekend and brought “the good lox” (Ari’s words. He’s a smoked salmon snob!) with them. This evening, as I prepared bagels and lox for supper (since I don’t have time to cook on Wednesdays), I got excited to open up the vacuum-sealed package from Acme Smoked Fish’s retail store. I lovingly placed the lox and cream cheese atop a sesame seed bagel from Modern Bread and Bagel* in Manhattan. Then, I sliced up some tomatoes my parents left behind. I was just about to snap a photo so I could send it to my parents to thank them for the lox delivery when I realized I had made a foodie face!
“Ari, I made a foodie face with my bagel and lox!”
“Show me,” he replied.
I set the plate on my placemat. He started at it quizzically.
“The bagel halves are the eyes, and the tomato slices are the mouth,” I said.
“It needs a nose,” Ari replied.
“You’re right,” I said.
I grabbed a yellow pepper from the platter in the center of the table and stuck it beneath the bagel eyes.
“Better?” I asked.
Ari smiled.
*=If you love bagels, but cannot eat gluten, you’ll want to check out Modern Bread and Bagel. They ship nationwide! Slice and freeze them as soon as they arrive. Thaw them out an hour before you’re ready to eat, and it’ll be almost as good as eating a fresh bagel in their shop.
Raising Literate Humans 
This slice makes me smile, both for the physical part that we see, but also for the interactions that take place. The “good lox”, the foodie face, and Ari’s realization that the face needed a nose!
Thank you for sharing with us today! 🙂
Oh the nose totally made it! So fun!
Thanks for the “Modern…” recommendation. It’d have to be a truly special event, but I can see ordering, maybe for my Jersey-born husband’s birthday (and I’m thinking pecan rugelach, too). So glad it’s a happy face on that plate—play away!
I order bulk from them (e.g., 12-18 bagels at a time). Their bagels beat any frozen bagel from Udi’s or other companies.
Modern’s rugelach are DELICIOUS, but expensive! It’s a splurge that I’ve only added to my order once. But it was totally worth it!
The book is new to me. As a child I remember I used a cheese slice to put as a sail on my slice of bread. Does this count?
Definitely!
Love the foodie face, love the meal, love the recommendation to order from Modern Bagel! I also love that Ari is a smoked salmon snob! I really enjoy lox, particularly nova, and can get it at George’s deli in Dresher where I live. But my husband will not even consider it, so several times each year we bring all the fixings to my sister’s and brother-in-law’s home. We all have delicious bagel and lox sandwiches while my husband has scrambled eggs and ham. Some people just don’t know what a good breakfast is!
Ralph is missing out! But, I get it. The mouth likes what it likes.
That being said, if you ever get up to NYC with him, you should try Sadelle’s for brunch. You can order a lox tower and Ralph can get something else. Here’s the link: https://www.sadelles.com/location/sadelles-new-york/.
Thanks, Stacey. A great recommendation!
I love having a name for this foodie trend! I still do this. A favorite past time is finding faces in various places, from wood patterns to food 🙂
Everything about this slice makes me smile!
This is such a neat slice, Stacey! You seize the moment of now in the context of the memories and I love how you work in the food snob bit, too. Nothing wrong with that, in fact the connoisseurishness is an acquired skill that I admire in a sophisticated palate. Go Ari!
The pepper nose really pulls it together.
Such a cute discovery and a tasty meal too.
The nose makes it even better. How fun that you saw this & were able to share it. Also, now I’m craving lox.