Deli-cious Hanukkah Treat

Happy Thanksgivukkah, everybody! At least, that's what Boston mayor Thomas Menino is officially proclaiming the holiday. It's the coinciding of the beginnings of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, which, according to the proclamation, "will not happen again for more than 79,000 years" (notably, this is a disputed calculation, since it seems likely that the Jewish calendar will be adjusted sometime between now and then to keep the holidays aligned to the seasons). Regardless of whether or not this Thanksgivukkah is unique, Tufts is celebrating with the unofficial opening of a brand new kosher deli on campus, located just inside Jumbo Express.

That's right, folks: contrary to popular belief, Hanukkah comes early this year. Jumbo Express is open for lunch (noon-2pm) for the remainder of the year, and will commence will full hours and a fuller menu starting next semester. Currently, lunch items include cold sandwiches, pickles, coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, and chips. They accept both JumboCash and dining hall meals in addition to the usual payment options, making the deli (as far as I can tell) the second location (see: Hodgdon) outside of the actual dining halls to accept the Tufts meal plan.

According to unnamed sources working the counter, the deli will soon feature kugel, latkes, knishes, hot dogs, baked beans, and hot sandwiches for dinner. For now, you can stop by and pick up your corned beef on rye, which looks like this:

For non-freshmen, the pricing is something to watch. While prices may yet change over time, the current structure puts kosher sandwiches as the most expensive a la carte sandwich on campus. But then again, regular consumers of kosher meat won't find that unusual.

So, while you're stuffing yourself with kosher turkey this Thanksgiving, just remember: "No ma, I don't need to shlep any back to Tufts; I can nosh at the deli now."