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ハーバード通り
雅子さんが住むボストンのオルストン・ブライトン地区には、ハーバード通りという、大勢の移民が住む通りがあります。ユダヤ系の住民が多く、通りにはユダヤ食レストランなどが建ち並んでいます。今週は雅子さんが、その通りの様子を紹介してくれます。
Harvard Street
By MASAKO YAMADA
Harvard Avenue is one of the most active roads near my apartment in Allston-Brighton. It is a jumble of ethnic markets, discount stores and bars. Many students and immigrants live near Harvard Avenue, and when the T stops at the Harvard Avenue stop in the evening, it seems as if half of the people on the train get off.
Harvard Street is also an active road but it doesn't have such a frenzied air. Here there are also many nice ethnic markets, discount stores and bars but all of the stores are in nicer buildings, things are less crowded and the general feel is more sedate. Neither Harvard Street nor Harvard Avenue is located anywhere near the university with which they share their name but the proper noun "Harvard" pops up everywhere in the Boston area.
It is no wonder that Harvard Street feels more suburban than Harvard Avenue considering that Harvard Street is in the suburb of Brookline, while Harvard Avenue is in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston. The two areas seem worlds apart, but the interesting thing is, they refer to the same road. That is, the part of the long road that lies in Brookline is called Harvard Street while the part that lies in Boston is called Harvard Avenue.
I've written about the chaos of Harvard Avenue before. One of the distinctive features of Harvard Street is that there are many Jewish shops dotting the road. Brookline is famous for its large Jewish population, and although many Jews in the States have become more or less a part of the mainstream (they often go under the category of "white" when polled in ethnic identity surveys), a very strong ethnic element remains on Harvard Street.
There are a couple of synagogues as well as a multitude of kosher restaurants. Most of these restaurants serve traditional kosher food — either deli sandwiches or Israeli food — although there is a kosher Chinese restaurant called Shalom Hunan, which, obviously, doesn't follow the age-old Chinese tradition of using pork.
There is a fully stocked kosher supermarket in addition to Jewish bookstores, pastry shops and religious goods stores. For the most part, these places are not tourist traps. Therefore, most of them are closed on Friday night after sundown in observance of the Sabbath and they remain closed all day on Saturday.
Although this part of Harvard Street has the specific function of serving the needs of the Jewish community, it's a fascinating place for tourists such as myself to visit as well. I like eating different kinds of foods, so I find browsing in the kosher food shops especially interesting. I inevitably feel slightly out of place, but, on the other hand, nobody has ever made me feel uncomfortable.
Although it's true that immigrant Jews to the States have adopted many American traits, it is also true that many Jewish traditions have become generically American. One can obviously see how much Jewish sensibility has permeated the mainstream in the popularity of the TV show "Seinfeld," but there are more subtle examples as well.
For instance, there are at least four or five places on Commonwealth Avenue near Boston University where one can get a bagel to eat as a quick meal. Apparently, only a few decades ago, bagels were considered an "ethnic" food.
Harvard Street certainly has no shortage of bagel shops. One of the most famous of the bagel shops is called Kupel's. Going there to buy bagels and lox for Sunday brunch is a bit of a Brookline tradition among Jews and non-Jews alike. I've stood in line to get my share as well. It's not the most delicious food I've had — I've had finer Scotch salmon than what was slapped on that bagel — but it's cheap and satisfying.
New York is known as the Jewish capital of the States, but I think Brookline is holding its own. I read a review of one of the kosher restaurants on Harvard Street and it said something like: "This isn't New York — but these days, New York isn't New York either."
Harvard Avenue is one of the most active roads near my apartment in Allston-Brighton. It is a jumble of ethnic markets, discount stores and bars. Many students and immigrants live near Harvard Avenue, and when the T stops at the Harvard Avenue stop in the evening, it seems as if half of the people on the train get off.
Harvard Street is also an active road but it doesn't have such a frenzied air. Here there are also many nice ethnic markets, discount stores and bars but all of the stores are in nicer buildings, things are less crowded and the general feel is more sedate. Neither Harvard Street nor Harvard Avenue is located anywhere near the university with which they share their name but the proper noun "Harvard" pops up everywhere in the Boston area.
It is no wonder that Harvard Street feels more suburban than Harvard Avenue considering that Harvard Street is in the suburb of Brookline, while Harvard Avenue is in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston. The two areas seem worlds apart, but the interesting thing is, they refer to the same road. That is, the part of the long road that lies in Brookline is called Harvard Street while the part that lies in Boston is called Harvard Avenue.
I've written about the chaos of Harvard Avenue before. One of the distinctive features of Harvard Street is that there are many Jewish shops dotting the road. Brookline is famous for its large Jewish population, and although many Jews in the States have become more or less a part of the mainstream (they often go under the category of "white" when polled in ethnic identity surveys), a very strong ethnic element remains on Harvard Street.
There are a couple of synagogues as well as a multitude of kosher restaurants. Most of these restaurants serve traditional kosher food — either deli sandwiches or Israeli food — although there is a kosher Chinese restaurant called Shalom Hunan, which, obviously, doesn't follow the age-old Chinese tradition of using pork.
There is a fully stocked kosher supermarket in addition to Jewish bookstores, pastry shops and religious goods stores. For the most part, these places are not tourist traps. Therefore, most of them are closed on Friday night after sundown in observance of the Sabbath and they remain closed all day on Saturday.
Although this part of Harvard Street has the specific function of serving the needs of the Jewish community, it's a fascinating place for tourists such as myself to visit as well. I like eating different kinds of foods, so I find browsing in the kosher food shops especially interesting. I inevitably feel slightly out of place, but, on the other hand, nobody has ever made me feel uncomfortable.
Although it's true that immigrant Jews to the States have adopted many American traits, it is also true that many Jewish traditions have become generically American. One can obviously see how much Jewish sensibility has permeated the mainstream in the popularity of the TV show "Seinfeld," but there are more subtle examples as well.
For instance, there are at least four or five places on Commonwealth Avenue near Boston University where one can get a bagel to eat as a quick meal. Apparently, only a few decades ago, bagels were considered an "ethnic" food.
Harvard Street certainly has no shortage of bagel shops. One of the most famous of the bagel shops is called Kupel's. Going there to buy bagels and lox for Sunday brunch is a bit of a Brookline tradition among Jews and non-Jews alike. I've stood in line to get my share as well. It's not the most delicious food I've had — I've had finer Scotch salmon than what was slapped on that bagel — but it's cheap and satisfying.
New York is known as the Jewish capital of the States, but I think Brookline is holding its own. I read a review of one of the kosher restaurants on Harvard Street and it said something like: "This isn't New York — but these days, New York isn't New York either."
Shukan ST: Sept. 18, 1998
(C) All rights reserved
- jumble
- ごちゃまぜ
- ethnic
- 異民族の
- immigrants
- 移民
- T
- ボストンの地下鉄 T
- frenzied air
- 混乱した雰囲気
- general feel
- 全体的な雰囲気
- sedate
- 落ちついた
- proper noun
- 固有名詞
- pops up everywhere
- あちこちに現れる
- It is no wonder that 〜
- 〜 に不思議はない
- suburban
- 郊外の
- considering that 〜
- 〜 を考えると
- section
- 地区
- seem worlds apart
- 別世界のようだ
- refer to 〜
- 〜 を指す
- chaos
- 混乱
- distinctive features
- 際立った特徴
- Jewish
- ユダヤ人の
- dotting
- 点在する
- more or less
- 多かれ少なかれ
- mainstream
- 主流
- category
- 範ちゅう
- when polled in ethnic identity surveys
- 人種別調査の対象となったときには
- element
- 要素
- synagogues
- ユダヤ教の寺院
- a multitude of 〜
- たくさんの 〜
- kosher
- ユダヤ教のおきてに従って調理された料理を出す
- deli
- デリカテッセン
- obviously
- 明らかに
- age-old
- 長年の
- fully stocked
- 品数豊富な
- pastry
- ペストリー(パイ、タルトなどの焼き菓子)
- religious
- 宗教の
- tourist traps
- 観光客を食い物にする店
- in observance of 〜
- 〜 を遵守するのに
- Sabbath
- 安息日(仕事を休み、宗教的儀式を行なう聖日。ユダヤ教では土曜日)
- specific function
- 具体的な機能
- browsing in 〜
- 〜 をひやかして歩くこと
- inevitably feel slightly out of place
- 少し場違いに感じざるを得ない
- have adopted 〜
- 〜 を受け入れてきた
- traits
- 特徴
- generically
- 全体的に
- sensibility
- 感受性
- has permeated
- 浸透している
- "Seinfeld"
- 主人公がユダヤ人コメディアンの連続コメディー番組
- subtle
- わかりにくい
- bagel
- ベーグル(ドーナツ型の堅いパン)
- Apparently 〜
- 〜 らしい
- decades
- 10年間
- has no shortage of 〜
- 〜 には不自由しない
- lox
- サケのくん製
- (have)stood in line
- 行列にならんだ
- was slapped on 〜
- 〜 に載せられた
- is holding its own
- 独自の地位を守っている