I need your help. People don't believe me when I tell them there was a Midget Deli in Cambridge, Mass.
It's like I am the only one who ever saw this place, Cambridge residents included.
The Midget Deli was located at the current Changsho Chinese restaurant at 1712 Mass. Ave., between Porter and Harvard Square. I remember it best in the late 1960s as the only Jewish deli in Cambridge, although I had not yet been to 90 percent of the rest of Cambridge. So maybe it was the only Jewish deli within the 10 percent of the Cambridge I knew! Maybe even less, as I was often so preoccupied with playing car bingo.
Most delis are small in size, but the Midget was pretty big. How's that for irony? I loved its pastrami sandwiches and the bustling nature of the place. Having just visited New York City and a few of its then-famous delis (like the Stage Deli), the Midget seemed to have that classic, busy delicatessen vibe.
Could someone please back me up on this -- that there was a Midget Deli in Cambridge? Please feel free to comment below, including stories on your dining experiences at the Midget Deli. Or, maybe someone who worked there can chime in to help me regain my credibility because they think I am joking. Thank you!
Definitely existed. I was a waiter there summer of 1974
ReplyDeleteMost definitely there was a Midget Deli in the late 50s and early 60s. We would drive from Tufts University most Sundays for dinner at the Midget.
ReplyDeleteMy parents took us there until they closed in the 70's? I waitressed there briefly when I was in college. Al Kagan was the owner. The blintzes & cheesecake!!!!
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was near Igo's, across from Sears. Wish I had a photo of it.
ReplyDeleteI do remember the midget, it was on the opposite side of mass ave near three aces pizza. Does anyone remember a sub shop in the 1970's named Hogans Hero's that was near fresh pond circle in Cambridge? It's now named Ma Magoo's.
ReplyDeleteI went there for lunch every Saturday after my ballet lesson. I always ordered an open-face roast beef sandwich...served hot with gravy. I lived nearby then...on Martin Street.
ReplyDeleteIn the early '70's I had a 'breakfast special' there weekdays, before going to work. Generous portions. I believe a scene in 'Love Story' was filmed there.
ReplyDeleteI used to work at Hogan's Heroes in the early 1970's. Right next to Jay A's nightclub where you could see Ike and Tina Turner's and others in a small venue. Sub shop was owned by Fred Bloom.
ReplyDeleteI moved to Cambridge in 1967 and Midgets was there on 1700's Mass. Ave. Had an extensive menu- I ate many lunch's & dinners there. I particularly remember an elderly Iris waitress who did not take kindly to am off hand remark I made about the Kennedy's
ReplyDeleteI lived in that area from 1953 to 1969, just off Mass Ave., three blocks below The Midget. We went there all the time! Also close by was an A&P and a hobby shop. Does anyone remember Bence’s Pharmacy on the corner of Mass Ave.and Everett Street? Agazzi School? Brigham’s in Harvard Square? Jimmies on your ice cream cone?
ReplyDeleteI lived on Chauncy Terr in the 70s and went to Bence's every morning. Sat at the lunch counter with coffee and smoke and read the newspaper.All for a buck.Waited on by Mrs. Holly or the owner ,Larry.
ReplyDeleteJust found a reference to it in my Grandmother's Diary from 1949. She and her husband were visiting Cambridge. "Later Will and I went to the Midget Restaurant for dinner." So I Googled it.
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