July 3rd: A Quick Stop at Stein’s Market and Deli
By: Steve Goode
Edited By: Judi Goode
July 3rd: Stein’s Market, New Orleans, LA
I was told to get to Stein’s Market and Deli early to avoid the height of the deli’s ‘rush hour’. Dan Stein, the owner, is an attorney by training from Philadelphia, but he made the decision to get out of law and opened up his deli 14 years ago. It has since become a staple of the New Orleans crowd. I had a nice chat with Dan about his deli and his business. The best way that I can describe his business philosophy is that it is counterculture on steroids. When you walk into the deli, the first thing you think of is that you are taking a trip back into the hippie’s era of the 1960’s. The décor and style are a throwback to another time. Dan Stein’s unusual business card reads: “Dan Stein, Owner, Head Jerk” (see attached card). Notice closely the logo and the Jewish star above his head and his hands.
He makes it a point to try and greet everyone that walks into the deli. I was made to understand, from one of his longtime friends and patrons, that he is beloved in the community. A true testament to his personal involvement in his business and the people he serves.
After saying my good-bye, I decided to make a run and go directly to Houston rather than stay in another hotel. I was planning on staying with my cousin Joni, in Houston, and decided it was better to chance the long ride, than one more night in a hotel room.
I jumped on I-10 West and danced in and out of clouds all afternoon. Since I began riding earlier than usual, I thought it would be easy to get there by 6PM. Unfortunately, the weather had a different idea. As I got within 120 miles of Houston, the skies started to darken and it looked like I was in for a little rain. How wrong I was! It started to drizzle. Then it became a constant rain. Then the trucks put on their four-way flashers and slowed to 40MPH. Then the really heavy stuff came down!
I have ridden in a lot of crazy weather situations, but never a storm like this. When the lighting strikes began lighting up the sky all around me, I made the decision to get off the highway at the next exit, which was fortunately only a 1/2 mile away. Once off the highway, even though it was only 5:30PM it was as dark as night which made the road difficult to see. I was only traveling at approximately 20 MPH on a frontage road when suddenly I hit what must have been 12” of standing water! The spray went above my head and the balance of the water covered my body from the waist down. I’m not sure how I didn’t go down or stall the bike.
I finally limped into a Best Western hotel in Vidor, TX. I was the only guest in the hotel! After unloading the bike, and leaving my riding gear to dry out, I realized I was hungry and needed to get something to eat but I couldn’t leave the hotel because the entire hotel’s parking lot was under 12 inches of water. I realized that no-one was going to bring me dinner so I donned my waterproof boots, tucked my pants into my boots and slowly made my way through the parking lot to the restaurant. By this time, the storm had passed but there was flooding everywhere. Betcha glad you weren’t with me on this one!
Of course, the next morning was bright and sunny and the floods had disappeared so I was easily able to make it to my cousin’s house by 10:30AM. When I told her where I stayed, she informed me that Vidor, TX is the stronghold for the KKK and has a horrible reputation. Sometimes it is better not to have ALL the information.
