Deli zealot

In the glory days of the deli, writes David Sax, “a Jewish restaurant review consisted of two questions: ‘How much does it cost?’ and ‘How much food do they give you?’ ’’ In his witty new book, “Save the Deli’’ (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $24), Sax rhapsodizes about the tastes, aromas, and lore of delicatessens. Deli food was adapted from Europe, especially the poorer regions. But delis are uniquely American, he writes. On his tour of more than 150 delis, Sax bypassed New England. He was intrigued by New York’s deli history. “It was as if the shtetls of Europe had emptied into several square miles,’’ Sax writes. “Suddenly the foods of a people dispersed for nearly 2,000 years came together in one corner of Manhattan.’’ “Save the Deli’’ available in bookstores. RACHEL ELLNER