Nosh on this

Americans love cultural variety in almost anything: interior design, clothing, food, even language.

Sometimes a foreign term suits a situation better, such as “enchilada,” “ménage à trios” or “oy vey.” If an incident calls for an exclamation with a bit more desperation, a small helping of the Yiddish “oy vey” will work better than “oh, boy” or even “ah, shit.” In fact, Yiddish comes in handy quite often. Schnoz, schmuck, schmooze, spiel all speak for themselves. Plus, it’s like speaking an 800-year-old foreign language—the German version of The Canterbury Tales, but more understandable.

So instead of using an English description for a gourmet food and pub crawl, organizers for The Big Nosh looked to the lexicon of Yiddish terms. Besides, The Big Snack doesn’t sound as sophisticated.

The event, which will be this weekend, is like a huge buffet the size of Midtown. But it also requires some walking. Noshers can visit nearly 20 Midtown restaurants, including laid-back hangouts such as Beach Hut Deli and upscale dining at Aioli Bodega Española. There are breweries, wine bars, yogurt shops and coffee joints on the route. There also will be musicians performing at many Big Nosh venues: Ricky Berger, Autumn Sky, Dawson & Marie, Gregory Cain, Andre Fylling and Brian Jennings.

For those wondering who they need to schmooze for a free ticket, hold up. The $36 ticket goes to support good causes such as Jewish Family and Children Services, Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Save Ourselves, The Breast Cancer Organization of Sacramento. Participants can do a variety of good deeds while enjoying a variety of snacks for a reasonable price. Nosh on that.