The Upper West Side Senior Citizen

By Mary Wojcik

Every Wednesday, midday, Steve DeLorenzo delivers between three and seven frozen Glatt Kosher meals to Janice Bastuni on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

About four years ago, Bastuni started ordering meals from DOROT, a culturally Jewish non-profit organization that offers seniors of all ethnic backgrounds numerous activities and services. She is one of approximately 115 clients who receive reduced price meals from the organization to supplement their diets. Considering herself culturally Jewish, Bastuni doesn’t keep kosher but enjoys the convenience of the service.

Reaching into her freezer, she sorts through the frozen meals stacked four to five trays high. She pulls out one labeled “Salmon Fish” and puts the rest back alongside the Edy’s Slow Churned Neapolitan ice cream and ice cube trays.

“When the weather is very bad, I’m happy to have it in the house,” she said of the meals. Her favorite meal? Boiled chicken with soup, matzoh balls and carrots.

Approximately seven years ago, Bastuni and a friend were looking to attend a senior center. DOROT appeared to be the obvious choice, as it was close enough to walk to and offered exercises classes, lectures, and a range of services. Two years later, Bastuni started ordering from DOROT’s meal service catered by Tov Caters in Queens.

About two months after knee replacement surgery, she takes her time walking slowly through the kitchen. She preheats the oven to 350 degrees, puts her dinner inside, twists the dial on a white kitchen timer to the 30-minute mark, and pours herself the first of three small glasses of her preferred soda, Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale.

“I’ve heard of people, they get hot meals everyday,” she said. “I wouldn’t care for that, because it means you’ve got to be hanging around the house waiting for the delivery all the time. That’s not for me.” Bastuni isn’t one to stay put: She attends the theatre, concerts, lectures, anything that sparks her interest.

If her décor is any indication, her favorite pastime was vacationing in different countries. Coffee carafes from Egypt and Morocco, collected by her late husband, Rustum, line a living room wall. Artwork from around the world and family portraits line her hallway. Dolls dressed in different ethnic costumes can be found throughout her apartment. While most items she collected on the road, she does admit that she’s an avid fan of New York flea markets where one “can find anything.”

The timer rings. Bastuni grabs a fork and dishes out the spinach, beets, and salmon from the ivory container onto a plate, explaining that she never eats from the container. She pours herself another small glass of ginger ale, and sits down at her kitchen table.

While the DOROT meals fill a void, take-out from nearby restaurants like Pio Pio, and grocery runs by her stepson, Omar, round out her meals.

After dinner, her sweet tooth kicks in. Bastuni reaches into her fridge and pulls out a box of chocolate candy from Spain, a gift from a friend. Colorful, shiny wrappings covered with Spanish descriptions line the bottom of the tin box labeled Vasquitos y Nesquitas, Surtido de Bombones. Without hesitation, Bastuni unwraps one and pops it into her mouth. A minute later, she unwraps a second one, following suit. The descriptions on the wrappings are foreign to her, but the tastes are distinctly Spanish, one of her favorite ethnic cuisines.

“I don’t know what my favorite is – I can’t figure them out,” she said. “They’re all my favorite, unfortunately.”

See Janice Bastuni’s recipe here.

Mary Wojcik