I lived in Oregon for two years (the defunct hippie enclave of Eugene to be exact), so before any of you west coast readers get all up in arms over what I’m about to say, just remember I’m a sympathetic member of the tribe.

It’s just that, since moving to New York, I’ve fully realized to extent to which the east coast, and NYC in particular, sets the cultural tone for the rest of the American Jewish community. Seinfeld - New York. Woody Allen - New York. Manischewitz…okay, Cincinnati and then New Jersey, but close enough.

Considering the cultural monopoly east coast Jews have on most things Jewish, it seems to follow that the majority of successful Jewish food entrepreneurs would hail from the more neurotic side of the Mississippi. So I was utterly taken aback when Lois Leveen proved me wrong on her blog MacaroniManiac.

During my years on the left coast, I became familiar with the mail-order gift basket company Harry and David. While the company sells all sorts of sundry gift-basket items (fancy chocolates, jams and spreads that will sit in your cupboard for years, etc.), they are most famous for their “fruit of the month” club. The members of this exclusive club receive a new basket of painting-perfect fruits (sumptuous pears, glistening grapefruits, etc.) each month.  It’s a gift that keeps on giving - for a year anyway - and a brilliant scheme and created by, duh, how could I have missed it? - West Coast Jews.

Leveen writes:

“The Fruit-of-the-Month-Club is a mail-order bonanza, as invented by brothers Harry and David Rosenberg of Medford, Oregon, better knowns as:

Yes, that’s right, there were Jews in Oregon in the early 1900s. And in southern Oregon no less. With the world as their orchard, they came up with the lucrative idea of sending people gifts of fresh fruit throughout the year.

You can practically hear their mother kvelling! My sons, not only are they earning a nice little living with this mail-order mishegas, but thanks to these little mensches, people across the can enjoy a healthy nosh, even if there are maybe blizzard conditions in their own backyards.”

For the record, I am perfectly happy to be proven wrong.  The original Harry and David are no longer with us.  And as Leveen points out, eating a perfect peach in the middle of a gloomy West Coast winter riles the localvore in all of us.  But like H & D’s mothers, I still get a little farklempt knowing that a couple of nice Jewish boys made their living while working with the fruits of the earth.

Like Harry and David, Leveen is also an Oregon-based foodie Jew (though, not surprisingly, she lived in New York long enough to know a good Yonah Schimmel when she sees one).  It’s good to know that, next time I feel the pull towards Oregon, I’ll be in good company.