From the Phoenicia Diner to the history of the Borscht Belt in the Catskills

We took a trip upstate to Ellenville, NY to learn about the history of the Catskills and the Borscht Belt Era. The Borscht Belt is a nickname for the Catskills region of upstate New York, which became famous for its summer bungalow colonies and resorts that, beginning in the post-World War II era, were frequented by Jewish families. At the time, Jews were excluded from many mainstream holiday destinations, so Jews — and Jewish New Yorkers, in particular — built vacation spots in parts of Sulliva