The Iconic NY Treat One Lawmaker Brought To The Impeachment Hearing

When the House of Representatives convened to vote on whether or not to impeach President Trump for a second time on January 13th, they knew they were in for a long, drawn-out ordeal. While luckily the impeachment hearings were not interrupted in such a dramatic fashion as the previous week's congressional meeting, nor did the proceedings drag on into the wee, wee hours, there was still a great deal of speechifying on both sides. If you were watching the hearings on TV, chances are you wanted to fortify yourself with a snack or two.

Well, whaddya know, lawmakers are just like us! Director Alex Richanbach tweeted a clip from the CNN coverage of the event (via Eater) that depicted Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, carrying a bag from an institution many of his constituents are sure to recognize: Zabar's. For non-New Yorkers, Zabar's is a legendary purveyor of everything from bagels to caviar.

What was in that Zabar's deli bag?

Many people on Twitter seemed to find Nadler's carryout quite relatable, with comments like "Honestly A+ New Yorking, 10/10," "Now that's how you represent your district," and "Not all heroes wear capes. Some come bearing bagels and lox." One would-be political pundit even posed the question, "Wouldn't it be right to say, that an impeachment really isn't an impeachment if you don't have a pickle at the end?"

That brief video clip did leave one question unanswered, however: What was in the Zabar's bag? While one Twitter user tried to rain on the parade by saying it was "Entirely possible he didn't actually bring Zabar's to the impeachment but used a Zabar's bag to schlep errant papers to the impeachment," it turns out this was not the case. Both Eater and West Side Rag reached out to the congressman's office, and both received the same reply: "A babka and the Constitution, what else?" Well, of course. Per Seinfeld Scripts, as Elaine from Seinfeld once said of this delicious dessert, "You can't beat a babka!" (Unless, perhaps, it's one baked by contestants on the Great British Baking Show.) But that still leaves us wondering, did Rep. Nadler opt for a chocolate babka, or does he prefer the cinnamon version that, according to another Jerry, "takes a back seat to no babka?"