[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15363]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  IN HONOR OF NATIONAL CHEESECAKE DAY

 Mr. DURBIN: Mr. President, today is a very special day for all 
Americans, but it is especially near and dear to the hearts of many 
residents of my home State of Illinois, because today has been 
designated as National Cheesecake Day.
  Some may be tempted to dismiss National Cheesecake Day as another 
meaningless holiday. To those unenlightened few, I extend my 
sympathies. For you have truly missed out on one of life's sweetest 
pleasures. You see, in Illinois, especially in the greater Chicago 
area, National Cheesecake Day can only mean one thing, Eli's 
Cheesecake.
  When long-time restaurateur and Chicagoan Eli Schulman founded Eli's: 
The Place for Steak Restaurant, one of his marquee offerings was a 
superb cheesecake. It quickly became one of Chicago's favorite 
desserts. So popular, in fact, that Eli's began producing it for other 
restaurants and retail outlets across the country. Eli's Cheesecake 
Company has now been a Chicago icon in its own right for more than 20 
years.
  Since its 1980 debut at the first Taste of Chicago, Eli's Cheesecake 
has grown to become the largest specialty cheesecake company in the 
country. In both 1993 and 1997, Eli's Cheesecake was selected to 
participate in the presidential inaugural festivities, they have 
supplied desserts on Air Force One for Presidents Reagan to Clinton, 
and Eli's Cheesecake provided the cake for the First Lady's birthday 
bash in 1997.
  How does a humble homemade Chicago dessert go from after-dinner 
obscurity to gracing the plates of Presidents and First Ladies?
  Actually, there are two answers. The first is the taste. If you've 
ever had a bite of an Eli's cheesecake, you'd know that there is 
nothing like it anywhere in the world. Eli's has taken great care to 
continue making each cheesecake by hand--the same way the very first 
one was made. This ensures each bite will have the rich, creamy Eli's 
taste so many have come to love.
  The second is the spirit of Eli Schulman himself.
  In 1910, a young man named Eli Schulman was born on Chicago's West 
Side. Although Eli's father owned a bakery on Roosevelt Road, times 
were hard for the Schulmans.
  Eli was forced to leave school and embark on a series of jobs to 
support his family, doing everything from selling newspapers, to 
peddling seat cushions at ballparks, to managing a shoe store and 
selling women's dresses.
  In 1940, Eli decided to open his own restaurant called the Ogden 
Huddle. Soon after World War II breaks out, two signs appear in the 
restaurant's window. The first offers a 25 percent discount to men in 
uniform. The second simply states ``If you are hungry and don't have 
any money, come in and we'll feed you free.'' This spirit of generosity 
was carried throughout Eli Schulman's life.
  Following the war, in the 1940s and 50s Eli's business expands and 
his new restaurants become ``hot spots'' for both the Rush Street and 
Lake Shore Drive set. When in town, entertainers such as Barbara 
Streisand, pianist Bobby Short and comedian Sheky Green often can be 
found frequenting Eli's.
  In 1966, Eli and his wife Esther realized their dream of opening a 
white-tablecloth establishment, Eli's The Place for Steak, in what was 
then the luxury hotel The Carriage House. Eli's soon became the spot 
for celebrities and dignitaries to dine. Everyone from Frank Sinatra 
and Sammy Davis Jr. to Gayle Sayers of the Chicago Bears and comedian 
Henny Youngman, all began to make Eli's their place for steak.
  In the late 1970s, following up on a suggestion from a customer about 
his dessert, Eli spent several weeks coming up with a recipe that 
pleases everyone. Eli's Cheesecake quickly became a marquee offering at 
Eli's the Place for Steak. In the next few years, this rich and creamy 
dessert became such a hit that Eli's began producing cheesecakes for 
other restaurants and retail outlets.
  Although Eli Schulman passed away in 1988, a playground in Seneca 
Park, located across the street from Eli's the Place for Steak, has 
been dedicated to his memory. And Eli Schulman's spirit lives on in the 
company he started. His son, Marc Schulman and Marc's wife Maureen, are 
dedicated to providing their customers with products and services that 
live up to the name ``Chicago's Finest.''
  Eli's Cheesecake now employs more than 200 associates, the company's 
growth has been dramatic, and its headquarters, Eli's Cheesecake World, 
is a 62,000 square-foot state-of-the-art bakery, visitor center, and 
cafe.
  Today, the company makes more than 15,000 cheesecakes every day for 
sale to restaurants, supermarkets, and airlines. Eli's Cheesecakes are 
also available to the public via the company's thriving mail-order 
business and Web site.
  In honor of this great day, I have brought a taste of Chicago to the 
U.S. Senate. Earlier today, I delivered a sample of Eli's Cheesecakes 
to both the Democratic and Republican Cloakrooms for my colleagues to 
enjoy.
  As we go about the Nation's business today, I hope that each of my 
colleagues will take a moment to enjoy the treats in the cloakrooms and 
ponder the words of a respected American writer who once proclaimed 
that cheesecake was the truest democratic dessert, it is a mix of 
different ingredients that did not care much for the presence of an 
upper crust.

                          ____________________