Something For Dad

June 20, 2003 was the day Stu died. And that, my friends, is the extent to which I refer to him in the past tense.

Every time I hear and see your joyous reaction to Stu’s Cheesecake, Dad must be told about it. It brings him much happiness.

Many of you never met him though you know his name. You have a sense of who he is. How many of you call me Stu?

I crack open some cream cheese. I think about Stu. I bake the cake thinking of Stu. Because of my uncanny ability to relate any life experience to a Stephen Sondheim song, “Or am I just being kind? Or am I losing my mind?”

He resides in my heart; always available to speak. I get that concept. However, an experience happens. With the cheesecake, there’s something tangible. With all of you, there is a shared, visceral joy.

It brings Dad back in a way I can’t dream imaginable. Honestly, who needs a channeler? I have a cheesecake.

For helping to bring him here, I thank you.

Do I miss him. Yes. Am I sometimes sad? Same answer. It doesn’t last long.  Stu's Cheesecake is something I do for me and him.

It’s impossible to be sad, looking at a cheesecake crack. Stare into it and you can see your future.

This is the cake I baked on June 20 in his honor.

The two and only.  My mom and dad, Rae and Stu Mikelberg

On Father's Day, Hooray For Stu!

Stu died twelve years ago today, June 20. With good reasons, it is impossible to feel any sadness or to mourn him.

I had Kaposi's Sarcoma in early 2003. I nearly died three months before Stu really died.

I will never forget how we sat together in my hospital room on Saturday night March 29, 2003. Faced with the possibility of my death, it happened. "I'm sorry." "I apologize." "What the hell was I thinking when I said so and so." "I love you." These were the words we said. Forty-three years of rancor, anger, fear and sadness went right out the window. They were instantly replaced with respect, admiration and love, feelings we already had but were masked by everything else. Then my friend Cy O'Neal showed up. Cy and Stu were instant buddies. She dubbed Stu "Twinkle Eyes". The rest of the evening was sad and beautiful and joyous.

The last thing Stu and I said to each other was "I love you". In the hours following the call that he died, while sad beyond sad I remember this thought. There were neither any unresolved feelings nor anything left unsaid. My relationship with Stu was complete, with a nice David Mikelberg blue ribbon tied around it. Giving his eulogy two days later, I could speak of only the love he had for us all and how he was the definition of a larger than life character. Instead of goodbye were the oft-repeated words, "Hooray for Stu!"

My sadness was lightened a bit by the knowledge he died on June 20, the date of my prize losing appearance on The $20,000 Pyramid. How kind and thoughtful of Stu to leave on a day I already equate with loss.

When Stu's Cheesecake started, I had the belief of punching a hole in the Universe so Stu could be here to see it. There are no words to describe the feeling and its empowering result. Stu's been with me every step of the way.

Look at any online profile I have and his name is the first thing you see. For crying out loud, so many friends call me Stu. That's fine with me and again, Stu is here.

The joy and fun everyone experiences as they eat Stu's Cheesecake is the essence of what Stu is all about. I see it and that's everything.

Yes, I miss him. Sadness? Mournfulness? Out of the question.

Dad, I have a gift for you on this Father's Day. We're building, slowly but surely.  There are those who've helped us get this far over the past three years. To them we are forever grateful. We still need help. We'll find our needed assistance.

I'll never quit. I'll see it through. Impossible to do when you were here, I'll do it now, I promise. It is something worthwhile I can do for us both.

You get it, Dad. I know you do.

Six Degrees To David Letterman

We're misty-eyed over David Letterman's last Late Show.  Adding our voice to the many heartfelt tributes to Dave, we came up with our own game of Six Degrees.  To our delight, it is a true attachment of the heart.  Here we go.

Stu's Cheesecake- David Mikelberg - Stu Mikelberg - Bypass Surgery - Dr. O. Wayne Isom - David Letterman

Dr. Isom was Stu's surgeon for his bypass surgery in 1999.  It gave us four more years with Stu hence we are forever grateful.

We are grateful to Dave for many things, the laughs, the great broadcasts, the Top 10 lists and for bringing us Darlene Love singing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for 28 years.

Darlene Love states she won't sing that song on television for anyone else but you, Dave.  And so we have a request.  If you are so moved, please come back once a year for a Christmas Special.  There are still meatballs waiting to be knocked off Christmas trees and it's not the holiday without Darlene Love.

And Dave, after all this time you may want to do something different. We've got a solution.  We will happily provide a Stu's Cheesecake for you and Jay Thomas to knock off the tree.  We'll bake one for you, too, as we have for Darlene.

Have as much fun out there on the lake, fishing with your son as Stu did with his David.

It's our first video!

Seto McCoy loves Stu's Cheesecake!

Let us know how much you love the great taste of Stu's.  We'll put you on camera!

And the countdown has started to the launch of Seto's web site at www.setomccoy.com.

Joe Franklin's Couch - The Best Seat In The House

A New York original has died. Joe Franklin practically invented the television talk show, keeping his on the air for 43 years. He interviewed everyone whether in the mainstream or on the end of the fringe.

From memorabilia to LP's to pictures, his office is a repository of the entire 20th century. If it happened, Joe knew about it. He was referred to as "The King of Nostalgia". Friends call me the "National Treasure of Fandom." I'd lose a trivia contest to Joe in a heartbeat though he was genuinely surprised I knew some of the answers.

We could drink a toast to him, but you can't find a bottle of Hoffman Ginger Ale when you need one.

Like my dad, Joe made friends of everyone he met. Joe made you feel right at home in his presence.  I am happy to be included among those friends.

Godspeed, Joe.

January 1, 2015

Sometimes others can say things better than we ourselves.  In the words of the English author, Neil Gaiman:

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.  You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, any my wish for myself.  Make New Mistakes.  Make glorious, amazing mistakes.  Make mistakes nobody's ever made before.  Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is:  art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever."

Stu's Cheesecake is the happiest mistake we ever made.  We are grateful to you for enjoying it as you have.  We are grateful for your support.  We thank you.

Happy New Year.

It's Time For A Stu's Cheesecake Holiday Song We'd Love To Hear

The 8 Nights of Hanukkah (Marked Down a Little From Twelve)

On the first night of Hanukkah my Bubbe gave to me,

A sweet, creamy Stu's Cheesecake. 

On the second night of Hanukkah my Bubbe gave to me,

Two months of J-Date,

And a sweet, creamy Stu’s Cheesecake. 

On the third night of Hanukkah my Bubbe gave to me,

Three spinning dreidels,

Two months of J-Date,

And a sweet, creamy Stu’s Cheesecake.

On the fourth night of Hanukkah my Bubbe gave to me,

Four suf-gan-yiot (that’s jelly doughnuts, if you’re Goyishe),

Three spinning dreidels,

Two months of J-Date,

And a sweet, creamy Stu’s Cheesecake.

On the fifth night of Hanukkah my Bubbe gave to me,

Five Mac-a-bees (very handsome soldiers, I’m keeping them),

Four suf-gan-yiot (that’s jelly doughnuts, if you’re Goyishe),

Three spinning dreidels,

Two months of J-Date,

And a sweet, creamy Stu’s Cheesecake.

On the sixth night of Hanukkah my Bubbe gave to me,

Six chocolate gelt,

Five Mac-a-bees (very handsome soldiers, I’m keeping them),

Four suf-gan-yiot (that’s jelly doughnuts, if you’re Goyishe),

Three spinning dreidels,

Two months of J-Date,

And a sweet, creamy Stu’s Cheesecake.

On the seventh night of Hanukkah my Bubbe gave to me,

Seven deep fried latkes,

Six chocolate gelt,

Five Mac-a-bees (very handsome soldiers, I’m keeping them),

Four suf-gan-yiot (that’s jelly doughnuts, if you’re Goyishe),

Three spinning dreidels,

Two months of J-Date,

And a sweet, creamy Stu’s Cheesecake.

On the eighth night of Hanukkah my Bubbe gave to me,

Ocho Kan-del-ikas (My Bubbe speaks Spanish!?),

Seven deep fried latkes,

Six chocolate gelt,

Five Mac-a-bees (very handsome soldiers, I’m keeping them),

Four suf-gan-yiot (that’s jelly doughnuts, if you’re Goyishe),

Three spinning dreidels,

Two months of J-Date,

And a sweet, creamy Stu’s Cheesecake!

Happy Hanukkah from all of us at Stu's. 

 

Three Ways To Stu's

If The Mary Tyler Moore Show were on the air today, we imagine Rhoda Morgenstern would say, "Mare, cottage cheese solves nothing. Stu's Cheesecake can do it all."

Stu's Cheesecake is more excellent than ever, original recipe, reduced sugar or sugar-free, plain (to be honest, there's nothing plain about Stu's) or marble.  Contact us for information and availability.

Rhoda might say, "This is the best diet ever, kid!"

Less (Sugar) Is More (Stu's).

"Oh honey, it's incredible" is just one of the accolades we heard when friends tried Stu's new reduced-sugar cheesecake.  We've removed about 80% of the sugar and kept all of the great taste and creaminess of Stu's Cheesecake.

And it's still "beautifully cracked", just like us.

It costs a little more, but just think of how many times your waistline will thank you.

We happily introduce Stu's "You'll DI over ET" Reduced Sugar Cheesecake, now available in original and marble flavors.

Welcome to Stu's

We bring you a blog about Stu's Cheesecake and who else is going to do that for you?

And if you want more, there is more, more family, more friends, more community and more of the things that bring us together. We'll have stories, contests, laughs, songs from Broadway musicals with parody lyrics (which we want you to sing and post online), TV show plots we'd love to see and at least one pitch for a reality show.  And yes, there will be cheesecake.

We want to hear from you.  Bringing us together is the reason we created Stu's Cheesecake.  At our table, everyone is welcome.

Welcome to Stu's News.