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Spelling Bee Champ Tries His First Knaidel

Get it? He won for spelling the Yiddish word correctly

by
Stephanie Butnick
June 03, 2013
Knaidel.(Shutterstock)
Knaidel.(Shutterstock)

The knaidel heard ’round the world isn’t quite done with us yet. After winning the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee last week by correctly spelling the word ‘knaidel’ (at least according to Merriam-Webster), Arvind Mahankali, 13, of Bayside Hills, N.Y., was invited to Carnegie Deli (of “The Hannukah Song” fame) to try the namesake Jewish dish.

CBS’s Mark Knoller (silent ‘K’) was there. The story, in tweets:

Hoot of the Day: Kid who won National Spelling Bee with the word ‘knaidel,’ invited to Carnegie Deli in NYC to eat a ‘knaidel.’



— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 3, 2013

13-year-old Arvind Mahankali wearing a “Spell Checker” t-shirt as he sampled a ‘knaidel’ or matzoh ball steaming hot in some Chicken Soup.



— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 3, 2013

Serving Arvind his bowl of soup and knaidel was a waiter who boasted he won a “spilling” bee, not a spelling bee.



— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 3, 2013

The spelling champ was surrounded by reporters and cameras as he took a spoonful of soup and knaidel. As Cindy Adams would say: Only in NY.



— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 3, 2013

To complete the meal, Arvind should have a Dr Brown’s Cel-Ray Soda with his knaidel. “Cel-Ray” would be a good spelling bee word.



— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 3, 2013

We’ve officially come full knaidel.

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.