Last Sunday morning, I got together with about 15 very close friends and had the most incredible time. Everyone had bagels, sang and danced, discussed charity work, had some cake, told stories, gave and received advice, sang and danced a little more and laughed almost the entire time.

So, what was so unique about my morning? Well, I was actually with a group of manly men who call themselves the Bagel Basses. They are part of Buffalo Grove’s BG Singers and rehearse every Sunday during the choral season.

The Bagel Basses have been around a long time, but for the past six years they have been rehearsing at the home of Long Grove resident, Gary Mednick. “We start at 9:30, have bagels, start practicing around 10:00, take a break for cake and then sing some more,” states Buffalo Grove resident Bruce Bohrer.

“My wife, Beth, has banned us from the living room because there were poppy seeds everywhere,” chuckles Mednick. “So now we use the basement.”

“Beth bakes a few delicious cakes for us every week and we can’t eat them until we finish act one,” reveals Buffalo Grove resident Fred Weissman.

“Cake time can also be changed if someone needs to leave early,” notes Buffalo Grove resident, Walter Jasinski.

“The highlight is always the cakes,” adds Bohrer. “One is better than the next.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” agrees the rest of the group.

I could really see what the men were talking about. At the designated cake time, I ate a huge piece of the most scrumptious chocolate chip banana cake. So what is everyone’s favorite cake? In a unanimous declaration, everyone called out, “Monkey Bread!”

In between eating and joking the Bagel Basses rehearse the entire chorus show. They even clap for one another when some of them get up to do a small ensemble number or dance.

Of course, in the middle of all of this, one of them said in a serious tone, “Men, let’s have a moment of silence to honor our favorite ribs restaurant that just closed.” And the next ten minutes were spent discussing various restaurant happenings.

Actually, the reason I was at the Bagel Basses rehearsal was to find out about the bi-annual charity event in which they take part, called Maot Chitim. Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago is a wonderful organization that provides kosher Passover and Rosh Hashanah meals for about 5000 needy Chicagoland families.

“Mickey Kaplan, Mike Garfield and I started doing this when our kids were little and my youngest is now 21,” recalls Buffalo Grove resident, Steve Ander. “The Bagel Basses have continued with this tradition. We get up early, deliver meals and then eat at Jack’s, on Toughy, afterward.”

“The recipients are always so appreciative,” notes Buffalo Grove resident, Shelly Spector. “They always want us to come in and visit when we make our deliveries. Maot Chitim is a great event.”

If you’d like to volunteer for Maot Chitim, please call (847) 674-3224 or visit www.maotchitim.org/.

“We’re thinking of doing a calendar next,” enthuses Mednick.

“We are totally serious,” exclaims Bohrer.

“But we decided against swimsuits,” declares Buffalo Grove resident Michael Garfield.

“We can promote all of the bagel places we frequent,” states Village President, Elliott Hartstein. “But we will not be dressed up as Bagels.”

“Maybe bialys,” laughs Bohrer.

The Bagel Basses include Steve Ander, Larry Berkowitz, Bruce Bohrer, Steve Bulmash, Michael Garfield, Leonard Gold, Andrew Graham, Elliott Hartstein, Walter Jasinski, Mickey Kaplan, Gary Mednick, Mickey Mell, Jeff Newcorn, Larry Preston, David Rosinski, Steve Schneider, Shelly Spector and Fred Weissman.

The Bagel Basses, along with some terrific tenors, spectacular sopranos and awesome altos will be performing in the upcoming BG Singers Concert at Stevenson High School, Saturday, April 8 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, April 9 at 3:00pm. Tickets are $13 and $14, in advance, at Alcott Center and $15 at the door.
And for those of you who were curious about Beth Mednick’s famous Monkey Bread, here is her recipe:

* 1 package Rhoades frozen bread loaves (2 loaves)
* 11/2 sticks butter- melted
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 2 generous tablespoons cinnamon

Defrost both loaves in greased 9"x12" pan. Cover with greased plastic wrap and place in refrigerator over night. It will almost triple it's size, so put it somewhere in the fridge where there will be enough room!

Mix sugar and cinnamon together. Pull pieces of the dough (about the size of an unshelled walnut) and roll first in the melted butter, then in sugar mixture.

Using an angel food or bundt cake pan, start piling the sugar coated balls in the pan. Continue...

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for ABOUT an hour...watch it after 45 minutes. It will almost double it's size and might run over the sides of the cake pan. (I place the cake pan on a cookie sheet)

It is done when the top pieces are browned.

Invert and transfer to a plate...and enjoy. Don't worry about how to store leftovers...there won't be any!
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© 2007 Susan Dubin, Buffalo Grove, Illinois