mrogovin's Profile
Soom Soom
I have been to both and I second KC's review. Best falafel in NYC (I used to say Moshe's on 46 and 6th was the best, but they are not what they once were, plus Soom Soom offers lots of fixins). Also excellent Sabich. Seating is a problem (72nd St has more, barely. I think the Lex shop has more salad choices. They are opening a third location in midtown soon.
Veggie Patch (again)
Here is what they told me. Given the number of kosher co-packers in the US, it seems they made a deliberate choice to go non-kosher.
from: Margie Lewis (M.Lewis@tribehummus.com)
date: Tue, May 8, 2012 at 11:39 AM
subject: Veggie Patch Kosher
Hi,
Thank you for your inquiry.
Unfortunately, Veggie Patch products are not kosher. Osem products are Kosher but when they are packed in the United States they are not packed in a Kosher facility. We do hope to become kosher in the future.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any other questions.
Thank you!
Margie Lewis
Marketing Assistant.
Tribe Mediterranean Foods, Inc.
110 Prince Henry Drive
Taunton, MA 02780
(508)844-5060
Horseradish question
I use a food processor, regular blade and process it with some wine vinegar, beets and a little sugar and salt. It is stronger than any chewed slices. What I do is use romaine for maror (so I have something solid to dip into charoset, even though it is not bitter at all) and add the grated on top for bitterness. That way I fulfill the mitzvah, but still have strong taste. It clears the sinuses. But even then, it only lasts as strong for about 2-3 days at most.
Passover Oil
Just be careful where you buy. The same Liebers Grapeseed oil that Shoprite had for $7 was being sold by Fairway for twice that. Why grapeseed needs a special passover approval is a real mystery. The OU says it is concerned about actual Chametz, but I just do not see how. SHopRite also had Safflower. (Paramus, NJ)
Cast Iron Pans
Lodge no longer claims anything about their seasoning being kosher. Best to buy unseasoned and DIY. It is not that hard to do.
IMPORTANT QUINOA INFO FOR PASSOVER
Another alternative might be to purchase Sugat brand, which is marked K for P kitniyot. The kitniyot designation is for the quinoa, but if you jold as the CRC does that it is not kitniyot, then you are assured that it is chametz free (presumably any trace of "real" kitniyot would be batul). Check with your rabbi of course, but that is what I did last year. (or buy from a store under reliable supervision and rely on their judgment as to whether it is acceptable or not).
Cheese
They switched to TabletK. Very disappointed since this is not a broadly accepted hechsher. Indeed, I have noticed a lot of cheeses with this certification. I loved their cheese and am sorry I can no longer buy it.
High-end, mail-order, free-range 'organic' meat
No US major kosher certification approves hind quarter meat. Hence, it is highly unlikely that they could get it. They might get approval from the Israeli rabbinate (why not, the OU approves products in Israel) or a private supervisor, but unless their policy changed, the OU won't do it.
Schnitzel+ Teaneck????
Well my experience at Chickies was watching the cook use the same gloved hand to handle raw and cooked chicken, whereas the system at Schnitzel+ separates raw and cooked prep areas so cross contamination is less likely. It is also cleaner, has seating and I found the food quite good, not at all undercooked. Schnitzel+ gets my vote for food safety, cleanliness and a pleasant place to eat.
High-end, mail-order, free-range 'organic' meat
FWIW...Not sure this helps with TX, but I buy poultry from Fairway, which is produced by Murrays. I grant that it is not in the same category or organic and free range, though they are certified by a third party for ethical treatment. We started buying only Fairway/Murrays after my daughter came back from Eden Village Camp (an organic, kosher farm camp in NY) insisting that we buy only meat that is raised in an ethical way with 3rd party cert. The camp used Wise and G&B, mostly the latter. The G&B we bought at a camp auction was very tough and we did not like it; this is the only time we had G&B chicken, so I can't say how typical it was -- it had been frozen for a while in the camp freezer when we got it. Murrays chicken and turkey are easily the best we have had so far and priced comparable to Empire and Agri, and about 1/2 the cost of Wise in local markets.
H & H Bagel is closing
IT could have been the rents or the tax issue, but I think what did them in was baking blueberry bagels. A sacrilege. They should have been drawn and quartered for such an offense. On the other hand, they are (were) the only bagel place I knew that, aside from making very good bagels in general, made sourdough bagels (mmmmm, a foodie's delight). I have been missing that ever since I left the UWS (by the way, the H&H bagels on the east side has no connection and is not reliably kosher). In Teaneck, Sammy's makes excellent bagels, but not sourdough. sigh.
Seasons Supermarket in Flushing
I've actually never been to Aron's (I work near Seasons and while I used to live in jhillcrest and shop at SuperSol, I am a transient here). I compared it to Fairway because the latter has a bakery that is innovative (for kosher, anyway) with items that one does not see in places like G&I. Season's bakery seemed to have little beyond what one is used to from standard kosher bakeries. I agree with you that Seasons is designed to make the shopping experience a pleasure. Whether that alone will attract customers or not remains to be seen. I am told that Pomegranate (which I have not been to either) similarly does not offer much in the way of product differentiation, with take out that is little different from anywhere else. What it does offer is very expensive meat. Will Seasons do the same? Will customers pay? We'll see...
Kosher at Palisades Mall
There was a deli last year. Did it close? Dairy makes MUCH more sense. I wish it was something other than greasy and fried foods, though. Why can't there be a salad/wrap and smoothie place? Must we keep feeding our kids and ourselves foods that are unhealthy just because they are convenient?
Seasons Supermarket in Flushing
They opened today and I walked around and got take-out lunch. Initial reactions:
It is a well laid out, beautiful store with modern, well designed graphics and all new fixtures. It looks more like a Whole Foods Market than an A&P.
Prices seemed comparable to major supermarkets, though I did not do a formal survey. They have a meat take out dept (deli & sushi). Sushi ranges from $5-16 for a tray. The meat and vegetable items were, for the most part, standard items, with a few barely more creative. All were, however, presented attractively rather than just piled into a metal tray. Similar to Sammy's Deli in Teaneck. the deli is branded as Mechy's. They used too much plastic packaging but that is pretty common in these operations.
They had a small fresh fish dept, large meat dept with what appeared to be nicely cut, high quality meat, both grass and grain fed. Produce was all fresh. All the shelves were neat and packed (this IS the first day.
The merchandise was, with a few exceptions, unexceptional. That is, the same thing you would find at Stop and Shop or any kosher grocery. Fairway has more upscale kosher foods. Despite the appearance, this is not Whole Foods Kosher. There was little evidence of an emphasis on locally-grown produce, organic, international cuisine or hard to find products (though there was a few of the latter). Yes, you can get Udon noodles from Australia, but you are more likely to buy Miller's Cheese and Fruit Loops than artisanal cheese or French pastry.
Baked goods were standard fare, nothing like what you'd find at Fairway (though they had a lot of cheesecake, perhaps the bakery made too much for Shavuot. They did have fresh bread, but I did not try it.
No salad bar. There is valet parking (parking was always a problem in peak hours in the old store.
The place seemed way over-staffed, though some may be from their other stores to see how it goes. The register software looks like it was state of the art in 1995 -- my clerk had a lot of trouble using it.
In sum, they are moving the kosher market up a notch, but not to a new category. They know that Kew Gardens Hills is not the Upper West Side and the locals want kishke, not pate. It is, in sum a supermarket, not a specialty store. Still, it is a far nicer place to shop than the old Supersol and that certainly makes a big difference.
milk street cafe at 40 wall st nyc-photos
Milk St confirmed to me by email that it will be OU.
milk street cafe at 40 wall st nyc-photos
And before them, there was a place on 47th Street that had both, on a single floor. Supermarkets have meat and dairy counters and in Israel, mall food courts have meat and dairy in close proximity. This sounds more like a food court/market concept than a table service restaurant (where meat and milk would be a problem).
Kosher marscapone cheese?
In addition to Vermont and Bel Gioso, there is Polenghi Mascarpone imported from Italy that I have seen in many markets that has the OK. Like the other two, it is not marketed as a kosher cheese, but as a mainstream cheese that happens to be kosher.
Mislabled fish
Fascinating that the Times article specifically cites the need to see fins and scales to identify the species of fish. All this time, the kashrut agencies told us to be sure we see the skin or buy a whole fish. They were not being overly pious; they knew exactly what they were saying.
ISO Reasonable Kosher Caterer for Bar Mitzvah Brunch In Northern NJ
We were on a budget, but also, since our events were not in a synagogue, had some flexibility (did not need a mashgiach). We self catered - hired our own wait staff, rented our own linens and purchased the food from a caterer (we used Josh's Place in Manhattan and saved money by picking it up ourselves). We purchased silverware at a restaurant supply house and used fancy paper plates. It is more work for sure, but the waiters did all the set up, clean up; the food was outstanding and abundant, and everyone was happy. Josh's Place will also do full service of course.
I find most of the food by local caterers passable, but lacking in creativity, quality and taste; not up to foodie standards. Note that we purchased or made our desserts - caterers buy 95% of their desserts all from the same bakeries, none of them particularly good.
Kashering my oven grates (Chow..plz don't move this thread)
That would be the oven shelves, not the stovetop grates. I used to have a separate set of shelves and stovetop grates for pesach to avoid this but they are expensive...
Why not -- another new restaurant in Teaneck?
Yes, but I'll bet there was a lot of jamon (pork) served at every one (assuming there are no kosher tapas bars in Spain, which was the case when I last visited). There will likely be no jamon at this one. Personally, I would rather have sushi than fake jamon.
Passover Oil
Palm oil will go solid if cool enough (as does olive oil if refrigerated) and gets thick to semi-solid even at room temperatures. It is one of the few vegetable oils that contains saturated fat. The Web is full of accusations and counter claims about the socio-economic and environmental impacts. There are better choices for Pesach use.
Passover Oil
KFP Vegetable Oil is almost always cottonseed. Regular is almost always soy
Passover Oil
Save your taste buds and your health and don't buy cottonseed oil. Skip the Pesach aisle and go to the baking aisle where you will find Hollywood Safflower oil Kof-K-P. You might also find grapeseed oil and olive oil that you can use.
I don't know if it is true, but I was always told that, aside from not being particularly healthy to begin with, cotton is not grown as a food crop and they tend to use more pesticides. If you are not buying organic, the difference may be negligible anyway since regular food crops also use tons of pesticides. In any case, those other oils are better, imho.
Rabbi Eidlitz notes
They are also not really kitniyot, except for those who come from certain European communities that did not eat them on Passover. R. Moshe Feinstein, one of the most prominent decisors of Jewish law ruled that Peanuts may be eaten by anyone who does not have a family tradition not to eat them. That is why, for example, that peanut oil was readily available OU-P for many years. However, since the OU tries to cover all bases and only sanctioned Peanut Oil (and no other peanut products) this became confusing and sales of the oil declined annually until it no longer made economic sense. Peanut oil is no longer available for Passover. Unless you have a tradition not to eat peanuts, and assuming you could find unroasted peanuts with no additives, I would imagine you could eat them, and even make peanut butter. Of course, check with your Rabbi first...
Francesco Rinaldi Pasta Sauces
The OU does not place its logo on any product that (for the same flavor) is made in kosher and non-kosher plants. The caveat is the "same flavor." However, different plants may run different flavors, and the same plant may do kosher and non-kosher runs of different flavors. The Half-Moon K is essentially the same as the OU (it is now a division of the OU).
Nothing beats homemade of course, but these are not bad.
Balsamic Vinegar...
Me too. Update: They told me in an email that it is repackaged, imported Balsamic from Modena (from Italy), but given the ingredient list, I remain unimpressed
Kosher Experince in Teaneck
Great. Another line of greasy unhealthy food in a place known for greasy, unhealthy food. Please pardon me if I do not find this reason to get the foodie community excited.
How to Heat Vegetables to stay Crisp/ Tender, Rather than Overcooked, on a Shabbos Blech
The problem of any food left on the heat for a long time is not the time, it is the temperature. Any food whose internal temperature goes above about 150-160 will have an altered texture: protein food will dry out while most vegetables and fruits will get mushy. It make no difference how much moisture is present (that is why a beef stew can have dried out meat even though it is sitting in a liquid). It is, unfortunately, very hard to maintain a constant temperature on a bleich, though one can try. The key is to bring the food up to the desired temperature and then make sure the bleich is set so it does not go above. Food kept at the right temperature will not get yucky or go bad.
Due to the fact that the heat is only on the bottom, it may be hard to prevent too much heat at the bottom without losing too much on top, though insulation will certainly help. An alternative is to use a warming drawer set to 160, but make sure the internal temp of any food is already at 160 or you will likely get food poisoning. I do not have data on bacterial growth of food at 160 for 18 hours, but I would think it should be little different than for a crockpot if the container is sealed tightly. If the temperature drops below 150-160, bacteria growth is rapid, and surface temperatures are apt to be lower than internal, unless the food is well insulated and heat surrounds it, so be careful (experiment during the week when you can check temperature).
(Note I am not a microbiologist nor food safety consultant. This is based on materials I have read from reliable sources, so take it for what it is worth)
Cabot's Cheddar
I also like "The Cheese Guy";s OU certified Cheddar from New Zealand. I strongly suspect, though do not know, that it is repackaged Mainland Cheddar that was briefly available in the US under (I think) the OK but the hechsher was withdrawn when they began repackaging bulk sizes into retail portions. This is good cheese, IMHO.
