Hirscheys's Profile
Birthday Dinner (Meat) Philadelphia/Cherry Hill
The food at burger.org is great. There is very limited seating at the chestnut st location. The location at South St has more room for seating, but is still very casual. It is my destination of choice from great meat chow in Philly, but for a nice sit down dinner I would second Max & David's.
Has anyone seen Bison in the last 3 months or so?
I just saw an article that said that the new butcher opening on the upper east side, Prime Butcher Baker, is going to carry it. I haven't been there yet to verify. I also saw an article saying they will carry venison, which would be really exciting.
Kosher Parmigiano-Reggiano
Hi - The "vegetarian" refers only to the rennet. It is confusing. The wedge is much better than the shredded. I haven't tasted the Pieffe brand being discussed here (clearly, I need to!) but if you've only tasted the shredded definitely try the wedge. It is really good and so far, the best kosher parmigiana I've tried.
Kosher Parmigiano-Reggiano
I have been getting Vegitalia Parmigiana Reggiano imported from Italy in Center City, Philadelphia. It is delicious! It is imported by a group called Kosher Taste of Italy. As far as I know, they only carry retail in philly, Teaneck, and Chicago but if you email them, perhaps they will ship to you. They also have some other delicious cheeses I have never found elsewhere, such as buffalo feta. Website is www.koshertasteofitaly.com
Kosher Bison
Thanks for the tip! I've looked in Pom but never checked the freezer. AdinaA - they do deliver to Manhattan, but unfortunately have a $300 min. I only end up putting an order in every few months because of that.
Kosher Bison
It is a subtle taste difference..but not a subtle health difference! I always loved Bison because it is at least as delicious as beef ( i think slightly better) and fewer calories and lower fat fat content. And, Bison is almost always free range and grass fed, so none of the health or animal welfare concerns of factory farmed meet. Unfortunately, I can no longer find it anywhere, either.
Friday dinner - the Inbal, David Citadel or the King David?
I personally love the Kind David,but the food at the Inbal is always great as well. I think both of those options are better than David Citadel.
Good choices to have!
Strange Passover request
Pomegranate in brooklyn had several types of fruit leather/fruit wrinkle type snacks kosher for passover. I didn't find them to be all that bad, although there was a noticeable difference from the standard ones.
Cheese
I second the Pomegranate suggestion, if they will ship. In addition to the good cheese selection, they make very nice platters. If they will ship,the one suggestion I have is to specify some of the nicer cheeses you are specifically interested. I find they often use the nice-but-more-standard sliced cheeses, but if you ask, they will put bleu cheese, brie, Camembert, etc in the mix as well.
Fleshigs in Philly
The OP specifically stated Center City. Not - Center City and the surrounding area. Cherry Hill is definitely not Center CIty.
Fleshigs in Philly
Burger.org is usually open Saturday nights in the winter, so it must have been because of Thanksgiving. I forgot about Hamifgash; food is fine but I prefer burger.org. Also, it is a different certification. I personally and comfortable and eat at Hamifgash; you just may want to check with your LOR.
Fleshigs in Philly
I would definitely recommend burger.org. They recently expanded their menu and the food is awesome, prices cheap. They deliver. Naviw already posted the details.
If you go, you MUST try their steak sandwhich. Awesome.
If you are open to vegetarian options, then there are many more choices.
Favorites at Pomegranate in Brooklyn
I try to get to Pom whenever I can, even though I live in Manhattan. Best kosher supermarket I have ever been to.
My favorites:
-the cheese selection
-the homemade dips, such as olive tapenade, pesto, red peper did, etc
-the pasta sauces (i've bought the alfredo and it tastes just as good as my homemade)
-the olives from the barrels
-the fresh salad, especially the fennel salad
High-end, mail-order, free-range 'organic' meat
You are completely entitled to that approach, Sphinx. My point was not to advocate for - or against - blended finishing. I am simply clarifying since your comment on G&B being fed corn could easily be misunderstood.
High-end, mail-order, free-range 'organic' meat
My understanding is that Grow and Behold requires the cows be grass-fed except for finishing, and that they can be finished on a mix of corn and grass. Not disagreeing that this is different than KF (and I as I mentioned, I am a fan of KF as well) but I think it can be misleading to say G&B beef is fed corn, when it is only a mix during the finishing process.
High-end, mail-order, free-range 'organic' meat
I have tried all three.
First, I'd echo avitrek in terms of Wise not being in the same category. They feed their chickens organic feed, but that is about it. I emailed them to ask about their free-range practices, multiple times, and they never wrote back, so if you are concerned about humane treatment of animals, I'm not sure they are any better than standard supermarket fare.
I order from both Kol Foods and Grow and Behold regularly. They are both excellent in terms of taste and quality. I usually order lamb from Kol Foods, and chicken, turkey, beef from Grow and Behold. The advantage to Grow and Behold is that they do frequent drop-offs in NYC (not helpful for your trip to TX, obviously) and I think their standards for humane slaughter are tighter. Kol Foods does carry some beef from South America that is still slaughtered with shackle and hoist, although they fully disclose which beef products are slaughtered this way, so you can choose to avoid that if it is important to you. In terms of the comments about KF being inconvenient in the past: this is probably because years ago, they required you buy a "pack" and limited a buyers ability to choose individual cuts. However, that has not been the case for the last couple of years, and I have always been very pleased with my orders.
With both G&B and KF, I've had guests rave about the beef or poultry I was serving, asking where I got it, so there is definitely a significant taste advantage. And they are both very transparent about their standards on sustainability, local, humane treatment of animals, etc, so you can read their websites and judge for yourself. Personally, I find it to be well worth the price, and highly recommend both.
Advice on Thanksgiving trip to center city Philadelphia
I just saw burger.org's new menu, and they have even more of the "classic" shabbat food than before. Their food is delicious, so I would definitely recommend calling them.
Chicken.org (Phila. PA)
They did consolidate everything at burger.org. I just ate their last week. The menu options from both stores are at the burger.org location. Makes sense to me, since they were right near each other anyway and the burger.org space is much nicer.
pardes restaurant in brooklyn
I agree with Miriam and one more suggestion I'd make if you are giving it a second shot is to go when you are not under a time constraint. The service is always friendly, but I've found that sometimes it can be slow. And you definitely want to make a reservation, because otherwise there is often a wait. All that said, it is usually worth it. Hope you enjoy - please report back.
pardes restaurant in brooklyn
I am going to passionately disagree. The prices have gone up, no doubt. But there is still a huge difference in price between the really high end manhattan places that their food compares too and often exceeds. I live in Manhattan but I find it worthwhile to leave the city to go to Brooklyn for this gem. I can get alot more for the same money, and I can't think of another kosher restaurant that is so creative and adventurous with the food, and changes up the menu so regularly. Overall, it is just an incredible value and truly unique on the kosher scene.
Chicken.org (Phila. PA)
Totally agree, Prettypoodle. I recently had the schnitzel sandwich - just absolutely delicious. The wings are awesome and I also found the mixed veggies to be really good. Sometimes prepared mixed veggies taste soggy and bland, but these could have easily passed for a homemade side. I never had the chicken meatballs but now I want to try them!
Organic Chicken- Long Island
Grow and Behold sells organic, kosher chicken that is also humane (and delicious). They deliver to Long Island every two weeks.
www.growandbehold.com
Kosher cheese at Whole Foods
If you are open to considering mail order, Cabbot cheddar is a great option that is also pretty affordable.
Center City Philadelphia: DiBruno Bros now has kosher meat
It is Empire and Meal Mart - OU certified.
Kosher cheese at Whole Foods
I love that cheese! Seriously some of the best cheese I've ever had. I've found a few of the 5 spoke varieties at Whole Food. All good but I tend to like the ones that are slightly more aged (such as the redmond cheddar) best.
Favorite Menu Items in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Teaneck, and Beyond
Toro Tau Tau at Kyo in Monsey
Rillettes at Le Marais
Mushroom Soup at Solo
The duck entree at Mosaica in Vauxhill
The brunch all day burger at Noah's Ark
The wings at chicken.org
And I agree with the post about most anything from Pardes, although its hard to choose anything specific since the menu changes regularly
eatting and drinking kosher on South Street (Phila. Pa)
The Kosher community in Center City has grown alot over the last few years. There are alot of new Kosher restaurants in CC, not just in the South St area. There are two things behind this, IMO: the fact that the community that keeps kosher has grown significantly, and the fact that there are more restaurants that serve the general population (ie vegan restaurants) that have been able to become kosher without having to rely solely on the kosher population.
Cafe Muscat, Queens
I personally have had very good experiences at Muscat. Food is fresh and good. It is not serious food, and not somewhere I would go for a true "dining experience", but it is perfect for a nice, solid cafe-style meal.
Burger.org now OPEN in Philly
Have not been there yet, but excited to go. Give a shout out if you've given the place a try!
http://www.examiner.com/jewish-culture-in-philadelphia/organic-burger-org-re-opens-now-with-glatt-kosher-supervision-at-326-south-st
Noah's Ark Recommendations
I'll second that. We used them to ship food to our hotel in Maui when we were there a few years ago. I was a little worried about eating frozen/rewarmed meals but everything tasted fantastic. They were great to deal with as well.
