Food

Brooklyn Museum Goes Kosher

Image by Facebook/Brooklyn Museum

By Michael Kaminer February 16, 2016

The ’s going kosher.

AM NY reports that the museum’s BKM Café will add OK-certified Glatt kosher items to its menu, all provided by Wolf and Lamb, the upscale kosher steakhouse and caterer based in midtown and Brooklyn.

BKM Cafè will serve kosher meals on Shabbos, too.

Zak the Baker Eyes Deli

Image by Courtesy of Zak the Baker

Miami baker Zak Stern is getting ready to open a kosher deli. But this won’t just be another spot serving artisan pastrami; Stern’s researching Ashkenazi classics like gribenes, p’tcha, flanken and lokshen for his new menu.

“We’re trying to do as many of the foods my ancestors brought with them before they made the Reuben sandwich,” Stern tells Miami New Times. His chef, Melissa Sosa, is a 24-year-old Cuban who’s learning recipes from scratch.

Zak the Baker, Stern’s hugely popular Wynwood café and bakery, will move a few blocks to make room for the new place late this year.

UWS to Get More Bagels

Zucker’s Bagels is movin’ on up to the West Side. The 10-year-old bagel shop will open on Columbus Avenue this fall, DNAInfo reports. Zucker’s operates stores in Tribeca and Murray Hill; hand-rolled, kettle-boiled bagels are its schtick.

Israeli-Chico-Latino in NY

Globetrotting Israeli-born chef Shahaf Shabtay is becoming “Chef in Residence” at New York’s Tasca Chino. Working alongside chef/owner Alex Urena, Shabtay will unveil a new “guest menu” at the Chino-Latino eatery.

Shabtay founded the Prague Asian-fusion hotspot SaSaZu, which earned Michelin’s Bib Gourmand and other kudos. Shabtay has since expanded SaSaZu to Greece and Romania. No word yet on his Tasca Chino dishes.

Shabtay hails from Kibbutz Amiad north of Sea of Galilee.

Kosher Creepy Crawlies?

Insects in food apparently didn’t bug the owners of Park East Kosher butcher in New York.

But an employee who complained about the creepy-crawlies was fired, and he’s now suing, reports the New York Post.

When mashgiach Moshe Iskhakov protested, his supervisor told him to just “wash the insects off of the vegetables” while store owner Michael Kane quipped, “Don’t worry, it’s protein,” the suit says. The bosses then retaliated, making him dispose of dead rats and refusing him paid vacation and sick time, he alleges.

From Tasty Burger to Jewish Deli

The people behind Boston’s popular Tasty Burger chain are brainstorming “a modern take on the Jewish deli” to open late this year, says Eater.

Franklin Restaurant Group (Franklin Cafe, The Citizen Public House and Oyster Bar, Tasty Burger) aims to open a restaurant serving “classic Jewish deli foods with a modern twist.” No menu yet, but plans for the restaurant include “a beautifully designed space” complete with “patio seating, a wine loft and a dining room with a retail area,” Eater says. Stay tuned.

Ecclectic Israeli in L.A.

Image by Courtesy of Jenn Louis

Portland’s Jenn Louis, Food & Wine’s best new chef of 2012, is opening an Israeli-themed restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.

But don’t expect falafel and pita. “The yet-to-be-named restaurant will decidedly show Israeli cuisine’s more eclectic side. Louis is excited to show how neighboring food cultures have seeped into Israeli dishes,” according to Eater.

“The people who live in Israel aren’t just Jewish,” Louis tells the blog. “They’re Muslim, they’re Christian — and I’m looking at how people eat.” More to come.

Michael Kaminer is a contributing editor at the Forward.

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