Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Make a Passover gift and support Jewish journalism. DONATE NOW
Food

Was an Israeli Artist Ripped Off by a Toronto Restaurant?

Early Mercy, a new hotspoton Toronto’s hip King Street West, has been accused of copying art by Tel Aviv artist Amit Shimoni for its walls. Amit Shimoni’s Hipstory portrait series recasts historical figures as contemporary hipsters.

Early Mercy made those portraits a prominent part of its décor – minus attribution to Shimoni, The Toronto Star reports. It’s not just a question of credit; the artist licenses his work.

After failing to come to terms with Early Mercy on a licensing fee for continued use of Shimoni’s images, his agent tells the Star a lawsuit’s pending.

Gluten-Free Challah Mix

Orly Gottesman Image by Courtesy of Blends by Orly

Blends by Orly, which makes kosher gluten-free flours, released a couple of new flavors this week. Look for challah mixes in Traditional, Chocolate Chip and Poppyseed & Onion flavors.

New Jersey-based Orly Gottesman, who studied baking in Paris, is behind the line.

Fires at Deli and Kosher Butcher

In 2008, the Short Hills Deli in New Jersey burned down after a carelessly tossed cigarette ignited a blaze. Last week, the popular eatery went up in flames again — destroyed, this time, by a fire that started on the side of its building. Residents describe the deli as a landmark — one of only two Jewish delis in the area, known for its giant sandwiches and friendly service, says Philadelphia’s WPVI.

And in Boston, kosher butcher The Butcherie sustained nearly $500,000 in damage after a two-alarm blaze last week, the Boston Globe reports. “We are working around the clock to open the store as quickly as possible. Our goal is to open the store within 2-3 weeks,” reads a message on its web site.

Hipster Whole Foods to Get ‘Natural’ Deli

Details are sketchy, but the new Whole Foods Market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn will apparently house a deli-inspired concession called N4. From the company:

“Paying homage to Williamsburg’s storied roots, N4 is a restaurant and tap room offering an all-natural take on a traditional Jewish delicatessen. As an exclusive to Whole Foods Market Williamsburg, N4 has collaborated with Red Hook Winery for an exclusive array of wines on draft,” the company said in an announcement.

Sounds a bit Epcot to us, but stay tuned. Meantime, more at the Bedford & Bowery blog.

Pittsburgh Farmer’s Market Gets Kosher Stand

Are squirrels kosher? Probably not. But new Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill Farmer’s Market just got its first kosher stand. Chef Rabbi, which makes and sells wraps, is run by husband-and-wife duo Moish and Rochel Tombosky. Though the neighborhood around the market boasts a large Orthodox population, a lack of options kept them away from the market, says The Jewish Chronicle.

Michael Kaminer is a contributing editor at the Forward.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.