On Monday night, my wife and I tried the brand new Ahuva’s Grill in Hewlett (5 Towns) which just opened last week in the Peninsula Shopping Center, a few stores down from Bagel Boss.

Upon entering we were greeted by the friendly young wait staff. The restaurant is a casual dining atmosphere, with many Israeli diners, having conversations at the tables in the front and back. The place was clean and modern.

Within a minute of sitting down at our table, the waiters brought out 4 mini salads (or salatim since it was Israeli), including corn + dill, Israeli pickles, olives, and a type of slaw, as well as a large, warm, freshly baked laffa bread. We were told that Ahuva, the restaurant’s owner, makes most of the items on the menu from scratch on her own, each morning. Her son, Avi, made sure that we were taken care of and happy with everything during our visit. (For any kosher restaurant, this place had great service … For an Israeli-style restaurant, it had amazing service!)

To get a true flavor of the place, we decided to order the Mixed Grill plate, which was served with 2 sides. The plate included kufta kabob, steak, chicken, and baby chicken, all were “al ha-esh” (literally meaning “on the fire”) but really meaning on the grill. While I’m personally not a fan of kufta in general, the kufta meat was sensational – extremely well seasoned and moist. The steak was delicious as well. Between the chicken and baby chicken, the baby chicken won hands down, both tasty and moist, and I would order that again in a heart beat. The chicken on the other hand, had a decent flavor, but was a bit too dry.

Our sides, Israeli salad and Mejadarra (Rice with Lentils), came on a massive plate along with our shared main dish with a side of pita bread (which could have been fresher/hotter but still good). The Mejadarra was really tasty.

They are Glatt Kosher under the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway.

Overall, we had a very pleasant experience between the service and the food. The prices are also very fair and affordable for a family style restaurant. We definitely recommend dining at Ahuva’s Grill. We will definitely be back soon.

Beverly Hills Thai Kosher Kitchen opened earlier this month offering Los Angeles’s kosher observant foodies another ethnic kosher restaurant in the area. This restaurant is unique as it’s the only kosher (meat) Thai restaurant in town. The Thai owners aim to use fresh and healthy ingredients to offer a reasonably priced gourmet Thai meal.

FYI:

@YeahThatsKosher There’s actually another kosher Thai restaurant on Pico & Glenville under KosherLA, it’s a vegan/veg place called Bodhi

— Shosh (@shoshkabob) January 25, 2012

Supervision is by the Rabbinical Council of California.

If you end up eating here, please comment below and let us know how it is!

Kosher foodies who love Italian should expect an overdose of it at Berry & Basil, combining Italian Gelato and Pizza under one roof (hopefully not on the same plate!).

Berry & Basil will feature 3 machines (serving 6 flavors) that will carry “Berri Good” (Cholov Yisroel) Gelato and frozen yogurt, which will be self serve and priced by weight. Thin crust pizza will also be served on site and will feature an option of gluten free pizza.

The store will be Cholov Yisroel supervised under Kehilla Kosher, Pas Yisroel and Kemach Yashon.

Basil & Berry is located at:
8946 West Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035

H/T to mykosherla.com. Pics from mykosherla.

Wrap2Go that freshly-made, pre-packaged Sandwiches are for sale at: Tops Frozen Yogurt Shop inside Union Station in Washington, DC.

This is located on the Street level on the train concourse near Gate A.

Classy “M Restaurant” has closed it’s doors in Flatbush and will be reopening in Manhattan in the near future. No specific date or location has been announced for it’s reopening, but we look forward to trying it when it does.

One of our Twitter followers was pretty upset upon the hearing of this place closing:

@YeahThatsKosher I passed it last night I almost crashed into a poll when I saw they closed!! I freaken loved that place!!

— E F (@EFnews) January 11, 2012

Seventeen is one of only a few kosher restaurants in South Beach, but it not too far from the Kosher hub of Miami Beach only 24 blocks north.

The restaurant was formerly Tfor2 (originally from Brooklyn), and many of the remnants from that restaurant remain, including signs and items on the menu (like a Kings Highway roll). Irregardless of that, the restaurant has plenty of its own merits that make it a popular destination for the kosher diner in Miami.

On a recent Saturday night, we sat at an outdoor table (adjacent to the parking lot behind the restaurant), although it was (partially) sheltered from the cars and potential sudden rain shower (it rained for about 5 minutes). The restaurant was packed both inside and out back.

There are 2 menus that define 17′s cuisine: Italian and Japanese. The Italian menu gives you a choice of pasta, pizza, fish, and an array of other dairy appetizers. We opted for Japanese (which basically reads like a sushi menu), and they did not disappoint.

Starting with the Ichiban Tuna, the tuna tartar and avocado dish was a refreshing palate cleanser that wasn’t too heavy or too explosive in your mouth. It offered the right flavors and differed from a traditional sushi roll.

We ordered 2 rolls of sushi, including the fancy “Kings Highway” roll – which was a special tempura roll topped with coconut and walnuts – which we loved – and served with their special eel (fake) and shizo sauces – which I prefer to soy sauce.

Additionally, we tried the butternut squash pumpkin soup which was equally delicious.

The only drawback to such a meal was the cost. Sushi is never as filling as pasta, yet it is just as expensive, so this meal was a treat for us, and I was more than happy to spend my money on a good meal.

Definitely worth a try, decent place for a date as well.
Walking distance to the beginning of Lincoln Road and the movie theater.

Located near the heart of downtown Stamford, CT, Kosh is a new meat restaurant appealing to the kosher carnivores in area: both the daytime business crowd, as well as the nighttime locals.

The restaurant is entirely nut/peanut-free with many gluten-free options as well.

Their featured dishes include Montréal style smoked meat (smoked and cured on location), steaks, ribs, sandwiches, salads, seafood, and classical Southern fare.

In the past half year, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, the popular Los Angeles kosher cafe, has now opened 2 locations in NYC. This new location has been open for less than a month.

This joins the Times Square Coffee Bean which opened this past summer.