The world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, has thousands of kosher keeping fans attending its Knicks (well maybe not this year) and Rangers games, yet has yet to offer any sort of kosher fare in the arena … until now.

It has been confirmed that Carlos & Gabby’s will be operating Kosher stands within the stadium for both basketball and hockey games throughout the season (minus Shabbat and Yom Tovim I’m sure).

From Matzav.com:

In addition to Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, kosher food is available at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, Prudential Center in Newark, NJ (New Jersey Devils – Hockey – NHL), Keyspan Park in Brooklyn, (Brooklyn Cyclones) , Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ (New Jersey Nets – Basketball – NBA), and Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ (New York Giants / New York Jets – Football – NFL).

Kosher food is also available in major sports arenas in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Miami, Toronto, and Boston.

For those of us Knicks & Rangers fans (like me) this is an exciting development, especially since I also enjoy Carlos & Gabby’s! This means no more heading to Kosher Delight or Mr. Broadway 2 hours before a game to eat (not that they’re bad – it’s just inconvenient), and actually being able to eat real food during the game like all the other attendees.

So to my fellow New York sports fans … come to the games hungry!

The Occupy Wall Street (#OWS) movement is now running on its 7th week of mass protests in lower Manhattan. While the crowds are fighting for better wages, jobs, and other economic issues, one of their unintended casualties has been a local Kosher restaurant: Milk Street Cafe, located on Wall Street, and just opened this summer (see my video of the restaurant by clicking here).

Due to the protests, the thriving restaurant is no longer thriving, and just laid off 21 employees from the large restaurant (nearly a quarter of his staff) — which by the way – has THREE separate kosher kitchens, dairy, meat, and pareve (certified by the OU).

The protests + police barricades make it extremely difficult – but not impossible – to reach for pedestrians. Remember, Wall St. is a pedestrian mall, and currently, it is carved up and blocked by many barricades.

Regardless of who is to blame for the restaurant’s layoffs and current financial troubles, we can do something about it – we can eat there.

We can make it our business to go out of our way around the barricades and crowds and eat there. I’m not necessarily endorsing this restaurant over others in the area … or in general. Obviously many Kosher restaurants go out of business … but typically for lack of demand, or because simply, the food / service was bad. This restaurant was in high demand. However, due to unforeseen circumstances they are losing money and may have to close prematurely because of these protests and the NYPD’s response.

Whether you work downtown, or are a #OWS protesters and keep kosher … be sure to stop by Milk Street Cafe on 50 Wall Street. It’s a huge place with lots of options.

—-
This video is from 3.5 months ago, and the place is thriving! Now, it may go out of business!

Click here for: Restaurant Info

Sushein is a brand new Kosher sushi restaurant officially opening today in downtown Manhattan (NYC) near City Hall. What makes Sushein unique is that they are the 1st kosher sushi restaurant in the U.S. to have a conveyor belt in the restaurant deliver sushi to its patrons. I have seen these conveyor belt sushi places before, but never kosher. I was lucky enough to be invited to a special “invite-only” premiere this Sunday, and I left full, satisfied, and overall had a great culinary experience. (Scroll down to the bottom for more pictures from Sushein)

The way a conveyor belt sushi restaurant works is the conveyor belt loops between the kitchen or sushi chefs making the sushi/sashimi/hand rolls/seaweed salads/etc. and the patrons. Each plate of sushi is color coated, which delineates the cost of that plate. You can grab whatever you want off of the conveyor belt and just eat. No ordering required. You can, however, order something from the menu a la carte from one of the waiters.

>> Watch the video to see the conveyor belt in action

Since the plates are small, the portions are really appetizer or “tapas” sized, and thus priced accordingly, with plates ranging from $2.50 – $7+ each. It is not uncommon to eat multiple plates off of the conveyor belt. At the end of your meal, your plates are tallied up to figure out your cost of meal. (In Sushein, because it is a meat restaurant, they also serve beef or chicken sushi, which is quite innovative and tasty, and those plates have a red sticker on them letting you know they are “fleishigs”.)

Some of the sushi rolls I tried were interesting and innovative, including a roll with Salmon, Mango, and Pesto sauce; a “dessert” roll with strawberries, mango, pineapple, and a creamy chocolate center; as well as various rolls incorporating asparagus, chicken breast, beef slices, etc. Every one I tried was beautifully presented and delicious.

I would describe Sushein’s cuisine as Asian Fusion. While many may just go to sample the sushi from the conveyor belt, which is a fun experience, their menu incorporates Asian flavors from across the region.

We tried a handful of appetizers, soups, and main dishes.

My favorites were the Sweet Potato Coconut Curry soup, Lamb Lollies, Short Ribs, and Chilean Sea Bass.

Arielle and I both agreed that the portions were perfectly sized, not too big or small.

The design of silver with pink accents gave it a fun and modern environment, with flat screen TVs, a sushi bar and booths along the conveyor belt, and a back room (not near the conveyor belt) for larger groups or private parties of up to around 20 people. The design was done by Niki Broyn of Brooklyn.

Forgot to mention… Sushein has a selection of Kosher Wines to help you enjoy your meal.

More pics from Sushein:

It’s a great date place, or even a place to take a co-worker. Hope you enjoy it.

~Dani

Sushein
325 Broadway
New York, NY
(212) 962-2500

Under the Supervision of the Orthodox Union (OU)

Being called for Jury Duty is not fun at all, and to make matters worse you’re there all day. The courthouse is located on 360 Adams Street in downtown Brooklyn and if you search ‘Kosher’ into Google Maps, the only result you will get within a 20 minute walking radius is a closed Pizza shop.
They gave us a 1 hour lunch break and I was starving, so I did what any Jew would do in this situation, find another Jew! I asked the first orthodox looking man, and turns out he frequents the area alot. He directed me to a kosher shack in the lobby of a building across the street.

• Kosher Court
  16 Court Street (In the Lobby)
  Brooklyn, NY

He has coffee, pareve Chulent, and fresh soups which are the only hot items he sells. He also has a variety of cold platters and sandwiches. Including tuna, cheese, turkey, pastrami, bread and others.
The hashgacha checked out, although I forget specifically which one it was. The food was actually pretty good.
The owner gave me his cell phone and said if anyone has any hashgacha questions to give him a call. Baruch Yuda Gancz: 646-267-0577

Considering there are 30-40 Jews who serve on Jury Duty every day, and at least another few hundred working in the area I’m surprised this is all I was able to find nearby.

Students at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, whose undergraduate population of 13,000 is 20 percent Jewish, are lucky to have plenty of Kosher options right on campus.

The main kosher dining hall, 104West!, is run by Cornell Dining and supervised by the Orthodox Union. It is located on Cornell’s west campus, adjacent to the Cornell Center for Jewish Living. Because of its integration with Cornell Dining, students need not purchase a separate, more expensive Kosher plan: A meal at 104West! costs one meal swipe, just like every other all-you-can-eat dining hall. 104West!, which serves both dairy and meat meals, is open for lunch and dinner every day, and offers daily soup, salad bar, and deserts, in addition to whatever the hot option is that day. Students also have the option of ordering custom specialties from the grill, which include omelettes, quesadillas, and pad thai. 104West! provides catering services, allowing students to buy Kosher food for outside events—Pizza, deli, and even Shabbat meals!

For freshman who live on North Campus, which is approximately a 12 minute walk from 104West!, there exists a more conveniently located Kosher option. North Star, an all-you-can-eat facility in North Campus’ Appel Commons, features a kosher station supervised by a mashgiach. Besides for such classics as deli sandwiches, hot dogs, and matzoh ball soup, the station also provides fresh hot food, brought from the kosher kitchen at 104West!

When on the go, Cornellians have the option to pick up Kosher, prepackaged deli sandwiches from many restaurants and shops around campus. The Noyes convenience store offer kosher staples such as frozen pizza bagels, lox, deli meats, and more. And for those students adventurous enough to venture into Ithaca, the supermarket Wegmans’ maintains well-stocked kosher meat and dairy sections.

Contributed by Rachael Abrams | Last Date of Travel: January 2010

As a native-Texan I’m used to average Kosher restaurants, a small close-knit Jewish community and the passion to travel outside of Dallas to see other cities. New York is probably my favorite city to visit, not just for it’s liveliness nor it’s real winter weather—because of the incredibly diverse array of Kosher food.

I just returned from a very quick visit. Three nights in the Big Apple felt like a week simply because of all the food I ate. I feel like the city consumed me… literally.

My tasty travels began with delicious Chinese food, something my native Dallas lacks. EstiHana is an Asian restaurant situated in a lovely area close to the renown Natural History Museum on the Upper West Side. The atmosphere was very nice with couples on (what looked like) first dates—I was glad I dressed up that evening. I ordered a steamed chicken dish and shared a bowl of udon noodle soup (with beef). There’s sushi on the menu and other delectable entrees to satisfy ones Asian food craving. Although I walked out with a dent in my pocket, the food was well worth the damage. I was able to take a subway close to where the restaurant was located, which is an easy and inexpensive option for travelers.

The next day, after a lot of walking allover the Upper East Side, I landed in Times Square where tourists and gigantic advertisements can be found. Right off of Broadway, I dined at Schnitzel Express for lunch, where I ate a delicious Oriental Schnitzel sandwich. It was so good that right before I left for Dallas, I grabbed one to-go for the plane ride. For fast-food atmosphere, the food is perfect for a quick lunch.

New York impresses me with each visit for it’s incredible kosher food everywhere. If you are Jewish, New York is the place to be. It’s even written on the buildings with names like “Schwartz” and “Greenberg” stamped on the outside of both small and large businesses. After Shabbat, I dined with some friends at Clubhouse Cafe (right off of Times Square), which is a trendy American restaurant where you’ll find soft lighting, sliders, wings and delicious hamburgers. This is the perfect New York restaurant if you are willing to spend a few bucks.

My experience in New York was quite flavorful with incredible restaurants for my picky palette. Just in case you visit in the winter—bring walking shoes, gloves, and a hat. If you forget, you can purchase some warm weather gear at a stand…just about anywhere.

You can read about my posts on YeahThatsKosher here: http://yeahthatskosher.com/author/Rabrams

—

Editor’s Note (from Dani Klein): for more info on New York, check out our post on NYC by clicking here.

Recommendation: for New Yorkers and tourists visiting NYC, we highly recommend using the Not For Tourists guidebooks and web resources: www.notfortourists.com/NewYork.aspx

There is now a silly tradition that many Americans hold Christmastime each year… to indulge in Chinese cuisine. Since the Chinese do not celebrate Christmas, like us Jews, their restaurants have no need to take a hiatus on Xmas day.

In honor of this wacky tradition, we’ve compiled a list of Chinese restaurants (both sit-down & take-out) for your convenience.

• NORTH AMERICA
  Annie Chan’s Restaurant
  190-11 Union Turnpike
  (off 190th Street)
  Fresh Meadows, NY 11366

  
  Bamboo Garden Vegetarian Cuisine
  364 Roy Street
  Seattle, WA USA 98109
  www.bamboogarden.net

  Chai Peking
  2205 Lavista Road Northeast
  Atlanta, GA 30329
  www.chaipeking.com

  China Bistro
  3565 NE 207th Street
  (The Waterways)
  Aventura, FL 33180

  China Glatt
  4413 13th Avenue
  (Between 44th & 45th St.)
  Brooklyn, NY 11219

  Chopstix
  172 West Englewood Avenue
  Teaneck, NJ 07666
  www.chopstixusa.com

  Chopstix
  478 Pleasant Valley Way
  West Orange, NJ 07052
  www.chopstixusa.com

  ChoSen Garden
  64-43 108th Street
  (Bet. 64th Rd. & 65th Rd.)
  Forest Hills, NY 11375

  ChoSen Island
  367 Central Avenue
  (Cor. of Central Ave. & Frost Lane)
  Lawrence, NY 11559

  ChoSen Village
  505 Middle Neck Road
  Great Neck, NY 11023

  Dragon Inn Glatt Kosher
  7638 Castor Ave
  Philadelphia, PA 19152

  Eden Wok Manhattan
  43 East 34th Street
  (Bet. Park & Madison Ave)
  New York, NY 10016
  www.edenwok.com

  Eden Wok Westchester
  1327 North Avenue
  (Northfield & Quaker Ridge Rd.)
  New Rochelle, NY 10804
  www.edenwok.com

  Ernie & Ellie
  6900 Decarie Blvd.
  (Decor De’Carie Square- enter through Venezia)
  Montreal, QC
  H3X 2T8, Canada

  Golden Chopsticks
  7000 Bathurst Street
  Vaughan, ON L4J, Canada
  www.goldenchopstick.ca

  Grand Bamboo
  106 Route 59
  (Corner Route 306)
  Monsey, NY 10952

  Hunan
  557 Kings Highway
  Brooklyn, NY 11223

  King Solomon’s Table
  3705 Chesswood Drive,
  North York, ON
  M3J 2P6, Canada
  www.kingsolomonstable.com

  Mr. Chopstik
  4020 Royal Palm Ave
  Miami Beach, FL 33140

  Royal Dragon
  4832 Boiling Brook Pkwy
  Rockville, MD 20852
  www.royalkosherrestaurant.com/royaldragon.htm

  Shangchai
  2189 Flatbush Ave
  Brooklyn, NY 11234

  Shanghai Diamond Garden
  9401 West Pico Blvd.
  Los Angeles, CA 90035

  Singapore Chinese Vegetarian *
  1006 Race Street
  Philadelphia, PA 19107-2306
  www.singaporevegetarian.com
  (*this place is vegan / vegetarian and is open on Shabbat)

  Tein Li Chow
  2485 Howard
  Evanston, Illinois
  www.teinlichow.com

  Wok ‘n Take Out
  455 Route 306
  Wesley Hills, NY 10952
  www.wokntakeout.com

  Wok Tov
  594 Central Avenue
  Cedarhurst, NY 11516

  Yi-Tzi Peking
  145 Montgomery Avenue
  Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
  www.yitzipeking.com

• EUROPE
  Blue Lagoon
  Lange Herentalsestraat 70
  2018 Antwerp, Belgium

  Kaifeng
  51 Church Road
  Hendon, NW4 4DU
  England, UK

  Missada
  45, rue Laugier
  75017 Paris
  France

• ISRAEL

  Canton
  The Tayelet Hotel
  6 Gad Machnes Street
  Netanya , Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)
  www.chinese.co.il

  Chai Tai
  Moshav Hutzot Hagolan
  Katzrin, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  The Chinese Wall
  26 Mikve Israel St
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  China-Lee
  7 Montifyori St
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Glatt Kosher)

  Korussin
  Malha Shopping Center
  Jerusalem, Israel
  (Kosher Mehadrin)

  Lemon Grass
  Azrieli Shopping Center
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Lemon Grass
  22 Even Gvirol St
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Ming Ling
  12 Herzel
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Pikansin
  Azrieli Mall ~ 1st floor
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Tokyo Bankok
  40 Ainstain St
  Ramat Aviv Shopping Center
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Tuch Food
  48 Menahem Begin Road St
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

  Yosi Pekin
  15 Keren Kayemet St
  Jerusalem, Israel
  (Kosher Rabanut)

• CHINA
  Dini’s Kosher Restaurant
  Nuren Jie Xingba Lu Jiuba Jie
  Beijing, China

And now here is a funny video about Jews, Chinese food, and Xmas for you to enjoy.

Wolf & Lamb Steakhouse is a classy kosher meat restaurant in the Diamond District of Midtown Manhattan. They have delicious steaks, tantalizing burgers, and other unique dishes to make your mouth salivate.

Dani Klein from http://yeahthatskosher.com checks out kosher restaurants for Jewish Travel TV.

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