✈ Keeping Kosher in New York, NY

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

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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

Tags: estihana, jewish travel, kosher new york, kosher travel, Manhattan, natural history museum, New York, NFT, not for tourists, ny, nyc, schnitzel express, times square, tourist, upper east side

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✈ Keeping Kosher in New York (Manhattan), NY

Contributed by: Dani Klein | Last Date Visited: [Author lives in New York]

Kosher Info: Since Orthodox Jews make up such a large percentage of New York’s population, NYC is probably the easiest city in the world outside of Jerusalem to find Kosher food.

Buying Kosher food anywhere in New York is fairly easy. Kosher markets exist on the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Washington Heights, and the Lower East Side. However, almost every supermarket: Key Food, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Gristedes, Fairway, and others carry a wide array of Kosher products frequented by the Jewish NYers.

With so many places to eat in Manhattan, I will focus on a few areas that travelers to New York can visit for a quick bite to eat, or for a fancy sit down experience. (There are so many restaurants and general kosher eateries, there is no doubt many will not be on this list. This is a general list for the traveler to NY)

Midtown:

• Jerusalem 2 Pizza (aka “J2″)- the largest Kosher pizza shop in the world; they carry pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and sushi.
• Mr. Broadway – a large no-frills deli frequented by both businessmen and pedestrians; they carry a full menu of deli, BBQ, Chinese, and sushi. Recommend Sushi and Pastrami Burgers.
• Le Marais – famous steakhouse by Times Square; even better post-Broadway show.
• Mendy’s – the only kosher place inside Grand Central Station
• Other places to grab a quick bite: Circa, Milk & Honey, Kosher Delight, Kosher Deluxe, Vegetable Garden (moved to W38th st between 7th & 8th Ave)…

Upper West Side (UWS)

• Pizza Cave (W. 72nd st.)
• Nargila Grill (W. 72nd st.) – huge portions of great tasting Middle Eastern cuisine
• Talia’s Steakhouse (Amsterdam Ave. & W. 93rd st.) – nice atmosphere, great steak and potatoes
• Deli Kasbah (W. 85th st.) – one of the affordable Fleishig (meat) places in the city
• Estihana (W. 79th st.) – great sushi and other Japanese dishes
• Gan Asia (Amsterdam Ave. & W. 94th st.) – take out Asian
• H&H Bagels (W.80th st.) – 24 hour kosher bagels – yummmm
• Cafe Nana – (W. 115th st. – 2nd floor of the Columbia Univ. Hillel)

Downtown

• Subway (yes, there’s a Kosher one on Water st.)
• Essex on Coney Downtown
• Broadway Kosher Cafe

Tourist Info: Being a NYer myself, I relish living in the greatest city on Earth. There are always new places to explore and people to meet. I will list certain must-sees and must-dos while in the city, some traditional, some personal favorites.

• Empire State Building – observatory tower, landmark
• 5th Ave. – (window) shopping, walk into Trump Tower & FAO Schwartz
• Rockefeller Center – “Top of the Rock”, NBC Studios, ice skating
• Times Square – Broadway Shows, comedy clubs, bright lights – use “TKTS” for cheaper Broadway tickets day of show
• Central Park – walking, sports, picnics, free concerts, relaxing,
• Lower Manhattan – Battery Park, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Wall Street, WTC site / Ground Zero – future home of the Freedom Tower
• Chinatown
• Brooklyn Bridge – walk across on a nice day, great views
• South Street Seaport – boats, shopping, and the occasional show or exhibit
• Greenwich Village – nightlife, shopping, and interesting people
• Upper West & Upper East Sides – gorgeous apartment buildings, crazy rents, wealthy tenants, great neighborhood
• Madison Square Garden – see the Knicks or Rangers play, or one of many other sporting events hosted in the worlds most celebrated arena
• NY Public Library – like no other library
• Grand Central Station – they dont make train stations like this anymore, worth stopping by, avoid rush hour

Technically not in Manhattan (The Bronx):

• Yankee Stadium – catch a home game of the greatest sports team on Earth; sit in the Bleachers – the cheapest and by far the most fun section of the ballpark
• Bronx Zoo – much bigger than the Central Park Zoo

Parks:

• Central Park – without a doubt! Man-made, but oh so awesome!
• Fort Tryon Park – in Washington Heights (take the A train to 191st st.); great views of the Hudson River, George Washington Bridge, and visit the Cloisters
• Bryant Park – surrounded by office buildings and the NYPL, it is home to many professionals eating their lunch seeking refuge from their offices; hosts free ice skating in the winter, “movies in the park” in the summer.
• Union Square – small park; often hosts fresh food markets, performers, and the weekly protests; great shopping all around the area. Check out Max Brenner’s Chocolate Shop (from Israel) on Broadway. The boxed chocolates are all kosher (all have hashgacha from Israel), but the sit-down restaurant is not kosher at all.
• Battery Park – great views of the New York harbor, Statue of Liberty, and the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Verrazano bridges.

Museums & Zoos:

• MoMA
• The Met
• Museum of Natural History
• The Guggenheim
• Central Park Zoo

Affordable Shopping:

• Century 21
• 34th St.
• Canal St.

Jewish Info: Jews can be found in just about every area of this city, they might as well change the name to Jew York. Minyanim are not difficult to find, and there are nice Mikvahs on the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Washington Heights, and on the Lower East Side.

Orthodox or not, check out the following synagogues:

• The Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue
• The Stanton St. Shul
• Park East Synagogue
• Ohab Zedek (OZ) – Friday night social scene
• Mt. Sinai Jewish Center – Friday night social scene

Tags: Guide, Jewish, jewish community, jewish travel, Kosher, kosher manhattan, kosher ny, kosher nyc, kosher restauran, kosher travel, Manhattan, mikvah, New York, nyc, shopping, shul, synagogue, tourist

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✈ Keeping Kosher in San Diego, CA

Contributed by: Ben Greenberg | Last Date of Travel: April 2008

Kosher Info: There are several kosher establishments in San Diego spread throughout the city. Orly’s Cafe and Bakery in the University City neighborhood offers the standard selection of bagels and breads as well as knishes, pizza, cakes, cookies and pastries. Across the street from each other are respectively The Place and The Dairy Place. Both restaurants are under the same ownership. The Place also offers a full selection of grocery items. In the restaurant section of The Place you can find shwarma, schnitzel, steak, soups and other standard fare. The Dairy Place offers fresh fish, pastas and salads. Inside The Dairy Place is also the largest selection of kosher wines, both local California kosher wines and exotic ones as well. The Place and The Dairy Place are situated within what is locally called The College Area as San Diego State University is within the neighborhood.

Tourist Info: San Diego is a beautiful city at the edge of the continental United States only a few short miles from Baja California in Mexico and a two hour drive south of Los Angeles. It is famous for having perfect weather 365 days a year and its coasts are dotted with sandy beaches where one can go surfing, swimming, sailing or any other beach activity. The city is also well known for The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park as well as Sea World and Legoland.

Jewish Info: San Diego has a relatively large Jewish community of over 100,000 Jews. Two of the prominent Orthodox synagogues in the area are Beth Jacob in the College Area and Adat Yeshurun in La Jolla. Additionally, there are several mikvaot throughout San Diego. One can also find Chabad Houses throughout the city including Chabad of University City, Chabad of La Jolla Shores, Chabad at San Diego State University, among many others.

Tags: California, jewish travel, kosher travel, San Diego Zoo, Sea World, tourist

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