New York University / NYU, or locally referred to as NY Jew, is 25% Jewish with about 5,000 Jews on campus. Many of the Yidden at NYU are observant, making this campus ideal for those who keep kosher.
On the first floor of the Weinstein Residence Hall at 5 University Place off of E 8th st, is NYU’s Kosher Dining Hall. Anyone can walk into the building, head straight back through the regular cafeteria, and in the back is a decent sized kosher cafeteria. Dairy and Meat meals switch off every day. While most students pay for their meals with meal plans, anyone can purchase a meal, all you can eat I might add, for about $11. Salads, Drinks, and Sandwiches can be ordered daily whether it is a dairy or meat meal.
Around the corner from Weinstein Hall, you can find a Crumbs Kosher Bake Shop, at 37 E 8th St. Crumbs is a popular cupcake bakery found throughout the city. I highly recommend the “Baba Booey”, a chocolate & peanut butter cupcake. Yummm!
Closer to Union Square, at 21 East 12th, right off of University Pl., is University Pita, a Middle Eastern Shwarma/Falafel joint. You can order right off the street, or head up the narrow staircase to a tiny eating area. The shwarma, falafel, and laffa are pretty good, and the chumus is homemade. University Pita is open until 11pm, and is also open Motzei Shabbat, which is definitely useful for those heading to Greenwich Village on a Saturday night in the mood for some late night kosher grub.
For those of you looking for kosher food near NYU Medical Center (not near NYU’s main campus), there is the NYU Hospital Kosher Cart available, but not much else.
For more information on NYU, please visit: http://nyu.edu
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A few notes about Kosher on Campus:NYU
1) La Bagel and Murray’s Falafel are two restaurants on 1st Ave between 15th and 16th St, dairy and meat respectively, both are great options for Kosher food in the area and have reliable certifications. Here is the website for Murray’s: http://murraysfalafel.com/ La Bagel does not have a website that I am aware of, but they have a wide selection of pizza, bagels, baked goods, etc.
2) There are many restaurants and establishments in the area that have “Kosher” certifications on them, many of them are not reliable. *CRUMBS may or may not fall into this category. For any specific questions, you should contact your Rabbi, or the Rabbi of the Hillel at NYU: Rabbi Yehuda Sarna ([email protected], [email protected], or 212.998.4118).
3) NYU Medical Center: If you are a patient, or visiting someone, there are many resources for Kosher food and other religious needs. There are daily Mincha/Maariv minyanim 15 min before shkiyah in the Rusk Building (400 East 34th Street
1st floor – Bikur Cholim Room), as well as Shabbat services. The contact at the hospital is Rabbi Rabhan (212-263-5057) Please call him with any questions. If you are just traveling and find yourself in the area, you can find some Kosher food in the cafeteria, but I suggest going near midtown towards J2, Mr. Broadway, Kosher Delight, etc.
There is also a maoz- which has a type of hashgacha— its a falafel place… 59 east 8th street http://www.maozusa.com/