Over the last few years we’ve been noticing lots of changes and improvements in the kosher restaurant world, and while many of the trends below focus majorly on happenings in the metro NYC area, these are trends that we believe will have an impact on restaurants beyond the large Jewish enclave in the American Northeast and have a ripple effect across the US, Israel, and beyond.
Below are 4 kosher restaurant trends that we’ve identified in 2013:
- 2013 KOSHER RESTAURANT TREND 1: Gourmet / Artisanal Kosher Pizza:
- 2013 KOSHER RESTAURANT TREND 2: Brooklyn is back:
- 2013 KOSHER RESTAURANT TREND 3: BBQ:
Traditional BBQ, aka “smoking meat”, isn’t something commonly found in kosher restaurants until recently. Smokey Joe’s in Teaneck, NJ has been pleasing Bergen County residents with their flavors for a few years now, but BBQ has truly exploded in 2013. What was formerly known as “Hakadosh BBQ” (currently “Wandering Cue”), originally a pop-up BBQ event in Westchester County, NY hosted by caterer Ari White, turned into a year of appearances throughout NYC and beyond, especially at street fairs and events. One of those events was the 2nd annual Long Island Kosher BBQ Championship, where professional and amateur BBQers battled it out. Outside of the NYC area, Milt’s Barbecue for the Perplexed opened in Chicago to rave reviews by both Jews and non-Jews, truly a boon for the local Jewish community.
- 2013 KOSHER RESTAURANT TREND 4: High-End Steakhouses:
Numerous NY kosher steakhouses in the news this year: The Prime Grill moved to a new, larger location further north in midtown east, in addition to giving “Prime at the Bentley” a permanent home at the Bentley Hotel (which was originally a pop up restaurant in late 2012). Mike’s Bistro announced that it is leaving the Upper West Side and moving to Midtown East. In addition to the aforementioned opening of Chagall Bistro in Brooklyn, 2 new high end kosher steakhouses opened their doors in the second half of 2013: La Brochette, a French steakhouse on Lexington Ave, replacing a previous kosher restaurant; and Reserve Cut, a beautiful, modern steakhouse opened up in the Setai downtown by Wall Street. 2013 also saw the close of J SOHO (formerly “Jezebel”) which was open for barely more than a year. The beautiful and quirky restaurant suffered from inconsistencies, poor reviews, and high prices, not to mention a naming controversy. Etc Steakhouse has taken over The Reserve Sushi & Steakhouse in Lakewood, NJ (this branch of the NJ restaurant is called Etc Squared). Most recently, the former steakhouse turned dairy restaurant turned Chinese restaurant, Solo, will be moving downtown to perhaps become a steakhouse yet again.
[A portion of this post originally appeared in The Nosher’s Jewish Food Trends of 2013]
Even from afar, I’ve been hearing more and more coming out of Brooklyn, and I have noticed your posts about artisan pizzas — and perhaps burgers too?
One trend we need to see sunset for 2014 — kosher restaurateurs need to quit tagging sushi on to the end of their menus. Be good at one thing and become the best at it!
Perhaps a prediction for the coming year, the emergence of more good BBQ. I hear NY, Chicago and LA are improving in this category.
I love all these trends, yum!
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