Results tagged “kosher”

Ed Koch just loves his moments in the sun. A week after the former mayor was sharing about cursing out New Yorkers heckling him in the grocery store, last night he was going off about his wild hallucinations at Columbia Pres while recovering from his recent quadruple bypass surgery. Koch told a crowd at the 92nd Street Y Monday, ”I thought I was captured by Japanese terrorists...When they cut off my thumbs, I knew it wasn’t real because there was no blood and no pain. I was daydreaming. I apologize to the Japanese. I know they’re great allies. I’m only telling you what I experienced.” CityRoom says Koch also mentions the terrorists spoke to him with a Yiddish accent. It sounds like if you ask the Columbia doctor's "how he's doing" in terms of showing his gratitude for the intensive surgery, they'd say pretty well. Koch is taking his 20 doctors out to dinner at Peter Luger Steak House in Williamsburg tonight. (One declined because he's Kosher.) As for the 72 nurses and technicians who aided him, they got the gift of an obligatory read with Koch sending them one of the 16 books he's written.

The Post has discovered Rio gas station in Borough Park, which for years now has been a big hit in the with Hasidic Jews, who pull in for a blessed fill up and a wide variety of kosher delicacies. Rio's owner bought the station in 2005, and turned the garage bay into the Heimeshe Coffee Shop, stocking it with pastries from Ostrovitsky's, a well-known kosher bakery in Midwood. The gas station, located by the BQE on 14th Avenue and 38th Street, also serves house-made gefilte fish and shakshuka, a Middle Eastern medley of fried eggs and tomato sauce, among other things. Devoted and devout customer Yossi Rubinfeld tells the tabloid, "You'll have a guy who comes Thursday night. He can pop in and get himself a good cholent, a cold drink, and be on his way." And customer Esti Babiov wonders, "Where else can you fill up your car and get kosher heimish [home-like] food while you're waiting?" For those keeping track, there used to be another kosher gas station in Crown Heights, but that's no longer owned by Jews.

It was a weiner war when Orthodox Jewish customers of Cheskel's Shawarma King discovered that the Borough Park restaurant was serving non-Kosher food! The Post reports that a fracas broke out on Monday night, "when a longtime patron noticed the unusually plump wiener he bought ...didn't fit into a challah roll as usual."

An overflow crowd packed an auditorium at Yeshiva University Tuesday night to debate whether it's acceptable to call something "kosher certified" if it's produced under unethical conditions. The panel discussion was prompted in part by the high profile prosecution of the Rubashkin family, who operate a major kosher-meat-processing plant in Iowa. Federal agents raided the plant in May, arresting 389 illegal immigrants, who, according to this damning cover story in the Village Voice, were paid some of the lowest wages in the nation, and were allegedly forced to work up to 17-hour days with 10-minute lunch breaks "in a freezing-cold, dirty hallway."

Blogger Flatbush Pigeon recently noted the curious case of Pomegranate, the enormous new supermarket currently in its final stages of construction in Flatbush/Midwood. The food store takes the place of a kosher bakery, another store, and an auto repair shop. Giant pomegranates loom over Coney Island Avenue and Avenue L. The picture here belies the sheer size of the place—just take a look at Flatbush Pigeon’s photos.

The other night we found ourselves craving shwarma as we strolled the stretch of Flushing’s Main Street that’s home to kosher groceries and dairy restaurants. As Gothamist approached Pita Hot, with visions of rotating meat dancing wildly in our head, we noticed an orange storefront out of the corner of our eye. Next to the utilitarian space that’s home to some of the borough’s best shwarma was a joint with a day-glo orange sign that...

It would seem that the area around Rego Park and Forest Hills that we like to call Rego Parkistan could scarcely support another kosher kebab joint given how ubiquitous these restaurants specializing in Uzbeki cuisine have become. By our reckoning there at least seven of these spots proffering swordlike skewers laden with lamb, chicken and beef along with various Central Asian salads and meat pies. What’s more, with exception of a few that offer such...

To make this sweet, salty, spicy, satisfyingly crisp bite o' banchan, we were inspired by elements from both of these two recipes from one of our favorite Korean food blogs, Evil Jungle Prince. Serve it alongside a meal with rice and several other dishes, or use it as an element in cooking something new and creative. Cubed Radish Kimchi 1 daikon radish (weighing approximately 1 1/2 lbs.) Water and kosher salt for brining 2 tsp...

At the Ethnic Market highlights international specialty foods and ingredients that you're very unlikely to find at your local Gristedes.

End your 7/11/07 with a free 7.11 oz Slurpee today! All day 7-Eleven has been handing out the free frozen drink in celebration of their birthday. A little nutritional fact about the drink: "Slurpees are mostly water ice and are heavily infused with air; there is less food energy in a Slurpee than in the same volume of a soda.They are also generally considered kosher 'parve', as well as halal." Here are some Slurpee tips and recipes. Just beware the dreaded brain freeze!

Just in time for the Fourth (and in case the Nathan's contest gave you a hankering), Jason Perlow at Off the Broiler brings us The Great Off the Broiler Hot Dog Tasting of 2007. Updating his oeuvre of 2004 for which he tasted fourteen hot dog varieties, Perlow expands his sampling pool to thirty-two different dogs. All we can add is, better you than us, buddy. His scoring system is quite thorough:

Spicyness scores were rated on a 1-5 scale, although this scale was not a qualitative rating but only a general feeling about the intensity of the seasoning. In some cases, a lower or average score could work better for that particular dog. Texture was rated as Soft (1-2), Medium (3) or Firm (4-5). In general, Firm was usually better although again this could be a bias of this particular group. Fattiness/Greasiness was rated Low (1-2), Medium (3) or High (4-5) and although less greasy dogs were frequently assumed better there are a few notable exceptions–the maxim of “fat is flavor” was discussed at several points, as well as the fact that the qualities of being “juicy” and “greasy” are only shades of interpretation apart. Saltiness again is not a qualitative rating but a general sense of the strength of that quality.

Continue reading "Holy Hot Dogs, Batman!"

"People create because they feel what everyone else is thinking." In 1964, Tommy Trantino was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of two New Jersey police officers. In 1971, the death penalty was over turned and Trantino was sentenced to life in prison. During that time, Trantino wrote to Leonard Weinglass, the lawyer who defended the Chicago Seven, which included social and political activist Abbie Hoffman. Through Hoffman, Trantino's letters were seen by an editor at Bantam, who commissioned him to write Lock the Lock, a collection of poetry, drawings, and autobiographical stories detailing Trantino's youth, the events that led to his incarceration, and the harrowing experiences he'd witnessed in prison. The book was praised by the likes of Howard Zinn and Henry Miller.

Part of a larger block party on Eldridge Street tomorrow is the annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival. For just $2, (a dollar increase from last year), you get a kosher egg roll and a classic egg cream, mixed on site by a professional and made with Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup, the best choice for an authentic experience. The fried kosher egg roll will be missing the standard tiny bits of red pork, of course, but you’ll still be able to enjoy all the duck sauce you can squeeze out of the little plastic packet. Last year’s attendees were taken aback somewhat by lackluster egg rolls and literally tepid egg creams (see comments here); presumably some of the kinks have been worked out for tomorrow, and it’s such a great idea- two classic foods hailing from two different cultures packaged as a combo plate. At the low price, it’s street food fusion. Other festivities on Eldridge Street tomorrow include live klezmer musicians, storytellers, stunt dancers, and face painting.

With yesterday’s innocuous New York Times review of Katz’s Deli and the news last week that the 2nd Avenue Deli will be "recreated" in Murray Hill, it seems that forces of pastrami have won some kind of cosmic victory over the over the forces of real estate; forces that threaten to destroy old-fashioned New York dining institutions.

As we heard last week, Doc Martens released upon the world a new ad campaign starring some familiar faces: Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone. The deceased musicians were depicted wearing the shoes in "heaven," but there was no approval for using their images. Courtney Love promptly issued a statement, the ad company was fired and Doc Martens - though apologetic - looked really, really bad. Now Joey Ramone's brother, Mickey Leigh, has issued the following statement:

- Passover is here, so naturally it is time for matzo brei, there was even a brei off at Makor over the weekend. While we are at it, here is a take on matzo ball soup for the excellent Cooking for Engineers.

And today is the last day to apply for Gothamist's Weekend Editor gig-- "Responsibilities include writing 10 posts per day on Saturday and Sunday and organizing the flow of contributions from other writers. The pay is competitive with blog-writing gigs for other NYC media companies. Requirements: real blogging experience, a serious appetite for NYC-related content, and a genuine love for the city. This job can be done from anywhere within the five boroughs, but you may be called downtown to meet with us once or twice a month. If you're interested, email Jake (at) Gothamist-- no attachments please-- just a short paragraph about you and a few links to relevant work on the web."

Untitled, by Brunocerous. Tag yours with "gothamist" on Flickr if you want us to use them.

- Penelope Cruz - Cellar Can Blau - Sexy, Spanish with lots of shiny diamonds on the dress. Soft, velvety and beautiful underneath.3 - 6 p.m.; free tastings. 5 West 19th Street; 212-929-2323.

While our comparatively well-paid proxies jetted off to enjoy their three-day weekends in the sun, Gothamist stayed home and indulged our sorrows with what we imagined (wrongly, as it happens) would be a journey into the bleakest corners of the former Soviet Union—Vostok, a traditional Bukharian restaurant deep in the heart of Boro Park.

Bruni no-stars Kobe Club, Jeffrey Chodorow's contribution to the steakhouse scene. Finds the Kobe "rapturous," but the restaurant as a whole crazily overpriced and gimmicky. Says it presents "too many insipid or insulting dishes at prices that draw blood from anyone without a trust fund or an expense account."

Don’t be fooled by the tired lasso of rope lights in the window; the standard issue take-out cups with frilly script “Cappuccino” on the sides. Don't be waylaid by the miniature vortex of sales circulars attacking your ankles as you approach 1985 Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn: The winner for the hardest working phyllo in the five boroughs is steps away, inside Güllüoglu.

Whether or not it's the 2nd Avenue Deli, we just hope some favorites from the old menu will return, like the corned beef, mushroom barley soup and incredible tuna fish.

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year!

- Looks like the upcoming Whole Foods is not gonna let their proposed wine store go down without a fight. Gothamist ran into some petition signature collectors on the street in the EV over the weekend. Their pitch was for support of an all organic wine store on the same site as the new pricey grocery depot – separate entrance of course.

It’s not that hard, you just need a plan.

Start talking about concord grapes and thoughts often quickly turn to jelly, juice and Jewish wine. Products made with concord grapes often have an inky tint so dark that they are sometimes mistaken for containing artificial colorings.

-- And here's some video of the manhole explosion which shut down Spring Street around 5pm.