Looks like we missed a fun press conference out in Mineola yesterday, where the owner of a kosher catering company had gathered the press to defend himself against allegations that he cooked non-kosher food in kosher kitchens, thus contaminating them. Scott Morrell, the owner of Morrell Caterers, was flanked by two rabbis, several attorneys and other catering company officials outside State Supreme Court in Nassau County when he told the press, "I have never violated any rules. This is a conspiracy." Then the two former employees who are accusing Morrell of breaking kosher law crashed the press conference. more ›

Further evidence that Jewish food is having a moment (as if sexy gefilte fish wasn't enough): Manischewitz, the 123-year old Jewish, kosher brand best known for manufacturing matzoh and concord grape wine, is starting to create kosher food for gentiles. Yes, that sound you heard off in the distance is the collective rolling of a thousand deceased Bubbies in Boca rolling over in the graves. more ›

If you're a classic Jewish deli food fan, watch out for all the MealMart Kosher Broiled Chicken Livers floating around out there—they're probably infected with salmonella. First smoked salmon, now this—are no appetizings safe in this world? more ›

Are you an Orthodox Jew seeking extra stimulation between the sheets? Spice up your marriage with Kosher Sex Toys, a new website that offers the finest (and least expensive) sex toys on the market, and without any of that provocative imagery or vulgar language you find on those goy sex toy sites. Koshersextoys.net has everything from "Male Genital Desensitizer" to lubricant launchers with narrow injectors that make it "easy to lubricate the hard to reach places." Oh, and glass dildos as low as $18.99! Actually, these are pretty good deals. more ›

In case you couldn't tell, Passover is starting, meaning Chosen People across the city are attempting to keep a kosher home and lifestyle. And according to news sources around the city, they're doing that in many different ways. First off: Passover apps! more ›

Happy almost-Passover! Over the past few years many Jews have been trying to spice up the typical kugel-and-matzoh seders, and one ingredient that's grown in popularity is quinoa, a South American grain that's high in protein. But even though some boxes of the stuff are labeled "kosher for Passover" the jewry (sorry) is out on whether or not that's possible. And according to the Times, "A definitive answer is not likely to be reached until a rabbi can be dispatched to a remote mountain region of Bolivia to inspect certain quinoa operations." more ›

With Passover just around the corner we were waiting for some clever entrepreneur to find a new kosher barrier to crack. Until it was revealed to be an early April Fool's we figured that BaconAir took the title—after all the rest of J&D's real "bacon" products are kosher. With that hope washed away, you can imagine how happy we were to learn that Rabbi Adam Mintz of Congregation Rayim Ahuvim has teamed together with adman Richard Kirshenbaum and entrepreneur David Mitchell to create, wait for it, Rabbi Mints. more ›

The Mets have been battling it out with Kosher Foods Inc. over whether the company is entitled to serve glatt kosher food every day of the week at Citi Field, or if serving food on Friday nights and Saturdays violates the Sabbath. The case has been bounced to Federal court, but the Judge in it has now chosen to recuse himself, for fear of seeming biased in favor of the orange and blue boys from Queens. more ›

Are Kosher Food Inc's practices too treif for the Mets? After a Brooklyn judge ruled that it was not his place to interpret rabbinical law, the Mets and Kosher Foods Inc have taken their battle to Federal court. Kosher Foods Inc says that they're entitled to serve glatt kosher food every day of the week at Citi Field, while the Mets argue that serving food on Friday nights and Saturdays violates the Sabbath. Because if there's one thing the Mets are experts on, it's religious law. more ›

As his last gift to the state for 2011, former Governor Paterson's budget cuts eliminated nine officials from the state's kosher law enforcement division, leaving only the director in charge of making sure grocery stores and restaurants in the state properly disclose kosher certification. Rabbi Menachem Genack of the kosher division of the Orthodox Union in Manhattan told WSJ, " It's not a religious requirement, the issue here is fraud." One former inspector said, "Now that there's no kosher enforcement it's going to be the Wild West and people will do whatever they feel like." Just stay away from the Passover Coke! more ›

Apparently, some prison guards have never watched Seinfeld. California inmate Malcolm Alarmo King reportedly convinced the Orange County jail that, as a celebrator of Festivus, he was entitled to the better quality kosher meals that some of the more religious inmates were enjoying. He managed to get salami-free sandwiches for two months before the order got thrown out, presumably once somebody headed to Google and figured out that Festivus is secular. The point is that nobody in California understands the meaning of Festivus, and we would kick their asses at the feats of strength. more ›

While New York City may have some of the best tap water ever, it may not be kosher. When the water was tested in 2004, it set off an alarm in the Orthodox community because results showed tiny crustaceans known as copepods in it. At the time, Rabbi Abraham Zimmerman said, "We hope the city will do something to purify and filter the water to accommodate a few hundred thousand Orthodox, observant Jews." more ›

An HR Generalist and Office Manager at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School claims she was discriminated against and eventually fired for not keeping kosher. According to the Post, Lordia Rudd claims she was the first and only non-Jewish employee of the Riverdale school, and was not allowed to use the microwave in the kitchen "because it was kosher and she was not." When she complained about her treatment to her supervisor, she was fired. Even if the microwave was kosher, the school might have a tough time in court. Rabbi Tzvi Rosen of Star-K Kosher Certification says microwaved food will remain kosher as long as "no non kosher food is being microwaved in the microwave at the same time." more ›

A classic kosher luncheonette may have closed last month, but in grocery stores, kosher is all the rage. According to a Cornell University research project, 40 percent of the food sold at grocery stores is kosher. “It’s keyed into the issues of food safety and consumer fear,” said Larry Finkel of Packaged Facts, a consumer market research company. “The reputation of kosher is stretching beyond chicken, whether there is truth to it or not.” According to a NY Times piece, people think kosher products are healthier, fresher and taste better. There’s also the perception that kosher butchering is less cruel. Fact or fiction, kosher food has found its market. And according to the study, the majority—about 85 percent—of those who shop kosher don’t do it because their religion compels them. more ›

After 65 years in business, the classic Diamond District Kosher luncheonette Diamond Dairy has bought the farm. The cause of death, naturally, was a rent dispute. "My lease had expired, and I tried very hard to renegotiate, but it just didn't work," Shmuel Strauss, who had run the business for the past 18 years, told the Post. "It was very disappointing. It really was a little piece of New York." Reviewing the joint in 2006, Midtown Lunch found the latkes "delicious" and the semi-hidden location "amazing." more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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." more ›

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." more ›

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. more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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

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! more ›

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. more ›

"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. more ›

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