Congratulations to our winners!The winners of the Koshertopia “Tell us something good contest” are:
kreviewer and sarahsarahsarah
Each of them will be enjoying a $75 gift card to the restaurant of their choice.
Thank you all for the great reviews that you left! We look forward to reading more of your reveiws!
The First Glatt Kosher Indian restaurant has expanded with the opening of their Manhattan location at 344 Lexington Ave this week (between 39th & 40th) under the supervision of the OU. They are open for lunch (buffet) dinner and will be open Saturday night in the Fall. Offering a wide range of authentic Indian dishes including sizzling meats, over 20 vegetables dishes and Indian bread from a special Tandoori oven.
Click here for the Shalom Bombay listing
Koshertopia has received numerous tip offs about restaurant changes in Washington Heights. We are happy to confirm that the restaurant formally known as Shauli’s Place has undergone a compelete renovation. Now known as Good 2 Go, they are featuring the best of burgers, chicken, steak sandwiches, hand-cut french fries and salads.
On your way into the restaurant you first pass tables that are enclosed in a glass area. These patrons can easily feel they are eating outside. Great 72nd Street people watching as well! When I was first seated in the front I asked to move to the back part, I just had to have more ambiances and truly explore the place!
As I was led to the back of the restaurant you pass a lot of scrumptious desserts. This restaurant has a ‘tradition’ of having amazing desserts. Years ago they were called My Most Favorite Dessert Company. You can even buy the restaurant cookbook, which lines the shelves strategically before you enter the main dining area. Even though this is a pretty new venue, it has a longstanding history in Manhattan. In the small hallway on the way to the bathrooms the restaurant’s history is highlighted in reprints of Zagat reviews, newspaper articles, and other press clippings. The restaurant is broken up into three areas. The front which I just mentioned looks onto the street, and encompasses the take out area & counter bakery. The partitioned off middle section boasts bright orange booths with bright white walls. I love the modernity of the restaurant’s orange/white combo. They work the accent color so well.
The details are really noticeable in this sleek space. The leather bound menu holder, staff shirts, jazz music, dessert prints as artwork (yum), and the way the butter is presented (you’ll just have to go check it out yourself).
Last I’ll mention my favorite area, and the one I sat in. The back of the restaurant has exposed brick walls and a Garden Room feel. Natural sunlight pours in and you feel like you are outside since the overhead is all glass. A brick pillar separates the garden area from the middle area. Tiny lights are in the ceiling. I wonder how dark it gets at night, because the lighting is sparse in the back area.
The only negative to this space is that the sound echoes a lot in here since it is such an open space, especially if there are loud children. However I now know that is why they wanted us to sit in the front. I can’t wait to come back to see how romantic-ish the back can be with low lights. Also in the winter this will be a nice venue to frequent if I want to continue the eating outdoors feeling.
When I was told I’d be reviewing a vegan restaurant I was apprehensive, to put it mildly. The few lacto vegetarian restaurants I’ve visited have all shared a fatal flaw – a lack of confidence. Embracing a strong fear that vegetable-only menus wouldn’t appeal to the carnivores in the crowd, they served up imitation meals of mock chicken or beef, which tasted like salt and had the consistency of soggy marshmallows. These experiences lead me to believe a great vegan meal was no more than wishful thinking. Thanks to Blossom, I was wrong.
The restaurant’s allure begins with its décor. Blossom has a stylish, somewhat trendy design that features exposed ductwork, natural wood, and minimalist art. It’s not overpowering, and combined with the ample lighting (a restaurant that realizes I want to look at my company and, more importantly, my food) it creates a truly pleasant atmosphere, perfect for a friendly get together or a date.
My friend and I were seated quickly and with good cheer. Upon browsing the menu, I was delighted to see there wasn’t a single “mock” item in sight. We began our meal with specialty juices dubbed Pink Lady – a sublime juice mixture of beet, pineapple, ginger and pear – and Field of Greens – a mixture of spinach, cucumber, apple, lemon, and ginger that was less successful, only because it was a bit tart.
From there we moved onto appetizers, Goldenbeet Carpaccio and Autumn Sweet Potato Rolls. The beets were served with an excellent sweet drizzle (there was a hint of cinnamon) topped with a dab of horseradish sauce. The sweet potato rolls, raw sweet potatoes wrapped around a medley of raw vegetables, were a little underwhelming despite the efforts of a delightful ginger dipping sauce.
The evening truly blossomed (Get it? Get it? Yeah, you get it.) when the entrees arrived. The first was the Shepherd’s Portobello, Portobello mushrooms topped with a parsnip and truffle mash with a subtle peppercorn cream sauce. The mushrooms were cooked perfectly, and were firm, not crunchy or mushy. They delivered the powerful meaty taste that Portobello is known for, which was complimented perfectly by a smooth and light topping.
The Southern Seitan Sandwich, was no less delicious. It is a perfect combination of crispy fried seitan, which unlike many vegan staples has a satisfying texture, spicy chipotle sauce, and amazing rosemary focaccia bread. I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed this sandwich.
The real star of the evening however, was the side order of sweet potato fries. No matter what you get at Blossom, make sure you get an order of these delectable finger foods. They may not be the healthiest item, on what is otherwise a very healthy, organic menu, but they are a must have.
I loved Blossom, and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a moderately priced, parve lunch or dinner (our bill came out to $30 per person, a bit more if you choose to partake in Blossom’s extensive wine selection). In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that my meal at Blossom was free. In the interest of even fuller disclosure I’ll let you know that I gladly paid for my meal the next night. Blossom is a unique restaurant, in my experience – a vegan restaurant without an inferiority complex.
Click here for the Cafe Blossom listing
It was back in July that we shared that Galil at 1252 Lexington Ave (between 84th St & 85th St) was no longer under the supervision of the OK. After a short stint under the KOA, it seems they have now chosen the Vaad Harabanim of Flatbush.
We are pleased to announce that Kolette’s Kitchen at 672 Lexington Avenue (between 55th and 56th Street) is now open and under the supervision of Va’ad HaRabbanim of Queens not the OK.
Yummy Yummy is one of the newest gems for kosher diners who work and live on the east side of Manhattan. Yummy Yummy offers a dairy Mediterranean menu, primarily focused on their highly touted falafel. Although their menu isn’t necessarily ground breaking, it’s their attention to detail that really sets them apart from like menu’d restaurants in the area.
The front of the restaurant is opened to the street in classic Israeli style, which is quite inviting. The interior is clean, sleek and modern. Although the look of the restaurant is welcoming, the atmosphere in the restaurant can be a bit overwhelming. On my visit to Yummy Yummy, there was loud techno music playing, and the place was very busy, as it was during their lunch hours. While both of these by themselves are not bad, coming in to that from the hot summer sun makes it all slightly off-putting.
The negatives come to a screeching halt at this point, as the food at Yummy Yummy definitely lives up to its name. I approached the counter and was greeted by friendly staff, who were more than happy to recommend their favorite items. I began my meal with a split pea soup, a bold choice on a summer afternoon, but even on such a warm day it turned out to be a good choice. The soup was creamy, but not to thick, and had just the right amount of spice to make it really interesting. To make sure I covered all the recommendations I was given by friends, I ordered a Falafel box, which came with 6 falafel balls on a mound of chumus, along with 2 sides and unlimited use of the salad bar. In addition, I ordered a Sabich sandwich which consists of eggplant, chummus, and a sliced hard boiled egg, along with all the salad you can fit inside. The chummus had a really authentic homemade Israeli taste which is a giant upgrade from the packaged supermarket variety that is often repurposed and used in restaurants. The falafel was crispy on the outside and soft and warm in the center, and even when I asked for a bit of olive oil to be drizzled over the top, it still was not overly oily. The Sabich sandwich was a new experience for me, and one that that I will be sure to repeat. Gearing up to try the Sabich is when I found the hidden gem of Yummy Yummy: authentic Israeli Amba sauce (Mango Chutney). Whenever I visit Israel, I drizzle Amba over almost every dish I have, and their version brought me right back to the streets of Jerusalem. I had my Sabich in a whole wheat pita, with Israeli pickles, and a healthy amount of Amba over the top. I highly recommend this for anyone looking to have a filling lunch, without going into a “heavy food coma”. The last dish I tried was the classic Potato Boureka. I wasn’t expecting much from the Boureka, but I was pleasantly surprised. The dough was flaky on the outside but still held together well, and the potato in the center was quite tasty.
One thing that you will notice in Yummy Yummy is the diverse crowd. Most kosher restaurants attract mostly kosher customers, however, at Yummy Yummy, the majority of patrons were not Jewish. It definitely seems like they have made a great impression on more than just the kosher the community in a very short amount of time.
All in all it is nice to see a new kosher place open up with a real focus on customer service, and attention to detail. The prices are highly competitive and the staff is friendly and helpful. I highly recommend giving Yummy Yummy a try!
Insiders tips:
- Try and check it out a little before noon or after 1:30 for a calmer experience.
- If you’ve had your fill of falafel recently, make sure to try the Sabich Sandwhich which is fresh, light, and delicious.
Click here for the Yummy Yummy listing
Koshertopia has confirmed that Boston’s well known Milk Street Cafe is coming to Manhattan. The 29 year old cafe known for their homemade delicacies and corporate catering has secured an 8,000 square foot cafe space and 13,000 square foot commissary at 40 Wall Street diagonally across from the New York Stock Exchange (Between Broad and William Streets). This new addition to the Downtown business district will no doubt be warmly welcomed by kosher consumers.
Koshertopia has confirmed that the new Mendy’s, Mendy’s Atrium, located at 875 3rd Avenue (Corner 52nd St.) is open for business. The eatery is located in the dining concourse downstairs.