Manhattan’s largest Kosher food hall, Milk Street Cafe at 40 Wall Street is slated to close its door permanently this coming Thursday. Sources have shared with Koshertopia that there will be no relocation in New York but the original location in Boston will remain open. Milk Street Cafe, which opened in June, has been a direct casuality of the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Koshertopia has confirmed that Dovid’s Food Stand at 27 William Street (in the lobby) is now supervised meat under the Star-K. Dovid’s is a popular lunch favorite offering sushi, salads, wraps & more.
The most precious and costly commodity in Manhattan is space. Because of this spacial deficiency, even some of the cities finest restaurants are no more then a glorified nooks. The expense is simply too great for most establishments to maintain, especially in certain neighborhoods or streets that cause the cost of space to borderline on the ridiculously excessive. So when I say to you that the Milk Street Cafe, the new kosher restaurant located at 40 Wall Street, takes up no less then twenty three thousand square feet, it should tell you in no uncertain terms how seriously owner Marc Epstein takes the business of building a successful restaurant. Embodying the “Go big or go home” ethos, The Milk Street Cafe opens up to a spacious front end ornamented tastefully with modern sensibilities. The stone floor is intricately decorated and stretches out into eight thousand square feet of equally well decorated prep stations. These stations offer a vast, almost mind boggling variety of foods, that run the gamut of Cafe style items. Diners can customize pasta, salads, and sandwiches on top of being able to get sushi, bakery, soups, and prepared grill items. What makes The Milk Street Cafe truly unique though is not that they offer so many items, it’s that they offer them in both dairy and meat.
Whereas most restaurants need to restrict their menus to either of the two options, The Milk Street Cafe has found a way to merge the two modalities of kosher restaurantism with an elegant, if not grandiose solution that is their prep kitchens.
Stretching out behind Milk Streets front end, are several kitchens, who’s space equals triple that of the main dining area. These kitchens are separated by corridors, and each kitchen is distinctly marked by it’s different color floor tile, which signifies if it is the dairy, meat or parve kitchen. When working in these kitchens, the culinary staff wear an apron and hat that is specific to each kitchen. The kitchens themselves are glorious monuments to modern day culinary production. Every bell, whistle, and kitchen appliance you could possibly need is neatly squared away at it’s corresponding prep station. This allows The Milk Street Cafe to do far more then act as a breakfast, lunch, and dinner spot, but also as a catering company, capable of servicing large corporate events or meetings.
What I really liked about the Milk Street Cafe, outside of it’s many dining options, it’s innovative structure, it’s willingness to push the envelope and it’s very affable owner, is the food. The food is very good. I ate mostly the meat options as meat is my preference. I highly recommend the Peppercorn rubbed roast beef with red peppers and horseradish sauce, and the Smoked Turkey Salad with sun dried tomatoes. Both these sandwiches are served on wonderfully fresh bread, that has a nice crunch crust with a soft interior. To me that is paramount for a good sandwich, and so the combination of the excellent flavors of the meat and the texture of the fresh bread make for one of the better sandwiches available in New York. A friend of mine chose to go the milchig route, and had the fettuccine with wild mushrooms in a light cream sauce. He said that he found it to be “very tasty and very filling”. I also recommend trying an offering from the Milk Street Cafe’s rotisserie. In particular their KC BBQ brisket, which is smoky, sweet, and cooked to a melt in your mouth perfection.
As I sat sampling my sandwiches, I realized that The Milk Street Cafe caters to all walks of life. A non-kosher eater could easily walk into the restaurant and never know they were at a kosher establishment. It so flawlessly integrates the different cuisines in such a graceful and well thought out way. that the effect is seamless. Owner Marc Epstein says that he is “Living the dream” in that he has his successful restaurant in Boston that he has now brought to New York as well. But what I don’t think he realizes is that he is actualizing the dream of a number of kosher consumers as well, by providing a kosher environment that feels like dining in a high end cafe that just so happens to be kosher. It’s just one more large step towards the main-streaming of kosher food. Personally, I can’t wait to go back and continue to work my way through their extensive menu
Milk Street Cafe
40 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Its finally ready! Koshertopia has confirmed that Boston’s favorite Kosher cafe, Milk Street is opening this Thursday. The new 23,000 square foot gourmet food hall is opening at 40 Wall Street (Trump Building). Milk Street is under the supervision of the OU and maintains 3 separate kitchens (milk, meat & pareve). The cafe boasts several gourmet food stations including: a barista station, made-to-order breakfasts, made-from-scratch breads, desserts and pastries, pasta bar, Asian specialties, sushi bar, two create-your-own salad bars (one vegetarian, one not), homemade soups, a grill, a rotisserie and a carving station.
Milk Street Cafe
40 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Koshertopia has confirmed that Mendy’s, the largest independently owned kosher restaurant chain in the US has its own kiosk open for select trade shows (10:00am – 3:00pm) downstairs across from the food courts. The kiosk will offer sandwiches, soups, salads & more.
Koshertopia has confirmed the much awaited opening of Downtown’s newest Kosher eatery, Milk Street Cafe located at 40 Wall St. will be June 13th. Milk Street will be supervised by the OU and will offer Meat, Dairy and Pareve options.
Stay Tuned for opening specials and more information.
I was recently able to check out Solo, a single floor restaurant within the Sony building.
Solo
The glowing outside wall is extremely interesting and unique. Not only does it change colors, but there are olive oil bottles placed within the glass. If you are lucky enough to be seated at a table near the wall, your table will be cast with a gentle glow all night.
Some of the inside décor failed to impress me. I expected more from a restaurant whose hype was as big as Solo’s. A hostess station greets you upon your arrival; a bar with four stools are located directly behind it. This is a perfect place to get a drink while waiting for your table or party to arrive. It’s too close to the actual patrons for me to validate that it’s a separate bar. The dining areas, of various sizes, are separated by sliding etched glass doors. This would make this restaurant a coveted location for business meetings or an event that requires privacy. Since this restaurant is in midtown I can see how it would be useful for business meetings and more privacy.
On my way to scope out the bathroom and to see if it was noteworthy for this column (it is clean and decorated) I noticed the washing station. It is very clean and nice and has small bread pieces next to it. Discreet and well positioned in the back.
Some other noteworthy mentions: The lights dimmed at 7:30pm. The chatter of clientele filled the air; there was no music. The tables were close together and the noise seemed loud at times. There were diecut tealights on the tables with small candles.
Solo
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.
Not too long ago, Koshertopia reported that the Diamond Dairy located in the Diamond District had closed. As we lose one restaurant, another opens. Recently, Gan Eden by Jacob has opened at 74 West 47th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenue, on the third floor). They will be offering Bukharian and middle eastern style food for sit down or takeout.
They are under the supervision of Kehila Kashrut
Koshertopia has confirmed the Hummus Kitchen on 9th Ave (768 9th Ave.) is no longer under the Supervison of United Kosher Supervision (UKS). The Manager, Maor, reported to Koshertopia that indeed the meat that is being used is certified glatt, but the restaurant does not have supervision.
Hummus Kitchen on the Upper East Side remains kosher dairy under the UKS.
