Koshertopia has confirmed that a new Glatt Kosher deli, grill & sushi restaurant is said to be opening today at the old location of Turquoise on the Upper East Side. The new restaurant, at 240 East 81st Street, is under the Supervision of the OK.
Stay tuned for opening specials, menu and more information.
It was only a matter of time until Chinese joined the ever growing number of kosher restaurants in Washington Heights. The recently opened Chop Chop at 501 West 184th Street is under the Vaad of Riverdale and offers a extensive menu of Chinese, Sushi and Oriental Dishes.
Click Here for the listing.
Koshertopia has confirmed that the new location of Lunchbox at 844 Second Avenue (corner of 45th St.) is opening tomorrow. The dairy take-out offers fresh salads, hot lunch options, sushi and a variety of take-out options. The restaurant is under the supervision of the OK.
Koshertopia has confirmed that NY Lunchbox is opening a new location at 844 Second Avenue (corner of 45th St.). The new location which is set to open straight after Pesach will mimic the original location with the same menu – good tasting, quick and healthy fare. The new location will be Cholov Yisrael under the supervision of the OK.
Koshertopia announced back in October that Prime Grill was opening a new location on the Upper West Side. Since then we’ve had many questions:- where, when etc. We are happy to confirm that the new restaurant, ‘Prime KO’ is under construction set to open towards the end of February beginning of March.
Prime KO will be a moderately priced Japanese Steakhouse with a full sushi bar. There are 2 party rooms available that can accommodate up to 100 people and restaurant capacity is up to 160 people. Prime KO will also be offering prepaid Shabbat meals every week.
The new restaurant is located at 217 West 85th Street (off Broadway).
I walked into “NY Lunchbox” located at 255 W. 36th St. and immediately felt like I was in a hot spot on Ben Yehuda St. Being that I eat in non-Kosher restaurants, I don’t always get the Jewish experience I did on that cold winter day.
Let me set the scene:
I walked in, there was a crazy long line leading to the register and a woman standing near me was talking on her cell phone; asking her friend, Rifki, what she wanted for lunch. Before the woman placed her order (and Rifki’s), the woman in front of her studied the soups of the day and loudly asked, “Is the soup hot?” I mean, where else on Earth do people ask if the soup is hot other than in a kosher place? I felt my grandmother’s presence with me at that moment. She liked soup – HOT – too.
The place itself is no frills. I sort of felt like I was in a Jewish office and this was our commissary. Or that I was in an airport and this was the one and only kosher kiosk. The way it works when you get to Lunchbox is you stand in line, order and take your food out the door. Or, you put your food on a tray and take it upstairs. There is no so sign indicating where the line starts and the place is organized chaos at its best. Soups, sandwiches, sushi, salads and amazing lunch deals are some of the things you’ll find on the menu. You’ll also find a several people washing their hands, saying Birkat or davening Mincha — things I always appreciate and truly cherish when I’m in a kosher restaurant. For that, I loved the place; however, I’m not rushing to pack my lunchbox there again anytime soon. For under $10 I got their signature wrap, a drink and small salad. I wish they let you mix and match your wraps because there were a few I wanted to try. Whatever wrap you choose, you have to take both halves of it, which seemed silly to me. In any event, the wrap itself was amazing. It was sweet and soft and just out of this world. What was inside it (tofu and veggies) was just so-so. Overall, the experience was pleasant and their prices won’t break your break the bank.
On a day I didn’t feel like going anywhere to grab something to eat, I ordered in from Gan Asia. I was really in the mood for chicken pad thai, so I ordered the dish their Web site claims to be a Thai favorite and steamed vegetable dumplings. The dumplings weren’t cooked enough, so they were disappointing. The pad thai was OK, but nothing special. It was sweeter than I’ve had before, but it didn’t send me over the moon. I’ve had other dishes from Gan Asia before (like their lemon chicken and chicken and broccoli — both were amazing!) So, next time, I’ll skip the pad thai are go for what I know is great. They’re lunch deals are awesome, though, so check it out in case you’re not into pad thai to begin with.
KK
Click here for the Lunchbox listing
Click here for the Gan Asia listing
Olympic Pita has been going through a bit of an identity crisis lately. When I first discovered it last year, it was a casual falafel and shawarma restaurant. Then, it became Baraca with dimmer lighting, more modern décor, a much pricier menu, and sushi! In recent weeks, the name has reverted back to Olympic Pita. All of these changes never affected the quality of the food, fortunately.
Olympic Pita is fantastic for many reasons, but mainly because it offers something that most pita places in Manhattan do not: homemade laffa. For those of you who may not know, laffa is freshly-made, over-sized pita baked in a tandoor oven that comes out with the perfect combination of soft and crispy at the same time. As soon as you open the door to the restaurant, you can smell the laffa baking.
On the way to our table the main dining area, we strolled by the laffa oven and the salad bar. Everything looked delicious. We started with an order of hummus, which came with a piping hot laffa for dipping. The best way I can describe this combo is “heavenly.” The hummus was garlicky and creamy, and topped with great tahina and olive oil. Although it doesn’t say it anywhere on the menu, the basket of laffa can be refilled as long as there is hummus left – so, be sure to ask!
Every lunch order comes with a trip to the salad bar. You are allowed to fill up one small plate with a delicious assortment of coleslaw, Israeli salad, pickles, etc.
For my main meal, I ordered a falafel laffa, which comes with hummus, harisa, Israeli salad, and French fries. I have had fries in pita before, but those were always bland and soggy. Olympic Pita’s fries were actually good on their own, and even better squished in with falafel and covered in hummus! The falafel was absolutely delicious…a little spicy, crispy on the outside, and a ton of flavor.
Even with all its changes and my few minor complaints, I can’t stop raving about Olympic Pita. It is definitely as good as any falafel I’ve ever had in Israel.
And finally, a few additional Miss Menu pointers…
It took a while, but today is the day that Circa opens their second location downtown on Fulton Street.
Circa Downtown will offer much of the same that Circa Midtown offers, including salads, sushi and pasta. They will also be offering smoothies and shakes.
They are located at 111 Fulton Street.
When Koshertopia announced the opening of Cafe 11 in July, many members found it odd that the establishment was supervised by the Star-K yet housed in the same building as the OU.
That has now changed with the official switch (last week?) to the OU.
Another midtown lunch option is set to open the week of October; Aroma Pizza Café is finishing the final touches to its large space on 36th St. (between 5th and 6th).
Aroma Cafe will offer the range of lunch options we have become accustom to – fresh salads, sushi, sandwiches, fish, pizza and hot lunch varieties, but is singling itself apart from the rest with a hummus bar.
Prices are set to be competitive – check it out!