Kosher restaurant

A kosher restaurant or kosher deli is an establishment that serves food that complies with Jewish dietary laws (kashrut). These businesses, which also include diners, cafés, pizzerias, fast food, and cafeterias, and are frequently in listings together with kosher bakeries, butchers, caterers, and other similar places, differ from kosher-style businesses in that they operate under rabbinical supervision, which requires the observance of the laws of kashrut, as well as certain other Jewish laws, including the separation of meat and dairy.

Such locations must be closed during Shabbat and Jewish holidays if under Jewish ownership. In most cases, a kosher establishment is limited to serving exclusively either dairy (milchig) or meat (fleishig) foods.

Some types of businesses, such as delicatessens, frequently serve both, kept in separate areas. Vegetarian (pareve) kosher restaurants serve only vegetarian fare.

Types of kosher restaurants

Dairy (milchig) restaurants

Kosher dairy restaurants began to emerge in modern Europe and then 19th century America, primarily in New York. Descended from the milchhallen or "milk pavilions" of Europe, they popped up in the Jewish immigrant community of the Lower East Side in the late 19th, where there were at once hundreds of dairy restaurants.[1][2][3]

Due to rules about milk and meat in Jewish law, kosher dairy restaurants do not serve meat. Their offerings may include dairy products, such as cheese and milk. Milchig restaurants may, and often do, serve fish, eggs, vegetarian and vegan dishes, and other foods classified as "pareve" under kosher rules. In the U.S., there have been many kosher pizza restaurants.

Meat (fleishig) restaurants

Distribution of restaurants

Areas with large Jewish populations, such as Jerusalem,[14] New Jersey and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, are described as having many kosher restaurants, while other areas such as Dublin, Ireland may be lacking.[15]

In the United States, New York City has the highest number of kosher restaurants, and in Canada, Toronto has the most. As of 2017, there were over 500 kosher restaurants in the New York area. Locations such as Philadelphia also have relatively small numbers of certified kosher restaurants.[16]

In cities with smaller Jewish populations, kosher dining is often limited to just a single establishment. Some cities do not have any kosher dine-in facilities, but small communities have other arrangements for Jewish residents to obtain ready-made kosher meals and other types of food that may be hard to obtain otherwise.

Rules and holidays

A kosher restaurant serves food that complies with Jewish dietary laws (kashrut). These businesses operate under rabbinical supervision, which requires that the laws of kashrut, as well as certain other Jewish laws, must be observed. Among those laws, the meat and dairy cannot be mixed, and grape products made by non-Jews cannot be consumed.

Pork and shellfish cannot be served, and animals must be slaughtered by a certified shochet, frequently a rabbi.[17] In most cases, the location is limited to serving exclusively either dairy or meat foods. But some types of establishments, such as delicatessens, frequently serve both, kept in separate areas.

Such locations must be closed during Jewish holidays if under Jewish ownership. For example, kosher restaurants are closed from Friday evening to Saturday evening for Shabbat.[18][19] In the New York area, many kosher restaurants close over the eight days of Passover as "a matter of practicality," as staying open requires that no yeast-related

Kosher cuisine

Because many foods (excluding among others pork or shellfish) can be kosher as long as food is prepared heeding Jewish laws, there are "kosher steakhouses, kosher pizzerias, kosher fish joints, kosher Indian restaurants, kosher Thai places," and other sorts.[17]

Unlike in the general population, where many restaurants and fast food businesses specialize in a particular type of food, many kosher establishments have a variety of different types of popular food. Many kosher delicatessens exist that serve both milchig (dairy) and fleishig (meat) foods that are kept separate.

Dairy (milchig) dishes

Dairy items include sliced cheeses and cream cheese. Many pareve items and fish items are also served, such as smoked whitefish salad and herring.

Pizza is a popular food served at kosher restaurants, but kosher pizza shops typically also serve Middle Eastern cuisine, such as falafel, and other foods that can be served with dairy, such as fish and pasta.

Other kosher businesses

Many cities with Jewish communities also have kosher grocery stores. These can range in size from a corner store, similar in style to a delicatessen, or a full-sized supermarket similar in appearance to a big box store. As of 2010, the largest such store in the United States is Seven Mile Market in the Baltimore suburb of Pikesville.[21]

Corporate supermarket chains also sometimes have "kosher" sections inside their locations in Jewish areas that specialize in food that is popular among religiously observant Jews.

Kosher cafeterias and food stands can sometimes be found at college and university campuses, Jewish community centers, hospitals, professional sports stadiums, and some tourist attractions. In some of these locations where special stands do not exist, prepackaged kosher sandwiches and other meals are offered, or can be pre-ordered. Some airlines also offer kosher meals when ordered in advance.

Controversies

With kashrut being a very sensitive issue, there have been many controversies surrounding the kosher-dining industry.

Errors

In 1990, a planned kosher fundraising meal aboard a ship on the Baltimore Inner Harbor contained non-kosher food due to lack of business planning.[22] The mix-up was caused by a kosher and a non-kosher caterer under the same ownership.

Dropping of certification

Occasionally, an establishment operating as kosher will make the choice to drop its certification and become non-kosher.

One such instance was a Dunkin in Rockville, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, D.C.), which made the decision to be non-kosher in 2007 in order to offer menu items sold at non-kosher Dunkin' Donuts locations (such as ham). This led to a protest.[11]

References

Ben Katchor. How Dairy Lunchrooms Became Alternatives to the NYC Saloon 'Free Lunch.' Literary Hub, 2020-03-10, retrieved 2024-09-08^
Kate Elinsky. The Milchik Way Jewish Review of Books, 2020-06-30, retrieved 2024-09-08^
Add this to your quarantine reading list: 500 pages on Jewish dairy restaurants and the 'milkhideke' personality