Manhattan Kosher Map: We’re Back!
After a hiatus of over a year, the Manhattan Kosher Map is back with over 50 closings and openings!
The Manhattan Kosher Map is an interactive map of certified kosher, vegan, and vegetarian restaurants in New York City’s most densely populated borough. More info on how to use the map is available here.
Over the course of the pandemic, nearly 30 certified kosher, vegan, and/or vegetarian restaurants have closed. Each one of those restaurants was a micro-community of chefs, line cooks, dishwashers, servers, delivery workers, and floor managers. In many cases, for those restaurants that stayed afloat, restaurant workers had to work double and triple time, often wearing more than one hat. Looking on the bright side, nearly 30 certified kosher, vegan, and/or vegetarian restaurants have opened since March 2020. Here are some highlights of both:
Closings That Made Me Particularly Sad
Cafe Lalo* (vegetarian; not certified kosher)
It was supposed to be a tourist trap – you may recognize it from this little-known movie – but it never felt like one. I loved the way they would open the whole wall of windows to make it feel like you were eating outside.
*According to a sign on their door, they’re closed for renovations. Hopefully they’ll reopen soon!
Cinnamon Snail (vegan; certified by the IKC)
I’m salivating just thinking about their donuts, and their cinnamon buns were simply the best. Their wraps always packed an umami punch, too. I’m gonna miss you, Cinnamon Snail!
Nix (vegetarian; not certified kosher)
While I’m glad the location is still in good hands (it’s now another Blossom), I will truly miss this restaurant. It was the only completely vegetarian restaurant with a Michelin star in Manhattan (more info about why the Michelin starred restaurants Kajitsu and Eleven Madison Park are not on the map).
Russ & Daughters @ The Jewish Museum (dairy; certified by NKS)
Top-notch smoked fish, old-school decor, and a creative menu (for example: Yum Kippered (baked salmon and cream cheese sandwich), Shakshouka & Shissel Rye (rye bread w/nigella and caraway seeds alongside the classic Israeli dish with tomato sauce and poached eggs), Schmaltz & a Shot (shmaltz herring paired with vodka)). One of the few restaurants where you could pay in advance and reserve a table for Shabbat lunch.
The downtown and Brooklyn locations are still open, but this was the only location that was certified kosher (the other locations serve both meat and dairy).
Sue Sez Say it with Cake (dairy; certified by the OK)
I wish I could recreate her dairy-free Tofutti cream cheese frosting. It was devilishly good. I used to do taste tests with her dairy cream cheese frosting, and friends often had trouble telling the difference.
Openings I’m Excited About
Cadence (vegan, not certified kosher)
Part of Ravi DeRossi’s vegan restaurant empire. From their website:
Plant-based restaurant with Southern soul… Chef Shenarri Freeman taps into her Virginia upbringing and vegan ethos and spotlights Southern foodways and Soul Food through the lens of health and sustainability.
Their menu includes smoked grits with torched oyster mushrooms, southern fried lasagna with pine nut ricotta, and maple buttermilk cornbread.
Etérea (vegan; not certified kosher)
Also part of Ravi DeRossi’s vegan restaurant empire. From their website:
A Tequila and Mezcal Cocktail Bar devoted to ethical and sustainable agave spirits curated by Mixologist Sother Teague… Chef Xila Caudillo runs the Culinary Program [featuring] … plant-based small plates that honor her Mexican Heritage and SoCal Upbringing.
Their Menu includes tacos and tostadas among other small plates. They also feature a corn pudding with rosemary meringues, candied pecans, and blackberries.
Fat Choy (vegan; not certified kosher)
The tagline on their website is “Kind of Chinese / Also Vegan,” and their signature dish is a mushroom Sloppy Joe with shroom ragu. They also offer a sticky rice dumpling “grandson style,” likely a riff off of the oft-used phrase “grandma style.”
Ryan Sutton at Eater raves:
Chef Justin Lee stuns with mushroom sloppy joe sandwiches and other vegan delights at his solo debut… Lee’s roll, for example, doesn’t exhibit the puffiness of the standard hamburger bun; rather, it’s so wonderfully chewy it pulls apart almost like mochi. The ragu, for its part, emits an earthy punch with lingering notes of five spice and cumin… Like at Dirt Candy or Superiority Burger, the vegetables at Fat Choy tend to taste like vegetables, and excellent ones at that.
Izzy’s Smokehouse (meat; certified by the OK)
The famous Brooklyn BBQ joint has made it to the Upper West Side. In addition to their signature Dino Ribs and smoked brisket, this location features pastrami, corned beef, and pulled beef sandwiches. They also have a taqueria menu that includes tacos, nachos, and burritos.
Caveat: be willing to splurge. The Dino Ribs will put you back $78. I’ve also found that they’re often out of many items, especially lamb, pastrami, and corned beef.
Krispy Kreme, Times Square (dairy; certified by the KOA)
This is their 4,500-square-foot flagship Manhattan location. It includes a glaze waterfall. ‘Nuff said.
Noi Due Pizza (dairy; certified by the OK)
Noi Due Cafe moved up to 84th and Columbus, and this pizza shop took its place (same owners as Noi Due Cafe and Noi Due Carne, of course).
I used to have to order pizza as a whole personal pie at Noi Due Cafe; now I can finally order my favorite (Selvatica: Marinara, ricotta, caramelized onions, mozzarella, mushrooms) by the slice.
Planta Queen (vegan; not certified kosher)
Vegan restaurant chain with locations in Florida and Toronto as well. Their NYC location also includes a speakeasy lounge called “the Dragon’s Den.”
Their menu includes creative sushi (e.g. ahi watermelon nigiri, mushroom bacon inari), bao sliders, peking jackfruit with green papaya slaw, coconut ceviche, avocado lime tartare with beetroot “tuna,” and truffle fried rice.
Soda Club (vegan; not certified kosher)
Ravi DeRossi’s vegan restaurant empire knows no bounds. According to their website, they’re a wine bar “curated by our group’s Wine Director Drew Brady” and they serve “vegan Italian dishes by Chef Amira Gharib focusing on fresh pastas.”
Their menu includes gnocchi with carrot top pesto, Gigli in a truffle “cream” sauce, and ravioli with “ricotta,” chanterelles, and confit tomato.
Willow Vegan Bistro (vegan; certified by the IKC)
From the folks behind Beyond Sushi, chef Guy Vaknin offers an “innovative twist on classic American food,” according to their website.
Their menu includes oyster mushroom calamari, coconut ceviche, truffle mac n’ “cheese,” jackfruit crab cakes, and seitan cherrywood smoked “pastrami.”
